Sandisk Corp (SNDK)

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and should be read in conjunction with the disclosures we make concerning risks and other factors that may affect our business and operating results. You should read this information in conjunction with the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and the notes thereto included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and notes thereto for the fiscal year ended June 27, 2025, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. See also “Forward-Looking Statements” immediately prior to Part I, Item 1 in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

Unless otherwise indicated or the context requires, references herein to specific years and quarters are to our fiscal years and fiscal quarters. As used herein, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to Sandisk Corporation and its subsidiaries.

Overview

Sandisk is a leading developer, manufacturer and provider of data storage devices and solutions based on NAND flash technology. With a differentiated innovation engine driving advancements in storage and semiconductor technologies, our broad and ever-expanding portfolio delivers powerful flash storage solutions for artificial intelligence (“AI”) workloads in datacenters, edge devices, and consumer applications. Our technologies enable everyone from students, gamers, and home offices to the largest enterprises and public clouds to produce, analyze, and store data. Our solutions include a broad range of solid-state drives (“SSD”), embedded products, removable cards, universal serial bus drives and wafers and components. Our broad portfolio of technology and products addresses multiple end markets of “Datacenter” (formerly referred to as “Cloud”), “Edge” (formerly referred to as “Client”), and “Consumer.”

The Datacenter end market is comprised primarily of products for datacenters, cloud service providers, and private cloud customers. Through the Edge end market, we provide our original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) and channel customers a broad array of high-performance flash solutions across personal computer, mobile, gaming, automotive, virtual reality headsets, at-home entertainment, and industrial spaces. The Consumer end market is highlighted by our broad range of retail and other end-user products, which capitalize on the strength of our product brand recognition and vast points of presence around the world.

Our fiscal year ends on the Friday nearest to June 30 and typically consists of 52 weeks. Approximately every five to six years, we report a 53-week fiscal year to align the fiscal year with the foregoing policy. Fiscal year 2025, which ended on June 27, 2025, was comprised of 52 weeks, with each fiscal quarter consisting of 13 weeks. Fiscal year 2026 is comprised of 53 weeks and ends on July 3, 2026, with the first fiscal quarter consisting of 14 weeks.

The Separation

On October 30, 2023, Western Digital Corporation (“WDC”) announced that its board of directors (the “WDC Board of Directors”) authorized WDC management to pursue a plan to separate the Company into an independent public company (the “separation” or the “spin-off”). The separation received final approval by the WDC Board of Directors and was completed on February 21, 2025. Prior to February 21, 2025, the Company was wholly owned by WDC.

On February 21, 2025, WDC executed the spin-off of the Company through WDC’s pro rata distribution of 116,035,464, or 80.1%, of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock to holders of WDC’s common stock. Each WDC stockholder received one-third (1/3) of one share of the Company’s common stock for each share of WDC’s common stock held by such WDC stockholder as of February 12, 2025, the record date of the distribution. Upon completion of the separation, WDC owned 28,827,787, or 19.9%, of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock. Following the distribution, the Company became an independent publicly listed company, and on February 24, 2025, the Company began trading as an independent, publicly traded company under the stock symbol “SNDK” on Nasdaq.

On June 9, 2025, WDC disposed of 21,314,768, or 14.6%, of our common stock through an exchange of our common stock for WDC debt held by WDC creditors, which shares were sold by affiliates of the WDC creditors in a registered public offering by the Company. On February 18, 2026, WDC disposed of 5,821,135 outstanding shares of the Company through an exchange of Sandisk’s common stock for WDC debt held by WDC creditors, which shares were sold by affiliates of the WDC creditors in a registered public offering by us. All expenses for these offerings were paid for by us. Following this transaction, WDC continued to retain 1,691,884 of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock and, as of March 19, 2026, the sale of such shares is no longer subject to restriction.

36

Table of Contents

Financing Activities

Prior to the separation, the Company received financing from certain of WDC’s subsidiaries in the form of borrowings under revolving credit agreements and promissory notes to fund activities primarily related to Flash Ventures. Additional information regarding our outstanding notes due to (from) Western Digital Corporation is included in Part I, Item 1, Note 10, Related Parties and Related Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

As discussed in Part I, Item 1, Note 8, Debt of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, on February 21, 2025, the Company entered into a loan agreement comprised of a seven-year Term Loan B facility in an aggregate principal amount of $2.0 billion (the “Term Loan Facility”) and a five-year revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) in an aggregate principal amount of $1.5 billion, including up to $150 million for letters of credit.

On February 21, 2025, the Company borrowed $2.0 billion under its Term Loan Facility. The Company used a portion of the proceeds of the borrowing to make a net distribution payment of $1.5 billion to WDC, with the remainder to be used for general corporate purposes of the Company. The proceeds of the Revolving Credit Facility may be used by the Company for working capital and general corporate purposes.

On March 4, 2026, the Company settled in full the remaining outstanding principal amounts of the Term Loan Facility, plus accrued interest, using cash on hand. In connection with the early settlement of the Term Loan Facility, the Company recognized a loss on debt extinguishment of $46 million resulting from the write-off of the remaining unamortized issuance costs.

As of April 3, 2026, the Company has drawn no amounts under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Operational Update

In the third quarter, we continued to observe that the rapid growth of AI infrastructure is driving demand for high-performance storage products, and AI adoption is driving the need for NAND storage to support these workloads, leading to increased revenues when compared to prior periods. The current demand environment has led to pricing shifts that have positively impacted our business, and we expect these favorable pricing trends to have a positive impact on our revenue and cash flows from operations. We expect these conditions to persist through calendar year 2026 and beyond. Accordingly, we expect to invest in, and allocate resources to, high-value opportunities for both the short-term and long-term benefit of our customers and the Company.

The Trump Administration has made a number of changes in U.S. trade policy, including the imposition of tariffs under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which the U.S. Supreme Court found unlawful in February 2026, the creation of a refund process for such tariff duties, and the imposition of new tariffs under other statutory authorities. Currently, the majority of our products sold in the U.S. are exempt from tariffs, but additional tariff increases, or the loss of applicable exemptions, would increase the cost of goods sold for our products sold in the U.S., which could negatively impact our margins and financial performance. Increases in the price of our products in response to increased costs may adversely impact demand for those products in the U.S., which could also negatively impact our performance and financial results. Future trade policies and regulations in the U.S. and other countries, the terms of any trade arrangements that may be negotiated between the U.S. and other countries, the scope, amount, or duration of tariffs that may be imposed by any country, and the impact of these factors on our business are uncertain and may contribute to increased costs and reduced demand for our products, each of which could harm our financial performance.

We will continue to actively monitor developments impacting our business and may take additional responsive actions that we determine to be in the best interest of our business and stakeholders.

37

Table of Contents

Basis of Presentation

On February 21, 2025, the Company became a standalone publicly traded company, and its financial statements are now presented on a consolidated basis. Prior to the separation, the Company’s historical consolidated financial information was derived from WDC’s consolidated financial statements and accounting records and prepared as if the Company existed on a standalone basis. The financial statements for all periods presented, including the historical results of the Company prior to February 21, 2025, are now referred to as “Consolidated Financial Statements” and have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and the policies and practices that are generally accepted in the industry in which it operates, consistent with prior statements.

The following discussion reflects the Company’s financial condition and results of operations as set forth in the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

For additional information, including a discussion of the basis of presentation for periods prior to and post separation, see Part I, Item 1, Note 1, Organization and Basis of Presentation of the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.

38

Table of Contents

Results of Operations

Overview

The following table sets forth, for the periods presented, selected summary information from our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations by U.S. dollars and percentage of net revenue(1):

[Excerpt truncated for page length; source filing is linked above.]

Item 7.    Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, and should be read in conjunction with the disclosures we make concerning risks and other factors that may affect our business and operating results. You should read this information in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements and the notes thereto included in Part II, Item 8., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. See also “Forward-Looking Statements” immediately prior to Part I, Item 1., of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

For management’s discussion of our combined results for the year ended June 28, 2024 in comparison with the year ended June 30, 2023, and other financial information related to fiscal year 2024, refer to Item 2., “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” included in our Form 10, initially filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on November 25, 2024, and as further amended thereafter and declared effective on January 31, 2025 (as amended, the “Form 10”).

Unless otherwise indicated, references herein to specific years and quarters are to our fiscal years and fiscal quarters. As used herein, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to Sandisk Corporation and its subsidiaries.

Overview

The Separation

On October 30, 2023, Western Digital Corporation (“WDC”) announced that its board of directors (the “WDC Board of Directors”) authorized management to pursue a plan to separate the Company into an independent public company. The separation received final approval by the WDC Board of Directors and was completed on February 21, 2025. Prior to February 21, 2025, we were wholly owned by WDC.

On February 21, 2025, WDC executed the spin-off of the Company through WDC’s pro rata distribution of 116,035,464 or 80.1% of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company to holders of WDC’s common stock. Each WDC stockholder received one-third (1/3) of one share of the Company’s common stock for each share of WDC’s common stock held by such WDC stockholder as of February 12, 2025, the record date of the distribution. Upon completion of the separation, WDC owned 28,827,787 or 19.9% of the outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock, which WDC was expected to retain for a period of up to twelve months following the distribution. Following the distribution, the Company became an independent publicly listed company, and on February 24, 2025, the Company began trading as an independent publicly traded company under the stock symbol “SNDK” on Nasdaq.

On June 6, 2025, WDC disposed of 21,314,768 or 14.6% of our common stock through an exchange of our common stock for WDC debt held by WDC creditors.

Our Business

Sandisk is a leading developer, manufacturer and provider of data storage devices and solutions based on NAND flash technology. With a differentiated innovation engine driving advancements in storage and semiconductor technologies, our broad and ever-expanding portfolio delivers powerful flash storage solutions for artificial intelligence (“AI”) workloads in datacenters, edge devices, and consumers. Our technologies enable everyone from students, gamers and home offices to the largest enterprises and public clouds to produce, analyze, and store data. Our solutions include a broad range of solid-state drives (“SSDs”), embedded products, removable cards, universal serial bus drives and wafers and components. Our broad portfolio of technology and products addresses multiple end markets of “Cloud,” “Client,” and “Consumer.”

Through the Client end market, we provide our original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) and channel customers a broad array of high-performance flash solutions across personal computer, mobile, gaming, automotive, virtual reality headsets, at-home entertainment and industrial spaces. The Consumer end market is highlighted by our broad range of retail and other end-user products, which capitalizes on the strength of our product brand recognition and vast presence around the world. Cloud is comprised primarily of products for datacenters, cloud service providers, and private cloud customers.

Our fiscal year ends on the Friday nearest to June 30 and typically consists of 52 weeks. Approximately every five to six years, we report a 53-week fiscal year to align the fiscal year with the foregoing policy. Fiscal years 2025, 2024, and 2023, which ended on June 27, 2025, June 28, 2024, and June 30, 2023 are each comprised of 52 weeks, with each fiscal quarter consisting of 13 weeks. Fiscal year 2026 will be comprised of 52 weeks and end on July 3, 2026.

45

Table of Contents

Sale-Leaseback

In September 2023, WDC completed a sale and leaseback of its facility in Milpitas, California, and received net proceeds of $191 million in cash. A substantial majority of these assets are associated with the Company, and as a result, $134 million of the net proceeds from the sale-leaseback transaction were allocated to us on a relative square footage basis. The property is being leased back to us at a total annual rate of $16 million for the first year and increasing by 3% per year thereafter through January 1, 2039. The lease includes three five-year renewal options and one four-year renewal option that provide the ability to extend through December 2057. The associated operating lease liability and right-of-use asset for this facility have been included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 27, 2025 and June 28, 2024.

SanDisk Semiconductor (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (“SDSS”)

As discussed in Part II, Item 8., Note 10, Related Parties and Related Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, on September 28, 2024, prior to the separation, WDC’s wholly-owned subsidiary, SanDisk China Limited (“SanDisk China”) completed the sale of 80% of its equity interest in SDSS (the “Transaction”) to JCET Management Co., Ltd. (“JCET”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of JCET Group Co., Ltd., a Chinese publicly listed company, thereby forming a venture between SanDisk China and JCET (the “SDSS Venture”). The Transaction resulted in a pre-tax gain of $34 million.

Subsequent to and in connection with the Transaction, Western Digital Technologies, Inc. (“WDT”) entered into a five-year supply agreement with SDSS (the “Supply Agreement”) to purchase certain flash-based products with a minimum annual commitment of $550 million. On January 10, 2025, the Company and WDT entered into an assignment agreement, pursuant to which, WDT assigned all of its rights and obligations under the Supply Agreement to the Company. The Supply Agreement contains specific penalties the Company must pay if SDSS fails to meet its minimum annual commitment. The Supply Agreement also provides that if SDSS purchases exceed the minimum annual commitment in any of the two years immediately succeeding any annual period where a shortfall penalty has been paid, SDSS shall reimburse the Company an amount not exceeding the previously paid penalty amount. The Supply Agreement expires on September 28, 2029, and automatically renews for additional one-year terms unless earlier terminated by either of the parties. The Company also entered into an agreement to grant SDSS certain intellectual property rights on a royalty-free basis for use in manufacturing products on the Company’s behalf for the term of and under the Supply Agreement. As a result of the Transaction, we expect to incur a modest reduction in annual operating expenses and a reduction in annual capital expenditure related to the assembly and testing of flash-based products. We also anticipate that the transition to a contract manufacturing model through the SDSS Venture will result in a small increase in our annual cost of revenue for flash-based products.

Goodwill Impairment

As discussed in Part II, Item 8., Note 5, Supplemental Financial Statement Data of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, subsequent to the separation, we conducted a quantitative analysis of potential goodwill and long-lived assets impairments, in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) No. 350, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other. This analysis indicated that the estimated carrying value of our reporting unit exceeded its fair value. Consequently, we recorded a goodwill impairment charge of $1.8 billion during the third quarter of the fiscal year ended June 27, 2025.

Our policy is to perform an annual impairment test on the first day of the fourth fiscal quarter. For the year ended June 27, 2025, we performed a qualitative analysis which did not indicate that goodwill was more-likely-than-not impaired. As a result, no additional quantitative analysis was required and no additional impairment charge was recorded during the fiscal year ended June 27, 2025.

Financing Activities

Prior to the separation, we received financing from certain of WDC’s subsidiaries in the form of borrowings under revolving credit agreements and promissory notes to fund activities primarily related to Flash Ventures. Additional information regarding our outstanding notes due to (from) Western Digital Corporation is included in Part II, Item 8., Note 10, Related Parties and Related Commitments and Contingencies of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

As discussed in Part II, Item 8., Note 8, Debt of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, on February 21, 2025, we entered into a loan agreement comprised of a seven-year Term Loan B facility in an aggregate principal amount of $2.0 billion (the “Term Loan Facility”) and a five-year revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) in an aggregate principal amount of $1.5 billion with $150 million available for letters of credit.

46

Table of Contents

On February 21, 2025, we borrowed $2.0 billion under the Term Loan Facility. We used a portion of the proceeds of the borrowing to make a net distribution payment of approximately $1.5 billion to WDC, with the remainder to be used for general corporate purposes. The proceeds of the Revolving Credit Facility may be used for working capital and general corporate purposes.

As of June 27, 2025, we have drawn no amounts under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Operational Update

In 2025, we generally saw an improvement in the supply and demand dynamics, leading to improved revenues and gross margin in fiscal 2025 compared to 2024. As part of our actions to align supply with market demand in the later half of fiscal 2025, we incurred charges for unabsorbed manufacturing overhead costs due to reduced utilization of our manufacturing capacity totaling $75 million, and we anticipate incurring some underutilization charges as we moderate production levels to align with demand for our products in the first quarter of 2026.

Additionally, in 2025, the U.S. announced changes to U.S. trade policy, including increased tariffs on imported goods. Currently, the majority of our products sold in the U.S. are exempt from tariffs, but additional tariff increases, or the loss of applicable exemptions would increase the cost of goods sold for our products sold in the U.S., which could negatively impact our margins and financial performance. Increases in the price of our products in response to increased costs may adversely impact demand for those products in the U.S., which could also negatively impact our performance and financial results. Future trade policies and regulations in the U.S. and other countries, the terms of any trade arrangements that may be negotiated between the U.S. and other countries, the scope, amount, or duration of tariffs th

[Excerpt truncated for page length; the complete text is on the linked full-MD&A page.]