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: There's no rating here and nothing for sale. In its favour: very high current margins and returns on equity. Worth weighing: high trailing and forward valuation multiples relative to many hardware peers.
Is this normal for this company?
Each figure against the range this same company has produced recently. Neither end of a range is the good end.
Share price divided by the earnings actually reported over the four most recent quarters. The range is the same calculation at each of this company's last few results, so roughly the past year.
Profit as a share of sales, from the company's own quarterly statements. The range covers the 5 quarters we hold, and the figure shown is its most recent one.
How these ranges are built
Every number here is the company's own reported figure, not a comparison with other companies. The ranges come from this company's own results and its share price. Where it reports in a different currency from the one its shares trade in, the price-to-earnings range is left out rather than mixing the two.
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: A business whose sales and profits rise and fall with the wider economy - booming in good times, sinking in downturns. Miners, carmakers and banks are classic examples. 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 44% over the year
- ✓Very profitable - turns about 73% of sales into profit
- ✓Low debt - a sturdier balance sheet
- ✓Strong return on shareholder money (ROE 131%)
- Quality screens high
- Growth screens high
- —
Does Western Digital pay a dividend?
Yes - Western Digital currently pays a dividend of about 0.1% a year, which is £1.40 a year for every £1,000 invested (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. An ISA doesn't shelter the US tax on this one →
What do the numbers say about Western Digital's dividend?
There's no rating here, and we don't judge whether the dividend will continue - that would be advice. Here are the figures income investors usually look at, and what each one means, so you can weigh it up yourself.
Figures are from the latest available data and can be distorted by one-off results. Past payments don't predict future ones, and a dividend can be cut at any time. This lays out the numbers to help you understand them - it is not a view on what will happen.
Most recent ex-dividend date: 5 Jun 2026. To receive a dividend you must already own the shares before the ex-dividend date; become a holder on or after it and the previous owner keeps that payment. Why the price usually falls that morning →
Does Western Digital have more cash or more debt?
It holds about $1.58B in cash against about $1.05B of debt - so it has net cash of about $527.00M. More cash than debt is a cushion: it does not need to borrow just to cover what it owes.
From the latest reported balance sheet. Cash and debt levels change, and some borrowing is normal - this is context, not a judgment.
What do Western Digital's numbers mean?
How has it performed?
Growth of £1,000, the worst fall, and year by year
Over about 2 years to 2026-09-11. 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.
How much has Western Digital actually fallen?
Over the last 2 years of daily prices, Western Digital fell as much as −45% from a high to a later low. Falls like this are normal when you own a share.
Past falls are not a forecast - it can fall further, or recover.
How has it done year by year?
Calendar-year total return - the share price with dividends reinvested - from adjusted closing prices. The current year is only part-complete. Past returns are not a guide to the future.
A closer look at the numbers
Ownership, earnings history, where the money goes, and the outlook range
Does the share price tell you if it's cheap or expensive?
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.
How much money does Western Digital make?
Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.
When does Western Digital report earnings, and how did recent quarters go?
Western Digital is next scheduled to report on about 2026-11-05 - dates can move, and we don't predict results; this just tells you when to look.
‘Beat’ and ‘missed’ are against what analysts expected, not whether the business is doing well.
| 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 →
Where these figures come from
Each quarter a company reports its results against a consensus of analyst forecasts. The figures here are reported versus expected earnings per share from published results; the expectation is that analyst consensus, not our view. Report dates are estimates and can move.
What are the scenarios for Western Digital?
An illustrative range for the year ahead — not a prediction or a price target.
What are the pros, cons and common questions?
The case each way, and the questions people ask
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 are the pros and cons of Western Digital?
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: A business whose sales and profits rise and fall with the wider economy - booming in good times, sinking in downturns. Miners, carmakers and banks are classic examples. 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: A business whose sales and profits rise and fall with the wider economy - booming in good times, sinking in downturns. Miners, carmakers and banks are classic examples. 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
Common questions about Western Digital
Does Western Digital pay a dividend?
Yes - Western Digital currently pays a dividend of about 0.1% a year. Dividends are a share of profit paid to holders; the yield moves with the price and payouts can be cut.
When does Western Digital report earnings next?
Western Digital is next scheduled to report results on about 2026-11-05. Report dates are estimates and can move; this is a diary note for when to look, not a forecast of the outcome.
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