A：Sandisk's strategic position for future growth and shareholder returns is underpinned by technology leadership, long-term customer partnerships, financial flexibility, and operational capabilities.

A：The era of inference is influencing Sandisk's business by creating new data storage requirements due to the scale of data generated by AI interactions, which necessitates high capacity enterprise SSDs.

A：Sandisk's technology leadership is crucial as it enables the company to capture the opportunity presented by the shift towards inference and AI, with B becoming an industry gold standard for NAND.

A：Customer adoption across end markets is contributing to Sandisk's success by scaling their products like TLC enterprise SSDs and introducing QLC Stargate for revenue, resulting in a diverse portfolio and growth in the data center sector.

A：The edge market is significant for Sandisk as it spans various devices and applications, including smartphones, PCs, tablets, and emerging use cases for AI, and is expected to expand with richer content and new form factors.

A：Sandisk manages the entire value chain from design to final assembly and test, leveraging end-to-end integration, proprietary systems expertise, and the optionality to direct technology where it adds the most value.

A：The transformational nature of fiscal year 2026 for Sandisk is indicated by the strengthening of long-term partnerships, growth in revenue, margins, and NVMs with diverse data center and edge customers.

A：The new business models (NVMs) reflect Sandisk's strategic partnerships through long-term agreements with customers that demonstrate their demand for the company's technology and products.

A：The weighting of NVMs, which are expected to represent more than 50% of debt in fiscal year 2027 and approximately two-thirds of bits in fiscal year 2028, indicates a positive influence on future financial performance.

A：The minimum expected revenue from all signed MDMs is a total of at least ly ly billion dollars.

A：The financial guarantees for the non-Nbm business are made up of cash deposits and financial instruments, amounting to a total of 16.5 billion, which are held or provided through third-party financial institutions.

A：The company will remain selective in evaluating new non-Nbm business opportunities, focusing on strategic customers, product value, contract duration of around Ed years, growing volume requirements, and attractive financials that enable investment in the business and a sustainable return for shareholders.

A：Revenue for the fourth quarter grew by 51% sequentially and was within the range provided in the prior earnings call, with data center revenue reaching $2000.977 million, edge revenue reaching $5000.432 million, and consumer revenue decreasing by ly ly dollars.

A：The non-GAAP gross margin for the fourth quarter was 34.6%, and the non-GAAP operating margin was 79.2%, both of which compare favorably with the prior quarter's figures.

A：The investment in 9 year led to a gain of $807 million, and there was also a stock-based compensation expense of $67 million and a tax benefit of $175 million related to higher stock prices on vested employee equity.

A：During the quarter, the company repurchased 25 million shares of its common stock for $4.5 billion.

A：The company expects the MDM market to approach $500 billion in revenue by calendar year 2027, with the data center share of total MDM expanding from approximately ly to see.

A：For the first quarter of fiscal year 2027, the company expects revenue between $10.3 and $10.8 billion, with sequential growth driven by bid growth and higher pricing. They expect non-GAAP gross margins between Ed and Ed, non-GAAP operating expenses between $520 million and $5 million, and first quarter non-GAAP EPS between 44 and $46, assuming 15 million fully diluted shares.

A：The company's priority is to invest in the business to support long-term growth and durability and continue returning cash to shareholders. The Board of Directors has authorized an additional $14 billion for future investments.

A：The company plans to walk into the buyback program for their second authorization. They had a $6 billion authorization, executed $4.5 billion in the first quarter, and reauthorized another $14 billion. They expect to be very consistent in their execution of this program, showing confidence in the cash generation of the portfolio.

A：The company expects the margins for the new business models to be around 80%, with some upside potential as prices continue to go up. They are confident about the work done and are ramping up shareholder returns.

A：One third of the growth came from incremental base and two thirds from pricing in Q4. The company experienced strong results and is ramping up shareholder returns. In Q1, both base growth and modest price increases are expected to contribute to revenue growth.

A：The company's strategy is to stay very close to customers, as they define the future. By working closely with them, the company can align with their needs and deployment architecture changes. This approach keeps the company well-informed about future product requirements and allows for a clear roadmap. Discussions at the recent FMS event and the interest shown by significant customers are positive indicators for the future prospects in edge computing and AI data centers.

A：The HBF product was announced almost a year and a half ago and was designed to address the need for a different storage and memory architecture for inference. The company feels good about the progress of the product and will provide more information about it next week. There have been deep conversations with customers, and significant customer interest was shown at the recent FMS event.

A：The speaker's company is willing to sign deals with companies that are highly strategic, value their products, create amazing products, are looking at several years of agreement with year-over-year growth, and have attractive financials.

A：The company has committed over 50% of its supply for the fiscal year 27, which is already under way, and understands the financials and the mix. For the next fiscal year, roughly two-thirds of the supply is already committed. The company has made incredible progress, increased visibility from three months to over four years of committed financials, and understands the mix of products with which they are working.

A：The company feels good about its demand environment and customer relationships because some of its biggest customers are already coming back and wanting more than they initially thought they needed. There is a very robust demand environment, especially in the data center, and they are in deep conversations with additional customers.

A：The company's priority regarding capital allocation is to continue investing in the business, maintain robustness and availability over time, and return cash to shareholders. They believe returning cash to investors via share buybacks is the best way to do it and will continue executing on this priority.

A：The speaker is confident in the durability of the semiconductor cycle and the company's position within it because they have a fair return-focused model, aim for increased visibility and durability of the franchise, focus on getting a fair return for their product (mid Eds gross margin), and have put a contractual structure in place that aligns incentives. They have customers making financial commitments which, if not followed through, could result in significant financial benefits for the company. The speaker believes in the consistency and strength of their customer relationships and the overall demand environment, which contributes to a durable and elongated cycle.

A：The company believes it has successfully pivoted to become a highly strategic supplier to its customers, with their demand continuing to grow. They have customers returning for additional rounds of products, indicating a strong, long-term franchise setup and extremely attractive economics.

A：The company continues to be committed to growing within the range of bid mid to high teens. As they transition from one node to another in technology, they first focus on the cheapest transitions and then proceed to more expensive ones. They have been efficient in reusing tools from prior years, which has allowed them to execute their plan effectively and sustainably.

A：The company expects to build a little bit of inventory to ensure consistent delivery and to maintain the mid to high teens growth rate. As a result, the growth numbers for 2027 may be a bit lower compared to the previous year.

A：Consumer revenue has seen some decline, and pricing and consumer demand are difficult to adjust swiftly in the current market conditions. The company is carefully managing where to find the right equilibrium point for pricing and product shipment in the consumer market, which is a longer process compared to other markets.

A：The company is confident about the demand from its customers for NBN, as evidenced by their increased demand a few months after they made their commitment. The company believes the numbers they are signing are conservative and that demand is solid, with customers increasing their numbers as they come in.

A：The company acknowledges that industry supply and demand converge naturally over time, but the question of when it will increase to meet everyone's expectations at the industry level is much more complex. The focus is on aligning supply and demand between customers and suppliers rather than matching industry-wide figures.

A：The company's strategy is to follow its customers and focus on creating economic models that match their demands. It has established relationships with eight large customers who provide visibility into their demand. The company is making significant progress in aligning with customer needs and expects to continue discussions that inform their investment decisions.

A：The company anticipates that the smartphone market will see average capacity up significantly due to the mid-teens growth, whereas the PC market is expected to remain flat. For the next year, both markets are forecasted to have units flattening out while average capacities continue to increase. The overall market is adjusting to current realities and is expected to return to exabyte growth. As for the NAND market adjustment, the company views it as a positive development, happening quite quickly.

A：The company believes that its new business models are not driving changes in gross margins, as they are good-margin deals. The expansion of gross margins has been consistent, starting from 22.7% to 86.5% over the last few quarters. The company asserts that it is driving gross margins and considers it a crucial metric for financial health.

A：The company believes the right guidance for gross margins is between 83% and 85%, which is a slight change from where they were printed in the last quarter. This adjustment is attributed to factors such as product mix, high-end assumptions, and prudent assumptions on component costs. The company feels confident that it is driving gross margins.

A：The company intends to grow with the market and work on pricing, predictability, and duration to increase visibility. There is robust demand forecasted through the end of the decade, with customers signaling demand for the entire decade. The company aims to grow in line with the industry while achieving market leading profitability and driving business growth.

A：The company is planning to carry more inventory as they enter the new business model, which is expected to impact near-term growth. Nonetheless, there is a very robust market which provides an opportunity to drive more profitability and extend the duration of visibility. The increased inventory levels are a part of the strategy to enhance profitability rather than just focusing on growth.

A：The company is continuing to gain traction with AI and 3D NAND and is seeing significant discussions and demand for capital expenditure related to these areas. The dialogue with customers has changed positively, and the company is closely following customer use cases to determine the requirements for 3D NAND. The research in this area is ongoing, and there is a belief that customer needs are driving the market requirements.

A：It's a bit early to discuss pricing on some of the nodes and technologies related to high bandwidth flash. However, the company is proud of the technology and has been in development for a long time. For future growth, the company will rely on technology transitions, which have historically allowed them to grow beyond the market rates. The rate of these transitions can be adjusted, although it requires significant time, and the company always looks at these factors to align with market conditions.