The memory trade is faltering as Western Digital’s stock slides in the face of earnings beat

western digital shares slid even after the company beat earnings estimates. sandisk, which recently split from western digital, also reported strong numbers. but investors weren't impressed — both stocks had already rallied hard over the past year, and the market seems to think the good news was priced in. the memory chip business, which boomed during the pandemic, has been cooling. western digital's earnings beat wasn't enough to reverse the slide. the stock fell sharply in after-hours trading, wiping out some of its recent gains. sandisk followed a similar pattern.