Micron, Sandisk, and Intel Have Dominated 2026. Which Is the Best Buy Now?

If you bought shares of Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK), Micron (NASDAQ: MU), and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) at the start of 2026, you're a happy investor. The stocks are all up an incredible amount, with Intel coming in last place with 148% gains, Micron in the middle at about 220%, and Sandisk leading the way with about a 500% increase. But there could be more upside in store for some of these stocks.

So, which one makes for the best buy now? Let's find out.

Image source: Getty Images.

Sandisk and Micron are benefiting from a similar story

Both Sandisk and Micron are memory chip companies and operate similar businesses. Micron makes both NAND and DRAM memory, with NAND being used for long-term information storage while DRAM memory is used inside computing units for rapid memory access. Sandisk focuses solely on NAND memory and also manufactures several types of storage devices, like solid-state drives (SSDs).

There is a huge demand for both NAND and DRAM memory thanks to the AI data-center build-out, and memory chips have quickly become the No. 1 bottleneck. This has caused prices to skyrocket during the past year, leading to huge revenue and profit growth for Sandisk and Micron.

MU Revenue (Quarterly YoY Growth) data by YCharts

This effect isn't expected to conclude any time soon, as Micron has told investors it expects the tightness in the memory chip industry to persist beyond 2027. That bodes well for both of these stocks and indicates that they could continue climbing throughout the rest of this year and well into next.

So, just because these two are the top performers of the trio doesn't mean that they can't go higher.

Intel's turnaround is complete, according to the market

Intel is a completely different investment from the other two. Intel is undergoing a turnaround, as its process and foundry business have been on a major decline since 2022.

INTC Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts

There has been speculation for years that Intel is shutting its foundry business, at least until the U.S. government stepped in with an investment, and then Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) followed suit and invested as well. This brought new capital to the foundry business, and it has found a new client: Apple. According to a post from President Donald Trump, Apple has agreed to use some of Intel's foundry capacity, bringing a much-needed client to Intel. Apple is a major, recognizable name in the sector, and if it believes Intel can produce what it wants, then other clients may be attracted to Intel's foundry services as well.

However, with the stock rebounding throughout the year, it's clear that the market has bought into the hype despite the business still struggling. This makes me a bit cautious, as Intel still has to execute on its turnaround even if the stock is already priced as if it has occurred. This is part of the reason Intel trades for 82 times forward earnings, which prices in some execution risk.

Which is the best buy now?

Because Intel's stock has had a major move without much business success, I think it's easily in third place among this trio. As for Micron and Sandisk, it's splitting hairs. Both of these companies are benefiting from huge tailwinds and will likely crush the market during the next few years. Between the two, I'll take Sandisk, only because Wall Street analysts project 154% revenue growth for fiscal year 2027 (ending in June). They still expect a rapid 84% growth rate for Micron, but it just isn't enough to compete with Sandisk.

Sandisk and Micron are still solid picks right now, but I'm hesitant to recommend Intel, as it has moved a ton without a lot to show for it.

Keithen Drury has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Intel, Micron Technology, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.