Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.25 EPS

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25, FiscalAI reports. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital updated its Q1 2027 guidance to 3.850-4.150 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Western Digital’s conference call:

• Strong fiscal 2026 performance: Revenue rose 36% to $12.9 billion, while gross margin expanded to 49.1%, EPS more than doubled to $10.22, and free cash flow reached $3.5 billion.
• Demand and outlook remain robust: Fourth-quarter revenue increased 44% year over year to $3.75 billion, and management forecast fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of $4.1 billion plus or minus $100 million, with EPS of approximately $4.
• AI is driving durable storage demand: WD expects inference, agentic AI, physical AI, autonomous vehicles, and continued cloud growth to compound data-storage requirements, with more than 80% of hyperscale data-center data currently stored on HDDs.
• Technology roadmap supports capacity and margin growth: The company began ramping 40-terabyte ePMR drives, expects 44-terabyte HAMR shipments in the first half of calendar 2027, and targets more than 25% annual exabyte growth alongside roughly 10% long-term annual cost-per-terabyte declines.
• Capital returns remain a priority: WD ended the quarter with $500 million of net cash, repurchased $1 billion of stock during the quarter, and declared a $0.15-per-share dividend.

Western Digital Stock Down 5.4%

NASDAQ:WDC traded down $29.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $519.17. 9,391,189 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,921,373. The stock has a market cap of $178.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $73.14 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $569.37 and a 200 day moving average of $413.52.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Kiddoo sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $528.52, for a total transaction of $396,390.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,062,813.56. This trade represents a 16.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,093 shares of company stock worth $2,751,337. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 4,707 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 4,847 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $853,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,475 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $599,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 575 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 14,847 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WDC shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Western Digital from $685.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.32.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal fourth-quarter EPS of $3.56, exceeding the analyst consensus of $3.31, while revenue of $3.75 billion topped the $3.70 billion estimate. Profit increased more than elevenfold year over year, supported by continued demand for memory and data-storage technology. Western Digital Profit Surges as Revenue Grows
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued first-quarter fiscal 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85–$4.15, above the $3.63 consensus estimate, and revenue guidance of $4.0–$4.2 billion, ahead of the $3.9 billion forecast. The outlook signals continued strength in storage demand and the AI infrastructure buildout.
• Positive Sentiment: The quarter’s 55.29% net margin and 42.95% return on equity reinforce the company’s improved profitability and operating momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts had already expected a strong quarter, with forecasts reflecting higher EPS and revenue than the prior year. As a result, the earnings beat and above-consensus guidance may have been insufficient to exceed elevated investor expectations. Western Digital Earnings Are Imminent
• Negative Sentiment: The stock fell after the report, suggesting investors were selling the news or wanted an even stronger outlook. Western Digital had reportedly gained more than 222% year to date, leaving the shares vulnerable to profit-taking and a high valuation near a 31 price-to-earnings ratio. WDC Earnings: Western Digital Stock Falls Despite Strong Financial Results

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.

Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.