1 Year Since the Liberation Day Tariffs: This Surprising Stock Has Been the S&P 500's Top Performer

Reciprocal tariffs were announced a twelvemonth ago, connected what President Trump referred to arsenic "Liberation Day" for the country. Tariffs were imposed connected galore countries that the president believed were being unfair to the U.S., and the archetypal marketplace absorption was 1 of panic, with the S&P 500 proceeding to fall. In galore ways, it was reminiscent of the 2020 clang during the aboriginal stages of the pandemic. Stocks tanked rapidly but past would spell connected awesome runs.

While the S&P 500 has been struggling successful the aboriginal portion of 2026, it's inactive up astir 16% implicit the past 12 months, arsenic investors who stayed the people and remained invested successful funds tracking the scale would person done reasonably well. And 1 banal wrong the scale that's been downright astonishing implicit the past twelvemonth is Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK). It's up a mesmerizing 1,200%, making it easy the top-performing banal connected the scale since Liberation Day. The large question is whether it's inactive a bargain close now.

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It was hardly a twelvemonth agone that Sandisk spun disconnected from Western Digital, which is different tech banal that's done good implicit the past 12 months (it's up astir 570%). The spinoff took spot successful February of past year, and Sandisk has been a terrific concern ever since. The determination allowed Sandisk to absorption connected flash memory, which is simply a peculiarly high-growth country these days owed to the relentless request for artificial quality (AI) and models and agents needing entree to high-speed retention solutions.

Sandisk's financials person looked unthinkable owed to some higher request and rising prices. In its astir caller quarter, which ended connected Jan. 2, the company's gross totaled conscionable implicit $3 billion, which was an summation of 61% twelvemonth implicit year. And its bottommost enactment was adjacent much impressive, with nett income jumping from conscionable $104 cardinal successful the prior-year play to $803 million. And for the existent quarter, the institution expects adjacent much growth, for its gross to perchance ascent arsenic precocious arsenic $4.8 billion.

Sandisk's valuation doesn't look expensive, adjacent with its awesome rally. That's due to the fact that analysts inactive person rosy expectations for what's up for the company, fixed the ongoing shortage of representation and retention products -- prices whitethorn proceed rising. Based connected expert projections, Sandisk's banal is trading astatine little than 13 times its expected aboriginal earnings, which seems ungraded inexpensive fixed that the mean banal connected the S&P 500 trades astatine a guardant net aggregate of 20.