3 Growth Stocks to Buy Instead of SpaceX

The article highlights three AI data-center suppliers with strong growth: Sandisk reported 372% year-over-year revenue growth in fiscal Q4 2026, has sold out half of fiscal 2027 capacity and two-thirds of fiscal 2028 capacity, and reported $6.9 billion in net income versus a $23 million loss a year earlier. MaxLinear’s data-center infrastructure revenue rose 145% year over year, while its Q3 revenue guidance implies up to $220 million; nVent’s Q2 revenue increased 53%, operating income rose 92%, and it raised full-year sales and EPS guidance. The article presents the stocks as growth opportunities, while noting Sandisk’s low 8 forward P/E and describing MaxLinear’s roughly 30 P/E and nVent’s $2.5 billion backlog.

Analysis

The investable signal is AI infrastructure spending migrating from accelerator availability to memory bandwidth, optical interconnects and thermal management. That broadens the beneficiary set, but these names have different cycle risks: Sandisk is most exposed to NAND pricing and supply discipline; MaxLinear to converting a concentrated, fast-growing data-center opportunity into durable earnings; nVent to executing capacity additions and converting backlog into revenue. The article’s headline growth and valuation comparisons are not enough to establish normalized earnings power—especially for a memory supplier, where peak-cycle profits can make forward P/E look deceptively low. Treat multi-year customer commitments as useful visibility, not proof of fixed pricing or take-or-pay protection.

Over the next 1–3 months, guidance, order conversion and gross-margin trends matter more than thematic announcements. Over 6–18 months, continued AI buildout could support optical and cooling demand, while a pause in hyperscaler capex or faster supply response would expose all three to multiple compression. nVent’s new facility adds execution and utilization risk if demand timing slips. MaxLinear’s growth expectations also require verification against customer concentration and the durability of sequential orders. SpaceX’s valuation and a satellite launch involving Alphabet chips do not establish material revenue exposure for GOOG or the infrastructure suppliers; do not buy those names on that association.

Contrarian angle: the market may be pricing “AI infrastructure” as one trade, overlooking distinct bottlenecks and earnings cyclicality. Prefer evidence of backlog conversion and sustained margins over headline growth. No reliable price levels or consensus estimates are provided, so entries should be triggered by reported metrics rather than invented targets.

Key Decisions for Investors

• SNDK: Avoid extrapolating peak-cycle earnings from a low forward P/E. Consider a staged position only if upcoming results confirm that contracted capacity translates into realized pricing and cash generation; reduce exposure if NAND pricing weakens or inventory/supply expands faster than demand.
• MXL: Keep on an earnings-momentum watchlist; initiate only after another quarter validates data-center growth and margin conversion. Falsifiers are sequential revenue deceleration, customer/order concentration becoming evident, or guidance that falls short of the implied growth trajectory.
• NVT: Prefer as the comparatively diversified execution exposure, but monitor facility ramp, backlog conversion and operating margins rather than treating backlog as guaranteed sales. Reassess if orders soften or new capacity weighs on returns before demand arrives.
• Avoid using SPCX or GOOG as proxies for these suppliers based on the satellite-chip reference. Verify any direct commercial revenue contribution before assigning valuation or earnings impact.