Micron, Intel, and Sandisk Are the Best-Performing S&P 500 Stocks This Year. Which Is the Best Buy Now?

The top three performing stocks in the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) for the first half of 2026 were Sandisk (NASDAQ: SNDK), Micron (NASDAQ: MU), and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), in that order. Although the market had a weak day on July 1, at the end of the first half of 2026 on June 30, Sandisk was up about 860%, Micron was up roughly 304%, and Intel was a bit less, at 278%. Regardless, those are incredible six-month returns, and any investor would be happy to have owned them.

However, the first half of 2026 is over, and investors can't go back and take a position in these stellar stocks. Instead, we must look forward and determine whether these stocks have had their run and it's time to sell, or if they can continue their momentum throughout the rest of 2026. Let's take a look at all three and determine which has the best chance at going higher in the second half of 2026.

Image source: Getty Images.

What caused each stock to rise so much in 2026?

First, let's take a look at why these stocks rose so much. That will help determine if there's more room ahead or if the catalyst has played out.

Both Micron and Sandisk operate in the memory chip market. This has been a great industry to be involved in, as a lack of memory chips has caused prices to skyrocket, boosting Sandisk's and Micron's revenue and profits. The artificial intelligence (AI) data center build-out is the cause of the shortage. With several projections pointing toward 2030 as the year when data center build-outs may slow, the future looks bright for these two stocks. Micron recently reported earnings and told investors that it expects the memory chip market to stay "tight" beyond 2027, so the near future is secure for these two stocks.

Intel is also somewhat involved in the AI data center build-out, although to a far lesser degree than Micron, Sandisk, and some of its peers. The reality is that Intel fell behind other competitors in the chip foundry realm, and that side of its business has been struggling. However, after key investments from the U.S. government and others, Intel may have turned the corner, with its biggest breakthrough yet coming just a few weeks ago. President Donald Trump announced that Apple had reached a deal to use Intel as a second chip supplier, which would be a huge customer win for Intel. That shows signs of a turnaround for Intel, but does that make it a great stock to buy now?

Some of these stocks are still cheap despite their run-up

After major runs like these three have gone on, investors must take a look at valuation to see if these stocks have gotten unreasonably rich after their big run-up. With how fast Micron and Sandisk are growing, using the forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is a great way to value the stocks.

From this standpoint, Intel looks greatly overvalued, while Micron and Sandisk aren't too expensive.

MU PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts

That chart tells me everything I need to know about Intel's stock. Even if you utilize 2027's projections for it, it still trades at 90 times forward earnings. There's a lot of growth already baked into Intel's stock that it hasn't achieved, where Micron and Sandisk are trading below the valuation of the S&P 500, or about 21.5 times forward earnings.

Micron and Sandisk trail that premium mainly because the market is worried about the cyclical nature of the memory chip industry, which tends to boom followed by busts. However, with tight supply likely for at least another year and a half, I think both of these can go higher. But which is the better buy of the two? It's likely a toss-up, but with Wall Street analysts estimating more than 200% growth for the current fiscal year for Micron, I'll choose it, although Sandisk's stock is still a smart buy.

Keithen Drury has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Intel, and Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.