Western Digital (WDC)
The hard-drive maker keeping the world's cloud data centres stocked with storage - now that it's spun off its flash-memory arm.
Is Western Digital a good stock for a UK beginner?
The honest version: The hard-drive maker keeping the world's cloud data centres stocked with storage - now that it's spun off its flash-memory arm.
Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only; any dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.
Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.
Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.
structural growth in global data volumes and cloud storage needs supports durable above-trend profitability as an independent company
a prolonged downcycle or a competitive/technology shift away from hard disk drives toward alternative storage technologies pressures the business for an extended period
What does Western Digital do?
Western Digital builds hard disk drives, mostly the bulk storage that cloud data centres rely on, plus some consumer storage products. It recently split its flash-memory business into a separate company, so this is the spinning-disk half. Demand and prices rise and fall with how much data centres are spending and how much storage the world needs, which gives it a cyclical profile like other component makers. The one thing worth watching -> the data-centre spending cycle.
On our factor screen it looks strongest on growth and quality, and weakest on value.
- ✓Pays a dividend - about 0.1% a year
- ✓Growing - revenue up about 46% over the year
- ✓Very profitable - turns about 55% of sales into profit
- !High P/E of 32 - big growth is already priced in
- ✓Low debt - a sturdier balance sheet
- ✓Strong return on shareholder money (ROE 86%)
- Quality screens high (82/100)
- Growth screens high (94/100)
- Momentum screens high (77/100)
- very high current margins and returns on equity
- direct exposure to growing cloud and data-centre storage demand
- Value screens low (27/100)
- cyclical swings in storage hardware demand and pricing
- competition from flash-based storage alternatives gaining share over time
- customer concentration among a small number of large cloud operators
What do Western Digital's numbers mean?
How much money does Western Digital make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
Does Western Digital pay a dividend?
Yes - Western Digital currently pays a dividend of about 0.1% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.
When does Western Digital report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Western Digital is next scheduled to report on about 2026-08-05 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
Each quarter a company reports its results against what analysts expected. ‘Beating’ or ‘missing’ is about that expectation, not whether the business is doing well in absolute terms.
| Reported | Expected EPS: The earnings per share analysts expected for the quarter - the average of their forecasts. 'Beating' or 'missing' is measured against this number. | Actual EPS | vs expected |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-30 | $2.39 | $2.72 | Beat +14% |
| 2026-01-29 | $1.93 | $2.13 | Beat +10% |
| 2025-10-30 | $1.58 | $1.78 | Beat +13% |
| 2025-07-30 | $1.48 | $1.66 | Beat +12% |
| 2025-04-30 | $1.11 | $1.36 | Beat +23% |
| 2025-01-29 | $1.82 | $1.77 | Missed -3% |
Across the last 6 quarters here, Western Digital came in ahead of what analysts expected 5 times. One quarter is noise, not a trend.
See who else reports over the next two weeks →
Reported vs expected earnings per share (EPS) from published results; the expectation is the analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates that can move.
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NetApp, Inc.What are the scenarios for Western Digital?
An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros and cons of Western Digital?
How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.
- very high current margins and returns on equity
- direct exposure to growing cloud and data-centre storage demand
- high trailing and forward valuation multiples relative to many hardware peers
- cyclical business with a history of sharp swings in demand and pricing
- the reported growth and momentum figures look unusually large and may be distorted by the recent business separation
- cyclical swings in storage hardware demand and pricing
- competition from flash-based storage alternatives gaining share over time
- customer concentration among a small number of large cloud operators
- execution risk as a newly separated, standalone company
The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.
- hard-disk-drive pricing turning down
- cloud/data-centre capital spending guidance being cut
- market share shifting materially toward flash-based alternatives
- return on equity or margins reverting sharply toward long-run historical norms
Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →