FN vs SANM: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: SANM is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. FN and SANM share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined FN and SANM exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Fabrinet is an outsourced manufacturing partner for companies that design complex optical and electro-mechanical products but do not want to build them. Its plants, concentrated in Thailand with additional sites in the United States, Israel, China and the United Kingdom, handle optical packaging, precision assembly and test for transceivers, lasers, sensors and interconnect modules. Customers are the optical component and networking vendors themselves, so Fabrinet's revenue tracks the aggregate volume shipped across the industry rather than the market share of any one designer. Recent annual filings have named Nvidia and Cisco among the customers exceeding 10% of revenue, and roughly 16,500 employees support the operation. The company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, files with the SEC as a domestic filer and has traded on the NYSE since its 2010 IPO.

Full FN guide

Sanmina Corporation, founded in Silicon Valley in 1980 and headquartered in San Jose, California, is a Fortune 500 global provider of integrated manufacturing solutions, components, and repair, logistics and after-market services. It serves original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) across industrial and energy, medical, defense and aerospace, automotive, communications networks, and cloud and AI infrastructure, running two businesses: Integrated Manufacturing Solutions and Components, Products and Services. It employs roughly 35,000 people and serves customers from around 20 countries.

Full SANM guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• FN drivers: Data center interconnect and telecom acceleration; Capacity is the constraint being removed.
• SANM drivers: AI and cloud infrastructure ramp; AMD partnership and preferred-manufacturer status.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Customer concentration is the structural weak point: a small set of customers each exceed 10% of revenue, and an insourcing decision or a design loss at one of them removes volume Fabrinet cannot easily replace. For SANM, sanmina operates on thin EMS margins (non-GAAP operating margin around 6%), so small execution errors or pricing pressure can meaningfully affect profits.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick FN if you believe its drivers more; SANM if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the FN and SANM guides.

FN. Fabrinet trades at a software-adjacent multiple on hardware-assembly economics, which only reconciles if volume keeps compounding at the current rate. Fiscal Q4 guidance of roughly $1.25 billion to $1.29 billion implies about 40% year-over-year growth at the midpoint, and results are due around August 17, 2026. The forward multiple near 34 times already prices a good deal of that in.

SANM. Revenue and earnings stepped up sharply after the ZT Systems acquisition closed in late 2025, roughly doubling quarterly sales. The stock trades at a large premium to its roughly 15x ten-year average P/E, reflecting AI-driven enthusiasm, so much of the future growth appears to be priced in.

Headline figures (approximate, August 2026): FN shows revenue (ttm) ~$4.24 billion (up ~30% YoY), fiscal q3 2026 revenue ~$1.214 billion (up ~39% YoY, a record), net income (ttm) ~$421 million, EPS ~$11.64, market cap / p/e ~$20.2 billion, ~48x trailing and ~34x forward; SANM shows revenue (fy2026 guidance) ~$13.7B to $14.3B, q2 fy2026 revenue ~$4.0B (up ~102% YoY), fy2025 revenue ~$8.1B, non-gaap eps (fy2026 guidance) ~$10.75 to $11.35.

FN and SANM are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined FN and SANM exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.