Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
Apr. 03, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure	Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Organization These interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are unaudited but reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments and accruals, necessary to present fairly the financial position of SanDisk Corporation and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of April 3, 2016, the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income and the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended April 3, 2016 and March 29, 2015. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with United States (“U.S.”) generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) have been omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10‑K filed with the SEC on February 12, 2016. The results of operations for the three months ended April 3, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire year. Basis of Presentation. The Company’s fiscal year ends on the Sunday closest to December 31 and its fiscal quarters generally consist of 13 weeks. Fiscal year 2016 will include 52 weeks, while fiscal year 2015 included 53 weeks with 14 weeks in the fourth fiscal quarter. The first quarters of fiscal years 2016 and 2015 ended on April 3, 2016 and March 29, 2015, respectively. For accounting and disclosure purposes, the exchange rates of 112.10, 120.29 and 119.01 at April 3, 2016, January 3, 2016 and March 29, 2015, respectively, were used to convert Japanese yen to the U.S. dollar. Throughout the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, unless otherwise indicated, references to Net income refer to Net income attributable to common stockholders, references to years or annual periods are references to fiscal years, and references to quarters are references to our fiscal quarters. Pending Acquisition by Western Digital Corporation. On October 21, 2015, the Company entered into a definitive agreement under which Western Digital Corporation (“Western Digital”) will acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company for a combination of cash and stock. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors and stockholders of both companies. In the merger, each issued and outstanding share of common stock of the Company will be converted into the right to receive $67.50 and 0.2387 shares of Western Digital common stock, subject to reallocation (the ‘‘Per Share Merger Consideration’’). The above allocation between cash and shares of Western Digital common stock is subject to reallocation, at Western Digital’s election, if the amount of cash that the Company has available for use in the U.S. without payment of withholding or U.S. income taxes on the closing date of the merger falls short of a target cash amount of $4.049 billion, if the closing of the merger occurs before June 30, 2016, or $4.139 billion, if the closing occurs on or after June 30, 2016 (the “Closing Cash Shortfall’’). If Western Digital so elects, the cash portion of the Per Share Merger Consideration will be reduced by the Closing Cash Shortfall, divided by the number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding as of the closing date of the merger (the ‘‘Per Share Cash Reduction Amount’’), and Western Digital common stock portion of the Per Share Merger Consideration will be correspondingly increased by a number of shares of Western Digital common stock equal to the Per Share Cash Reduction Amount divided by $79.5957. The treatment of Company stock options under the merger agreement with Western Digital will vary depending on whether the exercise price of such options exceeds the value of the Per Share Merger Consideration as of the closing date of the merger (the ‘‘Closing Merger Consideration Value’’), determined by the sum of (i) the cash portion of the applicable Per Share Merger Consideration and (ii) the value of the Western Digital common stock portion of the Per Share Merger Consideration based on the volume weighted-average trading price of the Western Digital common stock over the five trading days preceding the closing date. Under the merger agreement with Western Digital, Western Digital will assume all unvested and outstanding Company stock options, all unvested restricted stock units and all vested and outstanding Company stock options with a per share exercise price that is greater than or equal to the Closing Merger Consideration Value held by employees immediately prior to the closing of the merger. All such stock options and restricted stock units will be converted into Western Digital stock options and restricted stock units, respectively, pursuant to the exchange ratio set forth in the merger agreement, and subject to the same vesting schedule (including any acceleration of vesting) as such stock options and restricted stock units had prior to being converted. Upon exercise or vesting after the closing date, respectively, such stock options and restricted stock units will entitle the holder to receive shares of Western Digital common stock. All vested Company stock options with an exercise price less than the Closing Merger Consideration Value, and all vested restricted stock units, after giving effect to any acceleration, will be canceled at the effective time of the merger in exchange for the Per Share Merger Consideration, reduced by the applicable exercise price with respect to Company stock options (with the exercise price first applied against the stock portion of the Per Share Merger Consideration). The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The merger agreement contains certain termination rights for the Company and Western Digital that will require Western Digital to pay a termination fee to the Company of approximately $1.060 billion if the merger is terminated due to failure to obtain certain required U.S. or foreign antitrust clearances, as described in the merger agreement. In addition, if the merger agreement is terminated under other specific circumstances as described in the merger agreement, Western Digital or the Company may be required to pay the other party approximately $553 million. In the first quarter of 2016, both the Company’s and Western Digital’s stockholders have approved the merger. In addition, the merger has received regulatory approval in all required jurisdictions except for China. The chief executive officer of the Company, Sanjay Mehrotra, will be appointed to the board of directors of Western Digital at the effective time of the merger. See Note 7, “Financing Arrangements,” for discussion of the treatment of the Company’s 1.5% Convertible Senior Notes due 2017 and the Company’s 0.5% Convertible Senior Notes due 2020 (collectively, the “Notes”) in connection with the pending acquisition of SanDisk by Western Digital. The Company has filed with the SEC a joint proxy statement/prospectus in connection with the proposed merger on February 5, 2016, which includes the merger agreement. The joint proxy statement/prospectus has been mailed to the stockholders of the Company and Western Digital. Investors are urged to read the joint proxy statement/prospectus, including the merger agreement, and any other relevant documents that will be filed with the SEC carefully and in their entirety when they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed merger. The transaction is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2016. The pending acquisition of SanDisk by Western Digital does not impact the basis of presentation in the accompanying financial statements. Following completion of the merger, the Company will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western Digital, the Company’s common stock will be delisted from The NASDAQ Stock Market and deregistered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as such, the Company will no longer file periodic reports with the SEC. Organization and Nature of Operations. The Company was incorporated in the State of Delaware on June 1, 1988. The Company designs, develops, markets and manufactures data storage solutions in a variety of form factors using its flash memory, controller and firmware and software technologies. The Company operates in one segment, flash memory storage products. Principles of Consolidation. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Non-controlling interest represents the minority stockholders’ proportionate share of the net assets and results of operations of the Company’s majority-owned subsidiaries. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements also include the results of companies acquired by the Company from the date of each acquisition. Use of Estimates. The preparation of Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. The estimates and judgments affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and related disclosure of contingent liabilities. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to customer programs and incentives, product returns, allowance for doubtful accounts, inventories and inventory valuation, valuation and impairments of marketable securities and investments, valuation and impairments of goodwill and long-lived assets, intellectual property (“IP”) claims, income taxes, warranty obligations, restructurings, contingencies, share-based compensation and litigation. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on other assumptions that its management believes are reasonable under the circumstances. These estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities when those values are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could materially differ from these estimates.

Organization and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Organization

These interim Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements are unaudited but reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments and accruals, necessary to present fairly the financial position of SanDisk Corporation and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of April 3, 2016, the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income and the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended April 3, 2016 and March 29, 2015. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with United States (“U.S.”) generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) have been omitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with the audited Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10‑K filed with the SEC on February 12, 2016. The results of operations for the three months ended April 3, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the entire year.

Basis of Presentation. The Company’s fiscal year ends on the Sunday closest to December 31 and its fiscal quarters generally consist of 13 weeks. Fiscal year 2016 will include 52 weeks, while fiscal year 2015 included 53 weeks with 14 weeks in the fourth fiscal quarter. The first quarters of fiscal years 2016 and 2015 ended on April 3, 2016 and March 29, 2015, respectively. For accounting and disclosure purposes, the exchange rates of 112.10, 120.29 and 119.01 at April 3, 2016, January 3, 2016 and March 29, 2015, respectively, were used to convert Japanese yen to the U.S. dollar. Throughout the Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements, unless otherwise indicated, references to Net income refer to Net income attributable to common stockholders, references to years or annual periods are references to fiscal years, and references to quarters are references to our fiscal quarters.

Pending Acquisition by Western Digital Corporation. On October 21, 2015, the Company entered into a definitive agreement under which Western Digital Corporation (“Western Digital”) will acquire all of the outstanding shares of the Company for a combination of cash and stock. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors and stockholders of both companies.

In the merger, each issued and outstanding share of common stock of the Company will be converted into the right to receive $67.50 and 0.2387 shares of Western Digital common stock, subject to reallocation (the ‘‘Per Share Merger Consideration’’).

The above allocation between cash and shares of Western Digital common stock is subject to reallocation, at Western Digital’s election, if the amount of cash that the Company has available for use in the U.S. without payment of withholding or U.S. income taxes on the closing date of the merger falls short of a target cash amount of $4.049 billion, if the closing of the merger occurs before June 30, 2016, or $4.139 billion, if the closing occurs on or after June 30, 2016 (the “Closing Cash Shortfall’’). If Western Digital so elects, the cash portion of the Per Share Merger Consideration will be reduced by the Closing Cash Shortfall, divided by the number of shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding as of the closing date of the merger (the ‘‘Per Share Cash Reduction Amount’’), and Western Digital common stock portion of the Per Share Merger Consideration will be correspondingly increased by a number of shares of Western Digital common stock equal to the Per Share Cash Reduction Amount divided by $79.5957.

The treatment of Company stock options under the merger agreement with Western Digital will vary depending on whether the exercise price of such options exceeds the value of the Per Share Merger Consideration as of the closing date of the merger (the ‘‘Closing Merger Consideration Value’’), determined by the sum of (i) the cash portion of the applicable Per Share Merger Consideration and (ii) the value of the Western Digital common stock portion of the Per Share Merger Consideration based on the volume weighted-average trading price of the Western Digital common stock over the five trading days preceding the closing date.

Under the merger agreement with Western Digital, Western Digital will assume all unvested and outstanding Company stock options, all unvested restricted stock units and all vested and outstanding Company stock options with a per share exercise price that is greater than or equal to the Closing Merger Consideration Value held by employees immediately prior to the closing of the merger. All such stock options and restricted stock units will be converted into Western Digital stock options and restricted stock units, respectively, pursuant to the exchange ratio set forth in the merger agreement, and subject to the same vesting schedule (including any acceleration of vesting) as such stock options and restricted stock units had prior to being converted. Upon exercise or vesting after the closing date, respectively, such stock options and restricted stock units will entitle the holder to receive shares of Western Digital common stock.

All vested Company stock options with an exercise price less than the Closing Merger Consideration Value, and all vested restricted stock units, after giving effect to any acceleration, will be canceled at the effective time of the merger in exchange for the Per Share Merger Consideration, reduced by the applicable exercise price with respect to Company stock options (with the exercise price first applied against the stock portion of the Per Share Merger Consideration).

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The merger agreement contains certain termination rights for the Company and Western Digital that will require Western Digital to pay a termination fee to the Company of approximately $1.060 billion if the merger is terminated due to failure to obtain certain required U.S. or foreign antitrust clearances, as described in the merger agreement. In addition, if the merger agreement is terminated under other specific circumstances as described in the merger agreement, Western Digital or the Company may be required to pay the other party approximately $553 million. In the first quarter of 2016, both the Company’s and Western Digital’s stockholders have approved the merger. In addition, the merger has received regulatory approval in all required jurisdictions except for China. The chief executive officer of the Company, Sanjay Mehrotra, will be appointed to the board of directors of Western Digital at the effective time of the merger.

See Note 7, “Financing Arrangements,” for discussion of the treatment of the Company’s 1.5% Convertible Senior Notes due 2017 and the Company’s 0.5% Convertible Senior Notes due 2020 (collectively, the “Notes”) in connection with the pending acquisition of SanDisk by Western Digital.

The Company has filed with the SEC a joint proxy statement/prospectus in connection with the proposed merger on February 5, 2016, which includes the merger agreement. The joint proxy statement/prospectus has been mailed to the stockholders of the Company and Western Digital. Investors are urged to read the joint proxy statement/prospectus, including the merger agreement, and any other relevant documents that will be filed with the SEC carefully and in their entirety when they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed merger.

The transaction is expected to close in the second calendar quarter of 2016. The pending acquisition of SanDisk by Western Digital does not impact the basis of presentation in the accompanying financial statements. Following completion of the merger, the Company will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western Digital, the Company’s common stock will be delisted from The NASDAQ Stock Market and deregistered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as such, the Company will no longer file periodic reports with the SEC.

Organization and Nature of Operations. The Company was incorporated in the State of Delaware on June 1, 1988. The Company designs, develops, markets and manufactures data storage solutions in a variety of form factors using its flash memory, controller and firmware and software technologies. The Company operates in one segment, flash memory storage products.

Principles of Consolidation. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company and its majority-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. Non-controlling interest represents the minority stockholders’ proportionate share of the net assets and results of operations of the Company’s majority-owned subsidiaries. The Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements also include the results of companies acquired by the Company from the date of each acquisition.

Use of Estimates. The preparation of Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes. The estimates and judgments affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and related disclosure of contingent liabilities. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, including those related to customer programs and incentives, product returns, allowance for doubtful accounts, inventories and inventory valuation, valuation and impairments of marketable securities and investments, valuation and impairments of goodwill and long-lived assets, intellectual property (“IP”) claims, income taxes, warranty obligations, restructurings, contingencies, share-based compensation and litigation. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on other assumptions that its management believes are reasonable under the circumstances. These estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities when those values are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results could materially differ from these estimates.