SanDisk 1Q Sales Miss Expectations on Soft Demand

Shares of SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) were down 9% a day after the company preliminarily reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter sales on soft demand and lower prices.

The Milpitas, Calif.-based company posted $1.2 billion in sales during the period ended April 1, which is down from its earlier expected revenue range of $1.3 billion to $1.35 billion, and below average analyst estimates of $1.34 billion in a Thomson Reuters poll.

The maker of USB drives and flash memory cards for smartphones and tablets expects total gross margin to be below the earlier range of 39% to 42%. The company will release a full earnings report on April 19.

Shares of SanDisk had been up 10% over the last 12-month period before the earnings preview shot them down 7.1% after Tuesday’s close. They fell another 9% on Wednesday.

In its fourth quarter, SanDisk reported a 19% jump in sales, but said weaker demand from handset makers would hurt results in the first quarter. The company also blamed mobile weakness.