Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 947.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,613 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,268 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,642,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WDC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Western Digital from $540.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $584.00.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Western Digital
Key Western Digital News
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal Q1 2027 adjusted EPS of $4.64, above the roughly $4.09–$4.11 consensus, while revenue rose 55.5% year over year to $4.38 billion. Growth was driven by strong cloud and data-center demand, higher-capacity drives and improved pricing. Western Digital Q1 earnings and revenues beat estimates
Positive Sentiment: Management issued substantially stronger-than-expected fiscal Q2 guidance, calling for revenue of approximately $5.0 billion to $5.2 billion and adjusted EPS of $5.60 to $6.00, versus consensus estimates near $4.5 billion and $4.72, respectively. Western Digital forecasts strong second-quarter growth
Positive Sentiment: AI-related storage demand remains durable, with management citing growing requirements from inference, robotics and long-term data retention. Analysts and industry commentators expect HDDs to remain an important, cost-effective storage layer for data centers, potentially supporting demand visibility into 2030–2031. Western Digital CEO discusses durable AI storage demand
Positive Sentiment: Western Digital generated about $1.38 billion in free cash flow and increased its quarterly dividend 16.7% to $0.175 per share. JPMorgan also raised its price target to $650 and maintained an overweight rating. Western Digital Q1 revenue and dividend update
Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts remained bullish but reduced some price targets, reflecting elevated expectations and uncertainty around the pace of future growth. TD Cowen, for example, lowered its target to $430 while retaining a buy rating; Rosenblatt and Cantor Fitzgerald also cut targets but remained positive.
Negative Sentiment: The stock’s strong results were not enough to overcome a broad sell-off in AI, memory and technology shares. Investors are questioning whether hyperscaler capital spending can remain elevated and whether Western Digital’s unusually strong HDD pricing and margins are sustainable.
Negative Sentiment: Higher planned capital expenditures, possible industry supply increases, inventory concerns and execution risks surrounding the HAMR technology transition are weighing on sentiment. Management also acknowledged that HDD price growth could eventually moderate. Western Digital faces capex and supply concerns
Negative Sentiment: A disclosed insider sale of 807 shares worth approximately $306,660 added a modest sentiment overhang, although it was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan and represented only a small portion of the insider’s holdings. SEC insider transaction filing
Insider Buying and Selling
In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Western Digital Stock Performance
Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $343.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $432.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $479.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $121.85 and a 52 week high of $799.87.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 56.91% and a net margin of 69.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.69 EPS for the current year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.1750 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 2.48%.
Western Digital Company Profile
(Free Report)
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.
The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.
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Western Digital (WDC -2.97%) gave investors almost everything they could've asked for on Thursday. The hard drive maker's revenue in its fiscal first quarter of 2027 (the period ending Oct. 2, 2026) jumped 55% year over year to $4.38 billion. The company also boosted its dividend 17%, and its non-GAAP (adjusted) earnings per share climbed 161%. The revenue number beat the $4.0 billion to $4.2 billion range management had guided for in August.
But shares haven't seen much of a lift. At roughly $353 as of this writing, the stock is worth less than half what it was at its June 18 record close of about $746 -- a drop of about 53%.
Has the stock fallen far enough to make it a buy? I think the answer has less to do with the quarter itself and more to do with how long hard drive prices can keep rising.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Pricing is still speeding upShowing how tight the market for data storage remains, Western Digital's average price per terabyte rose 28% year over year in fiscal Q1, up from growth in the high teens in the previous quarter. Exabytes shipped (a measure of all the storage capacity sold) rose 22%, and management expects this growth to pick up as new, higher-capacity drives ramp up over the next year or so.
More storage sold at higher prices is why revenue growth keeps accelerating, from 44% in the prior quarter to 55% in fiscal Q1.
Management's guidance for the fiscal second quarter calls for even faster growth of 66% to 72%, or around $5.1 billion in revenue at the midpoint. Margins are widening, too. Adjusted gross margin rose to 58.1% in fiscal Q1, up from 54.4% in the prior quarter and 43.9% a year ago, and management expects 60% to 61% in fiscal Q2.
Also, free cash flow more than doubled year over year to $1.38 billion, and much of it went back to shareholders. Western Digital repurchased around $1 billion of its stock in the quarter and boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.175 a share.
Why have shares fallen so far?The slide seems to reflect worry over where hard drive pricing heads next, not the current results. Prices of any storage product can swing sharply when supply catches up to demand.
Shares fell around 10% on Oct. 2 after a report that Toshiba plans to double its capacity to build hard drives for artificial intelligence data centers.
Additionally, when Western Digital reported its fiscal fourth quarter in August, the stock slid around 13% the next day despite 44% revenue growth.
Management pushed back on Thursday's earnings call. CEO Irving Tan said the company has good demand visibility through 2030 and 2031 for its top seven customers. CFO Kris Sennesael said there's "definitely further room" for price-per-terabyte growth in the next three to four quarters. But he also noted that the growth in price per terabyte would probably slow a bit eventually, and that the further out you look, the less of Western Digital's business is covered by pricing terms in its long-term agreements.
Put simply, the company can see demand for years ahead. It can't see the price it'll get for that demand nearly as far out.
Earnings are outrunning the stockThat uncertainty helps explain why the valuation looks so modest. Shares cost around 27 times adjusted earnings over the past four quarters. But annualize the $5.80 midpoint of management's fiscal second-quarter adjusted earnings-per-share guidance, and the price-to-earnings ratio drops to around 15.
$343.67-$10.52 (-2.97%)
NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/23/26
For a company whose adjusted earnings per share more than doubled last quarter, a price-to-earnings multiple of 15 is low. Investors seem to expect today's profits to fade.
Of course, some fade is reasonable to expect. Price per terabyte likely won't keep rising 28% a year forever, and more supply from a rival is one way a pricing boom might end.
In early September, I favored Seagate Technology over Western Digital, mostly because Western Digital hadn't shown how much of its demand past this year was locked in. Thursday's call answered some of that, on demand if not on price. And the stock's more than $100 lower than it was then.
So, is Western Digital stock a buy after its latest report? At around 15 times annualized guided earnings, I think much of the risk of a pricing slowdown is already built into the share price. I'd consider opening a small position here, and I'd want to see price per terabyte keep rising into 2027 before buying more.
The main risk is that hard drive pricing turns earlier than management expects.
Tom Coughlin discusses the greater hard disk drive industry as companies like Micron (MU), Western Digital (WDC), SanDisk (SNDK) and other AI memory chips command price action. He predicts 80% of data center information will be stored via HDD, opening the door for these companies to command the space even more.
Western Digital (WDC) offers a "great window into the AI buildout," says Don Gentile. who believes the company's 50% revenue boost offers a strong bull case for the AI trade.
CEO Irving Tan says demand signals from top customers keep rising
Summary
Western Digital reported non-GAAP EPS of $4.64 on $4.38 billion revenue, with non-GAAP gross margin widening to 58.1% on exabyte growth and better pricing.
Western Digital WDC reported fiscal first-quarter non-GAAP EPS of $4.64, above the analysts' consensus of $4.11, on revenue of $4.38 billion, up 55% from a year earlier and ahead of the $4.14 billion estimate. Western Digital shares fell 2.87% in premarket.
Non-GAAP gross margin widened to 58.1% from 43.9% a year earlier, and non-GAAP operating margin reached 49.1%. CFO Kris Sennesael credited robust exabyte growth and improved pricing. Free cash flow was $1.38 billion, and the company repurchased $1.0 billion of stock in the quarter. It also raised its quarterly dividend 17% to $0.175 per share.
For the fiscal second quarter, Western Digital guided revenue to $5.1 billion, plus or minus $100 million, or growth of 66% to 72% year over year, with non-GAAP gross margin of 60% to 61% and non-GAAP EPS of $5.80, plus or minus $0.20. On the earnings call, CEO Irving Tan said Western Digital has “good visibility up to 2030, 2031” across its top seven customers, and that their demand signal keeps rising quarter after quarter.
Disclosures
I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and have no plans to buy any new positions in the stocks mentioned within the next 72 hours.
Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) expects revenue to rise 66% to 72% year on year in its fiscal second quarter after first-quarter sales climbed 55% to $4.38 billion.
The company forecast second-quarter revenue of $5.1 billion, plus or minus $100 million, as demand for data storage continued to strengthen.
Adjusted gross margin, which measures the proportion of revenue remaining after production costs, is expected to reach 60% to 61%, while adjusted earnings per share are forecast at $5.80, plus or minus 20 cents.
The outlook follows a strong first quarter, with adjusted earnings per share rising 161% year on year to $4.64 for the three months ended October 2.
Western Digital’s reported operating income increased 158% to $2.05 billion, while its gross margin expanded to 57.8% from 43.5% a year earlier.
The data storage company,’s adjusted operating margin, which measures operating profit as a proportion of revenue, reached 49.1%, up from 30.4% in the prior-year quarter.
Cash generated from operations more than doubled to $1.60 billion, while free cash flow, calculated by subtracting capital expenditure from operating cash flow, rose to $1.38 billion from $599 million.
Western Digital also raised its quarterly cash dividend by 17% to $0.175 per share, with payment scheduled for December 17 to shareholders registered on December 4.
Chief executive Irving Tan said robust customer demand and disciplined execution had supported the results as the company progressed through technology transitions to meet growing storage requirements.
The company is positioning its storage business to serve cloud service providers and large-scale data centre operators as demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure expands.
Western Digital ended the quarter with $1.31 billion in cash and cash equivalents, down from $1.58 billion at the end of the previous quarter.
Its results also reflected stronger profitability, with adjusted net income rising to $1.78 billion from $655 million a year earlier.
The second-quarter forecast signals continued momentum, with management expecting higher revenue and improved adjusted gross margins as demand and pricing support financial performance.
Western Digital WDC reported strong fiscal first-quarter results and issued an upbeat outlook as demand for hard disk drives (HDDs) continued to benefit from artificial intelligence infrastructure spending. However, concerns about rising capital expenditure, potential increases in industry supply, and the sustainability of demand prompted mixed reactions from Wall Street analysts.
Key Takeaways WDC's fiscal Q1 2027 earnings of $4.64 per share beat estimates, while revenue surged 55% to $4.38 billion.Cloud revenue rose 54% to $3.9 billion, while gross margin expanded 1,420 bps to 58.1% on pricing gains.WDC expects fiscal Q2 revenue of $5.1 billion and EPS of $5.80, driven by stronger pricing and exabyte growth. Western Digital Corporation (WDC - Free Report) reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 non-GAAP earnings of $4.64 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.09. The bottom line increased 161% year over year and 30% sequentially, exceeding the high end of management’s guidance of $4 (+/- 15 cents).
The company reported quarterly revenue of $4.38 billion, up 55% year over year and 17% sequentially on the back of robust customer demand and favorable pricing trends. The figure beat the consensus mark of $4.16 billion.
Western Digital shipped 248 exabytes in the quarter, up 22% year over year and 8% sequentially. Nearline products remained the primary growth driver as the company advanced its product transitions. WDC is ramping up its latest-generation ePMR drives, with capacities up to 40TB, and plans to introduce HAMR technology in the first half of calendar 2027. These developments are expected to support stronger year-over-year growth in exabyte shipments. Adoption is advancing faster than in previous technology transitions, with WDC expecting the new platform to account for nearly 30% of nearline shipments in the fiscal second quarter and 50% in the fiscal third quarter of 2027.
Western Digital's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 17.5 cents per share, representing a 17% increase from the previous dividend, payable on Dec. 17, 2026, to shareholders of record as of Dec. 4, 2026. The dividend increase highlights the company's financial momentum and its commitment to returning capital to shareholders.
In the past year, shares have gained 173.6% compared with the Zacks Computer-Storage Devices industry’s rise of 178.4%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Quarter in DetailCloud end market revenue reached $3.9 billion (88% of total revenue), rising 54% year over year. Growth was driven by sustained demand for high-capacity nearline HDDs, including the initial ramp-up of its latest ePMR platform. Strong pricing trends further reflect the value and total cost of ownership (TCO) benefits the company offers its customers.
Revenues from the Client end market (7%) were up 119% year over year to $320 million.
Revenues from the Consumer end market (5%) surged 19% year over year to $193 million.
MarginsNon-GAAP gross margin expanded to 58.1%, up 1,420 basis points (bps) year over year with incremental gross margin exceeding 80%. A favorable mix of higher-capacity drives, disciplined operational execution and stronger pricing across its portfolio drove the improvement. The company also reported a 28% year-over-year increase in average price per terabyte, accelerating from the high-teens growth recorded in the previous quarter.
Non-GAAP operating margin rose to 49.1% from 30.4% in the year-ago quarter, highlighting its ability to sustain profitability improvements.
WDC reported non-GAAP operating income of $2.15 billion, up 152% year over year, driven by strong revenue growth, higher gross margins and improved operating leverage.
Balance Sheet & Cash FlowAs of Oct. 2, 2026, cash and cash equivalents were $1.3 billion compared with $1.6 billion reported as of Jul 3, 2026.
WDC ended the quarter with $789 million of debt.
Western Digital generated $1.6 billion in cash from operations compared with $672 million in the prior-year quarter. Free cash flow amounted to $1.4 billion in the quarter under review, up 130%.
WDC returned $1.1 billion to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends, underscoring the sustainability of free cash flow generation and its commitment to creating long-term shareholder value.
WDC's Fiscal Q2 2027 Guidance Signals Continued GrowthWestern Digital expects its strong performance to continue in the second quarter of fiscal 2027, led by robust exabyte growth and improved pricing. At the midpoint of its guidance, the company expects revenue of $5.1 billion (+/- $100 million), representing a sequential increase of approximately 16% and a year-over-year rise of 69%.
Management projects non-GAAP gross margin of 60-61%, fueled by a favorable shift toward higher-capacity drives and a strong pricing environment.
Non-GAAP EPS is expected to reach $5.8 (+/- 20 cents).
WDC expects operating expenses to be between $400 million and $410 million for the fiscal second quarter, reflecting a sequential increase due to higher spending on product qualification activities.
WDC’s Zacks RankCurrently, Western Digital has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC) stock fell in premarket trading Friday after declining more than 6% Thursday, despite the company reporting better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter 2027 earnings and issuing upbeat guidance.
On its first quarter of fiscal 2027 earnings call, held on Oct. 22, 2026, Western Digital (WDC -6.42%) announced revenue grew 55% year over year to $4.4 billion on expanding cloud storage demand. The performance proves that data growth from artificial intelligence requires massive physical storage capacity, giving the business strong pricing power and expanding profit margins. Cash flow generation is allowing management to raise the quarterly dividend while paying down debt. Three takeaways from the call reveal why the business is well positioned over the long term.
Western Digital is boosting storage capacity by moving customers to energy-assisted perpendicular magnetic recording technology (ePMR), which packs more data onto existing disk platters. This transition lets the business deliver higher storage volume without increasing capital expenditures or spending on equipment and facilities to build new factories.
As we ramp production across our next-generation ePMR and HAMR platforms, we expect our exabyte shipments to continue to increase through fiscal 2027 and beyond.
-- Irving Tan, Chief Executive Officer2. Pricing Discipline and Product Upgrades Drive Gross Margin ExpansionBy shipping higher-capacity hard drives and renegotiating long-term customer contracts, Western Digital expanded its gross margin, or the percentage of revenue remaining after direct manufacturing costs, to 58%. Customers pay more per terabyte because denser drives lower power consumption and server floor space costs in data centers.
Gross margin reflects a mix shift toward higher capacity drives, disciplined operational execution and a favorable pricing environment across our portfolio as we continue to deliver greater value to our customers.
-- Kris Sennesael, Chief Financial Officer3. Data Storage Demand Stretches Out to 2030 Across Broadening MarketsCustomer visibility now extends to 2030 as artificial intelligence models create massive volumes of system logs, model outputs, and video data that require permanent storage. Demand is expanding beyond central cloud providers into specialized neoclouds, or cloud providers focused specifically on artificial intelligence workloads, and physical automation systems.
We are increasingly seeing storage demand grow beyond our core cloud and hyperscale customers into enterprise environments and into newer end markets such as neocloud and AI frontier labs, resulting in a larger and more diversified customer base.
-- Irving Tan, Chief Executive OfficerLooking AheadStorage demand is compounding across cloud and enterprise networks, and the resulting tailwind is giving the business rare long-term visibility.
As we look ahead, demand remains robust. Customer engagements continue to deepen and broaden, and our visibility continues to improve.
-- Kris Sennesael, Chief Financial OfficerVertical integration in proprietary drive heads and media gives Western Digital a durable cost advantage while keeping capital intensity low. Management is watching manufacturing execution on next-generation drive qualifications and pricing discipline across long-term customer contracts. Higher areal density delivers lasting cash generation.
In summary, accelerating exabyte growth, technology leadership, expanding margins and disciplined capital allocation provide a solid foundation for sustainable earnings, free-cash-flow growth and long-term shareholder value creation.
-- Kris Sennesael, Chief Financial OfficerThe Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Western Digital. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Stock futures are pointing lower after yesterday's tech sell-off; cell tower stocks are surging after a report that SpaceX aims to secure thousands of cell sites; American Express raised its profit forecast; Western Digital's earnings are failing to lift the stock; and Deckers Outdoor shares are falling after an earnings miss. Here's what you need to know today.
Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 4.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,104 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $20,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Western Digital from $720.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.56.
Get Our Latest Report on Western Digital Key Western Digital News Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal Q1 2027 adjusted earnings of $4.64 per share, above the roughly $4.09–$4.11 consensus, while revenue reached $4.38 billion, exceeding expectations of approximately $4.14 billion. Revenue increased 55% year over year, supported by strong data-center storage demand and improved pricing. Western Digital Q1 earnings and revenues beat estimates Positive Sentiment: Management issued strong fiscal Q2 guidance, forecasting revenue of about $5.1 billion and adjusted EPS of $5.80, plus or minus $0.20. Gross margins are expected to approach 60%, reinforcing the case that tight hard-drive supply and higher-capacity products are supporting pricing power. Western Digital surprises with strong results Positive Sentiment: Western Digital generated approximately $1.38 billion in free cash flow and raised its quarterly dividend by 17% to $0.175 per share. The results and long-term AI and cloud storage demand provide fundamental support for the stock, although the market has recently treated WDC like a semiconductor and memory company. Western Digital Q1 revenue climbs 55 percent Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive, with Bank of America raising its price target to $800 before the report. However, expectations are high after WDC’s substantial prior rally, making a strong headline beat insufficient if investors remain concerned about valuation or future growth. Negative Sentiment: The initial positive reaction faded as selling spread across AI, memory and storage stocks. Reports also highlighted increased inventory, while investors remain concerned about hyperscaler capital spending, potential supply growth, technology transitions such as HAMR, and whether current demand can persist. Negative Sentiment: Insider selling is an additional sentiment overhang: Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares for approximately $306,660 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction was small relative to her remaining holdings and does not necessarily signal a change in business outlook. SEC insider transaction filing Insider Buying and Selling In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $306,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 108,928 shares in the company, valued at $41,392,640. This trade represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Western Digital Trading Down 6.4% WDC opened at $354.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $435.48 and a 200 day moving average of $480.46. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $121.71 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The firm has a market cap of $132.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 2.11.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.48%.
(Free Report)
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.
The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.
Further Reading Five stocks we like better than Western Digital Is Texas Instruments Setting Up for Its Next Big Breakout? Pegasystems’ Q3 Miss Exposed the Problem Standing Between AI and Cash Flow Lam Research’s Earnings Beat Wasn’t the Real Story—Its 2027 Outlook Was Tesla’s Flying-Car Hype Hits an Earnings Reality Check Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WDC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report).
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Revenue: $4.4 billion, up 55% year over year.Exabytes Shipped: 248 exabytes, up 22% year over year and up 8% sequentially.Cloud Revenue: $3.9 billion, 88% of to
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Western Digital Corporation (Nasdaq: WDC) today reported fiscal first quarter 2027 financial results for the period ended October 2, 2026. “Fiscal 2027 is off to a strong start, with results exceeding expectations, driven by robust customer demand and disciplined execution. In our fiscal first quarter, revenue grew 55% year over year, non-GAAP gross and operating margins expanded to 58.1% and 49.1%, respectively, resulting in a 161% year-over-year increase in.
Western Digital (WDC - Free Report) came out with quarterly earnings of $4.64 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.09 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.78 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.
This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of +13.45%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers would post earnings of $3.35 per share when it actually produced earnings of $3.56, delivering a surprise of +6.27%.
Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times.
Western Digital, which belongs to the Zacks Computer- Storage Devices industry, posted revenues of $4.38 billion for the quarter ended September 2026, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5.16%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $2.82 billion. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.
The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.
Western Digital shares have added about 119.7% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 13.3%.
What's Next for Western Digital?While Western Digital has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?
There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.
Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.
Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Western Digital was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and the current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $4.57 on $4.31 billion in revenues for the coming quarter and $20.06 on $18.75 billion in revenues for the current fiscal year.
Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Computer- Storage Devices is currently in the top 11% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.
One other stock from the same industry, Quantum Corp. (QMCO - Free Report) , is yet to report results for the quarter ended September 2026.
This computer storage device maker is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.12 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +122.2%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.
Quantum Corp.'s revenues are expected to be $82 million, up 30.7% from the year-ago quarter.
Western Digital NASDAQ: WDC reported a strong start to fiscal 2027, with first-quarter revenue rising 55% year over year to $4.4 billion as demand for high-capacity hard drives remained robust across cloud, enterprise and emerging AI-related markets.
Live 11 updates · Last at 4:33pm ET Updates appear automatically.
By Thomas Richmond · Updated Oct 22, 4:33pm ET · Published Oct 22, 2:52pm ET
Live UpdatesNewest first
That wraps up our initial coverage of Western Digital’s Q1 results. Thank you for stopping by!
Thu, Oct 22 Earnings call · after close
With gross margin already guided to 60%-61% for the January quarter, the recurring margin-durability thread analysts raised on each of the last three calls now shifts to how long that pricing holds. Expect the questions to center on LTA contract terms and the HAMR transition, since that is what tells investors whether the 58.1% margin is a new baseline or a cycle peak.
Analyst hot topics · last 4 calls Q2 26Q3 26Q4 26Q1 27
Pricing dynamics and LTA contractsHAMR and ePMR technology transitionsGross margin expansion and durabilityCost per exabyte reduction trendsCapital structure and SanDisk monetizationAgentic AI and HDD workloads
Revenue$4.38B+55.5%Gross profit$2.53B+107%Operating income$2.05B+158%Net income$1.78B+50.5%Operating cash flow$1.60B+139%Free cash flow$1.38B+130%Capex$227M+211%Cash$1.31B-35.8% Operating income of $2.05 billion on $4.38 billion of revenue means nearly half of every dollar sold dropped to operating profit, the payoff from locked long-term agreement pricing the analyst questions kept circling this afternoon. Free cash flow of $1.38 billion more than doubled, funding the ramp without straining the balance sheet.
EPS
$4.64
est $4.08 +13.8%
Revenue
$4.38B
est $4.14B +5.9%
AI storage demand pushed non-GAAP gross margin to 58.1% from 43.9% a year ago, the kind of expansion that resets what this business can earn. Management's guidance and a dividend raised to $0.175 a share also instill confidence in investors.
Western Digital just reported fiscal Q1 earnings, with shares initially jumping 4% following the report. Here are the key numbers:
Revenue: $4.381 billion vs. $4.15 billion expected (Beat by 6%) EPS: $4.64 vs. $4.10 expected (Beat by 13%) Quick Read:
Massive earnings growth: Western Digital crushed Wall Street’s expectations, with EPS surging 161% year over year and 30% quarter over quarter. Revenue growth accelerates: Sales jumped 55% year over year and 17% sequentially, highlighting continued momentum in the company’s data storage business. Western Digital’s initial 4% after-hours rally comes after a brutal selloff leading into earnings, suggesting the strong results could help restore investor confidence.
$351.70
-7.08% open $378.51
A 7.1% slide to $351.70 took roughly $9 billion off the market cap of the $131.6 billion storage company in a single session. Moves this size rarely settle in a day, so keep an eye on whether the stock stabilizes near these levels.
$3.56vs $3.29 est +8.1%
$3.75Bvs $3.70B est +1.3%
Q4 FY2026 showed pricing power doing the heavy lifting: the EPS upside ran far ahead of the revenue upside, which is what happens when hard drive and NAND contract prices climb faster than volumes. That makes tonight's gross margin guidance the number that decides whether the AI storage trade still has room to run.
next print Thu, Oct 22
Will Western Digital (WDC) Q1 exabytes shipped be above __?
Polymarket · $3k traded · resolves Thu, Oct 22
Traders on Polymarket are pricing exabytes shipped as tonight's swing factor, with the lowest volume threshold favored at 70% and the top rungs of the ladder priced near even odds. That ladder tells you the crowd expects shipment growth, but is far less certain it clears the high bar implied by the AI storage narrative.
Outcome odds Western Digital (WDC) Q1 exabytes shippe70%Western Digital (WDC) Q1 exabytes shippe63%Western Digital (WDC) Q1 exabytes shippe51%Western Digital (WDC) Q1 exabytes shippe43%Western Digital (WDC) Q1 exabytes shippe43%
Thu, Oct 22After close
$4.08
$4.14B
Western Digital has beaten on every one of its last six reports, yet the stock fell after three of the most recent ones, so the setup tonight is about whether a beat is finally enough. With a 22% drawdown over the past month already pricing in caution, the margin and pricing commentary will carry more weight than the headline.
What to watch
Gross margin guidance against the 55% to 56% range flagged earlier todayHard drive pricing and whether AI data center demand is locked into long-term agreementsCommentary on NAND and HDD supply tightness heading into 2027Capacity expansion plans and capex for the coming year EPS surprise vs consensus Beat 6 of last 6 Q3 FY2025+22.5%Q4 FY2025+12.1%Q1 FY2026+12.7%Q2 FY2026+10.4%Q3 FY2026+13.8%Q4 FY2026+8.1% Earnings-day stock move · last 3 reports Q1 FY2026-2.3%Q2 FY2026-10.1%Q3 FY2026-0.7%
Thu, Oct 22 Earnings call · after close
Analysts have pressed management on gross margin expansion and its durability on all four of the last calls, and that thread decides tonight's reaction: with long-term agreement pricing locked and the HAMR ramp still early, the margin commentary is what tells investors whether AI storage demand is translating into profit or just volume. Cost per exabyte and yield progress are the supporting evidence to listen for.
Analyst hot topics · last 4 calls Q1 FY26Q2 FY26Q3 FY26Q4 FY26
Western Digital is expected to report earnings at 4:00 PM ET tonight, with Wall Street watching whether booming AI storage demand can justify the stock’s enormous gains over the past year.
Analysts expect roughly $4.14 billion in revenue, slightly above management’s $4.10 billion forecast. Investors will also be watching gross margin guidance of 55% to 56% for evidence that stronger hard drive pricing and demand for 40TB drives are translating into higher profits.
Despite beating earnings expectations for five consecutive quarters, Western Digital shares have plunged 21.93% over the past month. However, the stock remains up an incredible 188.73% over the past year, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $131 billion.
The big question tonight is whether Western Digital can demonstrate that AI-driven storage demand and stronger pricing are sustainable.
Another strong quarter could help reverse the recent selloff, while signs of slowing demand could raise concerns that the AI storage boom is approaching its peak.
This article is updated throughout the trading day. Check back for more.
Full CoverageThe story so far
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC | WDC Price Prediction) is expected to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results today at 4:00 PM ET. The stock has fallen by over 50% from its June high, so this report determines whether the AI storage story gets its footing back.
Record Margins Collide With a Stock Selloff Last quarter, revenue of $3.747B rose 43.8% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.56 came in ahead of the $3.29 consensus. Non-GAAP gross margin reached 54.4%, up 1,310 bps, and free cash flow hit $1.281B.
Shares still slipped 3.81% the next day. Today the stock is down 7.56% intraday, though it remains up 103.33% year to date.
The CEO stressed “continued confidence in the durability of demand and with increasing visibility into our business.”
Western Digital Consensus Estimates Metric Q1 FY27 Estimate YoY Change FY27 Estimate FY28 Estimate Revenue $4.14B +45% (guide midpoint) $19.27B $26.45B EPS (Normalized) $4.08 +129% $20.53 $33.09 The EPS consensus was at $3.73 90 days prior and now is above the $4.00 guide midpoint. The FY28 figure assumes operating leverage keeps building well beyond this quarter.
What I’m Watching Tonight: Pricing, HAMR Timing and Exabyte Growth Here are some of the top numbers I’m watching in Western Digital’s earnings tonight:
Incremental margins. The guide implies incremental gross margin of 80%-81%, down from 84%-85% in Q4. Management claimed “high conviction” in margin gains for many quarters, so the question is whether the results back that up. Exabyte pace. Shipments grew 22% in Q4, short of the 25% plus trajectory, and management blamed product mix and timing. Analysts will be keeping an eye on progress toward 50% of nearline bits on the 40TB platform by fiscal Q3. Pricing and contracts. Blended price per terabyte improved to high-teens growth. Western Digital is negotiating long-term agreements through 2029, 2030, and 2031, so focus on any detail about how those deals are priced. HAMR plan. They confirmed shipping a 44-terabyte HAMR product in the first half of calendar year 2027. Capital returns. The company returned $3.1 billion to shareholders in fiscal 2026, and the buyback rate the company gives in tonight’s results could give a read on management confidence. Earnings History Quarter EPS Surprise 1-Day Move 7-Day Move 30-Day Move Q4 FY26 +8.11% -3.81% +7.92% +5.71% Q3 FY26 +13.81% +2.51% +11.23% +37.68% Q2 FY26 +10.36% +7.99% +12.93% +4.42% Q1 FY26 +12.66% +8.75% +18.44% +15.83% On average, shares shifted 12.63% in the seven days following earnings over the past year.
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Thomas Richmond
Thomas Richmond is a financial writer and content strategist with 5+ years of experience covering stocks and financial markets. He has published over 500 articles focused on individual stock analysis, helping investors better understand business fundamentals, stock valuations, and long-term opportunities.
Thomas previously served as a Content Lead at TIKR, a stock research platform, where he helped scale the company’s blog to hundreds of articles per month and contributed to a weekly newsletter reaching more than 100,000 investors.
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Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC) posted its first-quarter fiscal 2027 results after Thursday's closing bell, beating Street estimates on the top and bottom lines. Here's a look at the details inside the report.
Data-storage manufacturer Western Digital WDC will report fiscal-first-quarter earnings after Thursday's close, with shares down approximately 7.25% to $351.045 around 11.30 a.m. ET. That puts pressure on the evening's numbers. Investors need evidence that demand for high-capacity hard drives can keep revenue and profits climbing despite the retreat in AI stocks.
Management's previous guidance set revenue at $4.0 billion–$4.2 billion and adjusted earnings at $3.85–$4.15 per share, with a 55.5% adjusted gross margin at the midpoint. The hurdle could be higher: Barron's reported that analysts expected adjusted earnings of $4.11 per share on roughly $4.1 billion in revenue. Hitting management's $4.00 earnings midpoint would therefore leave profits below that consensus estimate.
The valuation picture adds another challenge: shares stand 340.18% above the $79.75 GF Value estimate, suggesting substantial growth expectations remain baked into the price. That estimate is a valuation reference, not a near-term price target. Still, the gap makes the next outlook crucial. Strong hyperscale demand needs to translate into durable pricing and margins; a solid quarter alone may leave investors wanting more.
Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options: https://bit.ly/2v9tH6D. There's an argument that Western Digital is turning into a value stock, according to Kevin Hincks.
Western Digital shares have more than doubled in value since the year began.
Thomas Fuller / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
Key Takeaways
Memory and data storage stocks were among the decliners Thursday, part of a broad tech sell-off.One of them, Western Digital, is expected to report fiscal first-quarter results after Thursday’s close.
Memory-stock investors may want to forget today.
Shares of big memory and data storage companies, many of which have been among the stock market’s biggest winners in recent months, were falling Thursday morning amid a broad pullback in tech stocks. The moves come ahead of the latest quarterly results from hard-drive maker Western Digital (WDC), which is slated to publish its fiscal first-quarter results after the closing bell.
Western Digital shares were recently down nearly 7%, while Seagate’s (STX) were off more than 7%. The Roundhill DRAM ETF (DRAM) was nearly 5% lower in recent action.
Western Digital shares have more than doubled in value since the year began, making the stock one of the best performers in the S&P 500 for 2026. It has pulled back from its highs lately amid concerns around the sustainability of AI financing.
Western Digital is expected to report adjusted earnings per share of $4.11 on $4.16 billion in revenue, per Visible Alpha.
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Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 79.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,631 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,146 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $5,286,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at $350,403,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,146,133 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $310,018,000 after purchasing an additional 153,600 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.
Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the sale, the insider owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,629 shares of company stock worth $11,033,404. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have commented on WDC shares. Zacks Research lowered Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Western Digital from $650.00 to $615.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Western Digital from $650.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.56. View Our Latest Research Report on WDC
Western Digital Stock Performance NASDAQ WDC opened at $378.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $117.23 and a 52 week high of $799.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $438.14 and a 200-day moving average of $480.05.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 2.48%.
Key Stories Impacting Western Digital Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
Positive Sentiment: Investors are positioning for a potential earnings beat. Western Digital has a strong history of exceeding estimates, and analysts expect management to report continued momentum in its upcoming results. Why Western Digital Is Poised to Beat Earnings Estimates Again Positive Sentiment: Recent operating trends support the bullish case: the prior quarter delivered revenue growth of roughly 44% year over year, expanding margins and more than $1 billion in free cash flow. Management’s previous guidance called for fiscal Q1 revenue growth of approximately 42% to 49%, reflecting strong demand for high-capacity drives. Western Digital Rises Ahead of Earnings as Investors Bet on Strong Storage Demand Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $800 and maintained a Buy rating. Morgan Stanley also expects strong results and improved guidance, while its $643 target remains substantially above the current trading level. Seagate and Western Digital Stocks Gain Neutral Sentiment: Despite the recent rebound, WDC remains in a severe bear-market pattern after falling more than half from its June high. The earnings report and forward guidance will be critical in determining whether AI-related storage demand can support a sustained recovery. Western Digital Stock Is Stuck in a Bear Market Negative Sentiment: Risks include concerns that data-center spending could slow, alongside broader questions about AI investment financing and competition. In addition, insider transactions reported over the past six months were exclusively sales, which may weigh on investor confidence. Cramer Warns on Western Digital and SanDisk (Free Report)
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.
The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.
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Western Digital's stock has been under pressure since June, when it peaked at $800. Since then, it has fallen more than 52% to its current price of $378, with its market capitalization shrinking from $257 billion to $141 billion. Investors are now looking to the company's upcoming earnings report as a potential catalyst that could help improve sentiment and drive a recovery in the stock's performance.
WDC stock has dropped sharply in the past few months because of the ongoing weakness among companies in the memory industry. A look at all companies in the Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) shows that all of them have retreated by double digits from their highest levels this year.
Western Digital stock will likely experience some volatility when it releases its earnings report. The options market show that its implied volatility has jumped to 140%, more than double the historic volatility of 63%.
Most traders in the options market expect the stock to rebound after its earnings report. The company has a put/call ratio of 0.67, a sign that there are more calls than puts. Most calls are concentrated at $400, 4.5% above the current level. On the other hand, most of the calls are at $375, a few points below where it is today.
Western Digital stock dropped by over 13% after releasing its last results. Before that, its post-earnings moves were usually muted because it was not a popular stock.
Most recently, however, most memory stocks have remained muted after publishing their financial results. Micron remained in a tight range, even after management released a strong earnings report, which showed that its revenue jumped to $54 billion.
The upcoming earnings report is expected to show that Western Digital’s revenue continued growing in the first quarter. This growth is happening because of the artificial intelligence boom that has led to vast amounts of data being produced.
The average estimate among analysts is that Western Digital’s revenue rose by 47% to $4.14 billion, with the most optimistic forecast being $4.27 billion. Its earnings per share is expected to soar from $1.78 in Q1 of last year to $4.08. Based on the recent earnings report, chances are that the company’s real results will be much higher than expected.
Western Digital’s management expects that its revenue growth will continue accelerating, with its gross margin rising to over 50%. Its margins are benefiting from the ongoing shift towards higher-capacity HDDs that are used in the data center industry.
The main risk that Western Digital faces is that its business may see a big supply of HDDs, especially from Chinese companies.
Western Digital stock chart | Source: TradingView
The daily chart shows that the Western Digital stock has slumped in the past few months, falling from a high of $800 in June to the current $378. Most recently, it formed a descending channel, which is characterized by a series of lower lows and lower highs. It has also dropped below the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA).
The most likely scenario is where the stock rebounds as bulls attempts to retests the upper side of the descending channel at $420. A drop below the lower side of the channel will point to more downside in the near term.
Have you been searching for a stock that might be well-positioned to maintain its earnings-beat streak in its upcoming report? It is worth considering Western Digital (WDC - Free Report) , which belongs to the Zacks Computer- Storage Devices industry.
When looking at the last two reports, this maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers has recorded a strong streak of surpassing earnings estimates. The company has topped estimates by 9.57%, on average, in the last two quarters.
For the last reported quarter, Western Digital came out with earnings of $3.56 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.35 per share, representing a surprise of 6.27%. For the previous quarter, the company was expected to post earnings of $2.41 per share and it actually produced earnings of $2.72 per share, delivering a surprise of 12.86%.
Price and EPS Surprise
Thanks in part to this history, there has been a favorable change in earnings estimates for Western Digital lately. In fact, the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) for the stock is positive, which is a great indicator of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with its solid Zacks Rank.
Our research shows that stocks with the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time. In other words, if you have 10 stocks with this combination, the number of stocks that beat the consensus estimate could be as high as seven.
The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a version of the Zacks Consensus whose definition is related to change. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier.
Western Digital currently has an Earnings ESP of +2.01%, which suggests that analysts have recently become bullish on the company's earnings prospects. This positive Earnings ESP when combined with the stock's Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) indicates that another beat is possibly around the corner. We expect the company's next earnings report to be released on October 22, 2026.
With the Earnings ESP metric, it's important to note that a negative value reduces its predictive power; however, a negative Earnings ESP does not indicate an earnings miss.
Many companies end up beating the consensus EPS estimate, but that may not be the sole basis for their stocks moving higher. On the other hand, some stocks may hold their ground even if they end up missing the consensus estimate.
Because of this, it's really important to check a company's Earnings ESP ahead of its quarterly release to increase the odds of success. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported.
SummaryMeta moved its Q3 report to October 21, a full week earlier than expected, a historically bullish move backed by surging enthusiasm for its new Muse AI models.The Late Earnings Report Index sits at 56, well below the 100 baseline, signaling strong corporate clarity for an eighth straight quarter.Over 1,000 global companies (including 79 S&P 500 members) are scheduled to report this week as earnings broaden beyond the financial sector. MicroStockHub/iStock via Getty Images
The third-quarter earnings season kicked off with a divergent performance across Wall Street, anchored by an unexpected double miss on both top and bottom lines from JPMorgan Chase.1 High bond yields severely muted fixed
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure stocks, Micron Technology and Sandisk have been getting plenty of attention this year. Both are benefiting from the massive demand for memory and storage driven by the global expansion of AI data centers.
While Micron manufactures memory chips and Sandisk specializes in flash storage, Western Digital (WDC +3.44%) makes the high-capacity hard disk drives (HDDs) that cloud computing companies use to store enormous amounts of information.
It's a different part of the AI infrastructure business but one that's becoming increasingly important as companies build more powerful AI systems. And that's why I think Western Digital deserves a closer look. The stock is up more than 100% so far this year, with plenty more room to run.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
AI needs more than powerful processors Companies like Nvidia, Broadcom, and Advanced Micro Devices get a lot of attention surrounding AI infrastructure because they make powerful processors essential to allowing AI models to process information quickly.
But what happens to all that information after it's processed?
AI companies need somewhere to store training data sets, model outputs, historical records, and the enormous amounts of new information their systems generate. And keeping everything on expensive, high-performance flash storage isn't necessarily practical.
Western Digital's HDDs are important because traditional hard drives -- while slower than solid-state drives (SSDs) -- can store large amounts of information at a lower cost.
A Western Digital customer survey released in May found that 87% of respondents prioritized expanding storage capacity and reducing total ownership costs. Among respondents who knew their storage mix, 70% reported that hard drives accounted for more than half of their storage capacity.
That helps explain why HDDs aren't becoming obsolete as AI expands. They're serving a different purpose.
WDC Western Digital$364.32+$12.11 (+3.44%)
NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/20/26
Western Digital is expanding its storage capabilities Western Digital is also developing new technology to make its drives more attractive to cloud computing companies.
In February, the company announced a roadmap that includes hard drives capable of storing more than 100 terabytes of information. It also introduced a 40-terabyte drive that's undergoing customer qualification. (A terabyte is about 1,000 gigabytes.)
Demand for additional storage doesn't appear to be slowing. A September IDC study sponsored by Western Digital found that 61% of surveyed organizations experienced at least 25% data growth over the previous year due to AI. Nearly three-quarters expected similar growth over the next three years.
Western Digital stock at a glance Shares of Western Digital are up 105% so far this year -- not as much as Sandisk and Micron but still much better than the broader index.
Revenue for the company's fiscal fourth quarter (ending July 3) was $3.75 billion, up 44% from a year ago and 12% from Q3. The company continued to improve its margins, which increased from 41% to 54.1% over the last year, and generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income was $3.19 billion, a whopping 1,215% increase from a year ago. Notably, much of that increase was attributable to Western Digital's interest in Sandisk, which the company spun off in 2025. Western Digital recorded a $2.05 billion gain from Sandisk. Adjusted net income, which is more representative of the company's hard-drive business, was $1.38 billion, up 130% from a year ago.
For the full fiscal year, Western Digital had revenue of $12.92 billion, up 36% from fiscal 2025, and adjusted earnings of $3.88 billion, up 120% from the previous year.
Why I like Western Digital right now I love AI infrastructure stocks because you can invest in the industry's expansion without having to predict which AI platform will eventually dominate the market.
Whether companies are training new AI models, operating cloud computing platforms, or deploying AI applications for their customers, they're generating information that needs to be stored. And Western Digital is building the high-capacity drives that can handle much of that demand at a relatively low cost.
I don't see the demand for data storage from AI disappearing anytime soon. Micron and Sandisk have demonstrated just how attractive the memory and storage markets can be for investors. Western Digital is participating in that same infrastructure expansion even if its products don't get the same attention.
For investors seeking another way to participate in the growth of AI infrastructure, I think Western Digital makes a compelling case.
Morgan Stanley expects hard-drive makers Seagate Technology and Western Digital to report strong quarterly results and provide better-than-expected guidance, despite recent pressure on their shares from concerns over artificial intelligence financing and rising competition. Analyst Erik Woodring raised Morgan Stanley's price target on Seagate to $1,200 from $1,187, while lowering its target on Western Digital to $643 from $676.
Jim Cramer called out two storage giants sitting on massive year-to-date gains as the most dangerous stocks to own if one key spending trend reverses, and the math behind their profits makes the risk easy to underestimate.
CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Free Report) by 9.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,011 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,281 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $12,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Ares Financial Consulting LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.
Western Digital Trading Up 6.1% NASDAQ WDC opened at $352.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $131.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 2.11. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $441.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $478.99. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $117.23 and a 52 week high of $799.87.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year. Western Digital Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.48%.
Insider Activity In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 432 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.20, for a total value of $194,918.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 111,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,096,736. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 24,629 shares of company stock worth $11,033,404 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
Positive Sentiment: AI and data-center rebound: Western Digital was among the S&P 500’s leading gainers as enthusiasm returned to AI-related stocks. Its hard-drive and data-storage products are viewed as beneficiaries of expanding AI infrastructure and data-center demand. Sandisk, Datadog, Amazon Lead S&P 500 As AI Stocks Rebound Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved: A Wall Street Zen report upgraded Western Digital to “Strong-Buy,” while other recent commentary presented the company as a potential value entry and identified it as an AI-related stock with substantial analyst upside. Wall Street Zen Upgrades Western Digital to Strong-Buy Positive Sentiment: Earnings are the next catalyst: Western Digital is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter results late Thursday. Investors are looking for evidence that storage demand, pricing, and AI infrastructure spending remain strong. The company previously exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations and has issued fiscal Q1 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.15. Neutral Sentiment: Sector-wide focus on validation: This week’s technology earnings are expected to test whether heavy AI investment is translating into sustainable revenue and profits, making Western Digital’s upcoming report particularly relevant to memory and storage stocks. This Week’s Tech Earnings Could Be a Validation Moment for the AI Trade Negative Sentiment: Technical risk remains: Despite the rebound, Western Digital remains below its key moving averages after a steep decline the previous week. That leaves the stock vulnerable to further volatility if Thursday’s results or outlook disappoint. Sandisk, Datadog, Amazon Lead S&P 500 As AI Stocks Rebound Wall Street Analyst Weigh In WDC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Western Digital from $590.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $730.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $650.00 to $615.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their target price on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $608.26.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on WDC
Western Digital Company Profile (Free Report)
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.
The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.
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Western Digital (WDC - Free Report) ended the recent trading session at $333.24, demonstrating a -6.51% change from the preceding day's closing price. The stock fell short of the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 1.09% for the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.34%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.15%.
The stock of maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers has fallen by 15.91% in the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.99% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.44%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Western Digital in its upcoming release. The company plans to announce its earnings on October 22, 2026. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.07, up 128.65% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.16 billion, up 47.45% from the prior-year quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $20.03 per share and a revenue of $18.78 billion, representing changes of +95.99% and +45.39%, respectively, from the prior year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Western Digital. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the business health and profitability.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained unchanged. At present, Western Digital boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Western Digital is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 17.79. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 11.55.
Also, we should mention that WDC has a PEG ratio of 1.48. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Computer- Storage Devices industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.48.
The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 35, which puts it in the top 15% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
Seagate Technology Holdings Plc. (NASDAQ:STX) and Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC) remain major beneficiaries of AI-driven storage demand, but both stocks have come under pressure as investors reassess valuations, future supply growth and the financing burden behind the broader AI infrastructure buildout.
• Western Digital stock is feeling bearish pressure. Why is WDC stock falling?
Storage Stocks Retreat After Massive RallyMemory and hard-disk stocks have fallen sharply over the past week on heavy trading volume, giving back part of the multi-hundred-percent gains they posted earlier in 2026.
Seagate and Western Digital also traded lower amid a broader technology and semiconductor selloff.
Supply Growth and Competition Raise Pricing ConcernsReports that Toshiba plans to double HDD manufacturing capacity for AI data centers by fiscal 2027 have raised concerns that additional supply could eventually pressure pricing.
Developments from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies have also added to broader caution across memory and storage stocks.
Wall Street scrutiny has increased as well, with firms including UBS lowering price forecasts amid questions about near-term supply-demand conditions.
AI Demand Still Supports the Long-Term StoryDespite the pullback, Seagate and Western Digital remain up roughly 110% to 150% in 2026.
Strong data-storage demand and tight supply have pushed HDD pricing higher, while large-scale spending by cloud providers and hyperscalers has increased demand for high-capacity drives.
AI inference workloads and agentic applications are generating growing amounts of data that require storage, supporting demand for the companies’ HDD products.
Hyperscaler Spending Brings Financing RiskThe scale of AI investment also creates another potential pressure point.
UBP estimates five hyperscalers will spend about $820 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, above their roughly $750 billion in combined operating cash flow.
The firm expects that spending to climb to $1 trillion-$1.3 trillion in 2027, potentially creating a funding gap that operating earnings alone may not cover.
Hotter-than-expected U.S. inflation has added to those concerns by increasing expectations for further Federal Reserve rate hikes and potentially raising the cost of financing large AI infrastructure projects.
STX, WDC Price Actions: Seagate Technology shares were down 5.08% at $655.71 and Western Digital shares were down 4.70% at $339.71 at the time of publication on Friday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
More bearish headlines for the AI trade hit Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate (STX) after Wells Fargo slashed price targets for both. Diane King Hall says the lower price targets don't necessarily indicate a heel turn from the firms' bullish stance.
Western Digital (WDC - Free Report) closed at $355.46 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.37% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.33% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.08%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.08%.
Heading into today, shares of the maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers had lost 12.68% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.62% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.41%.
The upcoming earnings release of Western Digital will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on October 22, 2026. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $4.07, marking a 128.65% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.16 billion, indicating a 47.45% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $20.03 per share and a revenue of $18.78 billion, signifying shifts of +95.99% and +45.39%, respectively, from the last year.
It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Western Digital. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. As of now, Western Digital holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In terms of valuation, Western Digital is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.17. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 11.04.
One should further note that WDC currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.51. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. WDC's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.47 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 26, putting it in the top 11% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.
Western Digital is now a pure-play HDD supplier, deriving 89% of revenue from cloud hyperscalers with multi-year LTAs extending into 2029. I see WDC as undervalued at 17.7x FY2027 EPS, with consensus projecting EPS to double in FY2027 and rise another 60% in FY2028. Q4 delivered 44% revenue growth, 109% EPS growth, 54.4% gross margin, and 34% FCF margin, all above guidance, with a net cash balance sheet.
Seagate Technology Holdings Plc. (NASDAQ:STX) and Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:WDC) stock fell about 4% or more in Thursday’s premarket trading amid a broader semiconductor selloff, despite strong AI-driven demand for data storage.
While both companies stand to benefit from growing storage needs, Bernstein analyst Mark Newman sees Seagate as the stronger near-term investment, citing rising hard-drive prices and a cost advantage over Western Digital.
Western Digital, meanwhile, faces concerns over its next-generation technology, supply capacity and future pricing conditions.
Newman Prefers SeagateNewman told CNBC on Wednesday that Seagate benefits from rising hard-drive prices, strong demand and a better cost structure than Western Digital.
He called Seagate the better trade and expects hard-drive pricing to continue rising and accelerating for at least the next five quarters.
Newman said customers have already committed to orders and pricing across that period, giving hard-drive companies better visibility into future demand and supporting earnings growth over the next several quarters.
Western Digital Faces Technology and Pricing RisksNewman said Western Digital has underperformed partly because it is falling behind in next-generation hard-drive technology.
He said that creates risk over roughly the next year as the company works to catch up, making its setup less attractive than Seagate’s.
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri also recently lowered his Western Digital price forecast to $470 from $525 while maintaining a Neutral rating.
Arcuri cited uncertainty around hard-disk-drive supply capacity and future pricing conditions ahead of Western Digital’s late-October earnings report.
AI Keeps Storage Demand StrongNewman said AI continues to strengthen demand across the storage hierarchy. “Look, in AI, the core of AI is data,” Newman said. He said AI workloads require storage across DRAM, NAND, hard drives and even tape.
Demand has become so strong that DRAM, NAND and hard drives are effectively sold out in some areas, pushing some customers toward tape storage.
Rising Supply Adds Another Industry RiskInvestors are also watching possible increases in storage and memory supply.
China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies has reported progress on denser memory-chip designs.
Separately, reports that Toshiba plans to increase production capacity for AI-focused hard drives have raised concerns that additional supply could eventually pressure pricing.
For Western Digital, investors are balancing strong AI-driven storage demand against technology execution, future HDD capacity and pricing risks. Newman sees Seagate as better positioned to benefit from the current hard-drive pricing cycle.
Price Action: Seagate Technology shares were down 3.98% at $685.13 and Western Digital shares were down 4.67% at $347.08 during premarket trading on Thursday, according to Benzinga Pro data.
SummaryWestern Digital Corporation is rated Buy, and Seagate Technology Holdings plc is rated Hold. WDC is the superior pick for new capital over 12 months.WDC is cheaper on all valuation metrics, holds net cash, and is negotiating long-term contracts out to 2031, supporting its investment case.Toshiba's planned capacity expansion covers only 9–15% of new 2027 demand, posing limited near-term commoditization risk; the real 2028 risk is from Western Digital and STX's own technology race.Both stocks are cyclical with record margins; position sizing should reflect the risk of margin compression as supply catches up post-2028. AdrianHancu/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
A Nikkei story on Oct. 2 that Toshiba intends to double its data center HDD capacity sent Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX) lower by about 11% and Western Digital Corporation (
China's CXMT is pointing a denser chip design at the most profitable corner of the memory market, and the pressure on SK Hynix, Micron, and Western Digital could just be getting started.
SK Hynix (NASDAQ:SKHY) stock is down 5% to $148.70 as China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) signals it’s aiming a denser chip design at server memory. That push targets the most profitable corner of the memory market, and the selling is spreading across U.S.-listed names tied to AI data center buildouts. Memory and storage companies have delivered strong recent earnings, which puts pricing power at the center of the debate.
Meanwhile, Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC | WDC Price Prediction) stock is down 4% to $364.04, a smaller drop than SK Hynix stock. Additionally, Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) stock is down 3% to $925.45, though it’s still up 223% year to date.
Selling is concentrated in the memory/storage segment. The Roundhill Memory ETF (CBOE:DRAM) is down 4%, and its latest fact sheet shows SK Hynix at 24.2% and Micron at 23.8% of the fund. By comparison, a broader tech fund, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) is down just 2%.
China’s CXMT Takes Aim at Server Memory Memory makers began selling off on October 12 after CXMT disclosed progress on a denser chip design. The slide has continued as CXMT points that capability at server memory, the highest-margin end of the market. SK Hynix stock has fallen 22% over the past month.
Its Q2 FY2026 preliminary revenue reached 79.32 trillion Korean won, up 256.8% year over year (YoY), with operating profit of 60.54 trillion won. A serious Chinese entrant threatens the premium pricing behind those gains.
HBM Makers and Storage Players Run on Different Timelines SK Hynix and Micron make the high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that sits beside AI accelerators, putting CXMT’s server push directly in their territory. Western Digital has operated as a pure-play hard disk drive (HDD) company since separating its flash business in February 2025, leaving it a step removed.
Micron’s own results show how tight server memory remains. In fiscal Q4 2026, the company’s revenue reached $54.23 billion, up 379.3% YoY, with a non-GAAP gross margin of 87%. The company guided fiscal Q1 2027 revenue to $61.5 billion.
On the September 30 earnings call, CEO Sanjay Mehrotra stated, “As we noted, in calendar year 27 as well as 2028, we see demand exceeding supply. In fact, we see greater tightness in the industry in 27 and in 28 versus 26.” More than 75% of Micron’s 2027 output is already committed, and Micron has signed 26 Strategic Customer Agreements carrying take-or-pay volumes. The call made no direct reference to CXMT.
Western Digital’s latest quarter points to storage demand running on its own track. Its fiscal Q4 2026 revenue came in at $3.75 billion, up 43.8% YoY, while its non-GAAP gross margin expanded to 54.4%. CEO Irving Tan stated that “roughly 80% of data stored in a hyperscale data center resides on hard disk drives,” adding that the pattern is likely to continue.
Hyperscale Qualification Is CXMT’s Real Hurdle The next test for SK Hynix is whether CXMT can get its server memory qualified by hyperscale customers, as HSBC reaffirmed the stock as a top chip pick earlier this year with HBM leadership central to that bull case.
Micron’s open variable is pricing on the 2027 output it has already committed. Management expects supply to stay tighter in calendar 2027 and 2028 than in 2026, so any hyperscaler shift toward CXMT would test that view.
Western Digital’s fiscal Q1 2027 results, guided to $4.1 billion in revenue, could show whether hyperscale storage demand remains protected from memory pricing. Position sizes should be kept small until CXMT’s server memory reaches customers.
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Stock futures are mixed as investors digest earnings reports and await key inflation data; the September consumer price index report is due to be released this morning; Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and BlackRock each reported results; memory stocks are extending their recent slide amid worries about competition from China; and chip manufacturing equipment giant ASML posted a mixed report. Here’s what you need to know today.
Stock Futures Mixed as Earnings Reports Roll In Stock futures are mixed on another packed day of earnings reports, while investors brace for inflation data that will factor into the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 were recently up 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively, while tech-heavy Nasdaq futures slipped 0.2%. The major indexes closed slightly lower yesterday as the third-quarter earnings reporting season kicked into high gear. WTI crude oil futures were up nearly 2% at $95.90 per barrel this morning amid continued attacks across the Middle East. Gold futures ticked lower to $4,160 an ounce, while bitcoin was little-changed at $83,500. The yield on the 10-year Treasury, which affects interest rates on consumer loans, was as 5.20%, down from yesterday’s close of 5.22% and last week’s two-decade high of 5.37%.
CPI Report Due To Be Released This Morning A key inflation report that will affect the Fed’s thinking on interest rates is set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. The Consumer Price Index data is expected to show that annual inflation accelerated to 3.7% last month, from 3.4% in August. “Core” inflation, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, is seen coming in at 2.5%, also up from 2.4% in August. Traders are currently pricing in a 22% chance that the Fed will raise its benchmark rate at its policy meeting in two weeks, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool. A CPI report that comes in hotter than expected could raise those expectations, as inflation remains well above the Fed’s 2% target and officials have stressed their commitment to taming it. The Fed last month hiked its benchmark rate for the first time in three years.
Morgan Stanley, BofA, BlackRock Headline Today’s Earnings Calendar The first big week of third-quarter results continues today with earnings reports from more big banks. Bank of America (BAC) shares were down nearly 5% in recent premarket trading after the financial services giant missed estimates, with profits dragged lower by a $1.2 billion fine from the Treasury Department, announced last night, over failures to stop criminal activity including money laundering through its systems. BlackRock (BLK) shares were up 3% after the investment management giant topped revenue and adjusted earnings estimates, while its assets under management of $15.5 trillion met estimates. Morgan Stanley (MS) shares were down slightly despite results that topped Wall Street expectations. Results released yesterday from several major banks came in mixed, but executives said they still see things to like in the U.S. economy.
Memory Stocks Extend Skid Amid China Competition Concerns The memory and data storage trade’s rough week looks set to continue, with many of the sector’s biggest names in the red this morning. Shares of Micron (MU), Sandisk (SNDK), Western Digital (WDC), SK Hynix (SKHY) and Seagate Technology (STX) are all falling this morning. The Roundhill Memory ETF (DRAM) was down 2% ahead of the opening bell after sinking 3% yesterday. The industry has been rattled this week by news that a Chinese chipmaker has allegedly cracked a production method that SK Hynix, Samsung and others have been pursuing for years. The new method would allow the company, CXMT, to produce a smaller chip with the same amount of power. Broader worries about the sustainability of AI financing have also weighed on the chip sector lately.
Chip Equipment Giant ASML Posts Mixed Results ASML Holding (ASML) posted a mixed report this morning, while lifting the bottom end of its full-year sales forecast. The Dutch maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment said Wednesday it earned 12.93 euros ($14.47) per share in the third quarter, well above what analysts were looking for, while its sales of 11.66 billion euros ($13.05 billion) narrowly missed the 11.71 billion analysts had expected. ASML’s fourth-quarter sales forecast of 14.2 billion to 15.2 billion euros largely topped the 14.28 billion analyst consensus, and the company narrowed its full-year sales outlook to 44 billion to 45 billion euros, with the lower end raised by 1 billion euros from the prior guide. Shares were down less than 1% premarket.
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