Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Issues Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) issued an update on its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 3.100-3.400 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 2.690. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.6 billion-$3.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.4 billion.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC traded down $2.49 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $432.03. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 14,289,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,346,021. The stock has a market cap of $146.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.33, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $314.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.19. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $43.60 and a twelve month high of $446.62.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The company’s revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.77 EPS. Research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 5.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $500.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho set a $470.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Friday. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $395.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $9,616,638.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total value of $5,108,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $159,288,807.84. This represents a 3.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 92,711 shares of company stock worth $24,300,404 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 blowout and raised guidance — Western Digital reported fiscal Q3 EPS of $2.72 and revenue of $3.34B (well ahead of consensus) and issued FYQ4 guidance (EPS and revenue above Street estimates), giving the company stronger near?term visibility and margin leverage. WDC Q3 results & materials
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven storage demand — Management and industry reports say hyperscaler/AI data?center demand is lifting HDD/nearline pricing and bookings, underpinning revenue growth and pricing power for WDC and peers. That structural demand is a primary bullish thesis. Reuters: WDC forecasts revenue above estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — Multiple firms (Citi notably to $500, Rosenblatt/TD Cowen and others) have raised targets and reiterated Buy ratings after the quarter, signaling increased analyst conviction that the HDD bull case is accelerating. Citi raises WDC price target to $500
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns — WDC announced a 20% increase to the quarterly dividend (to $0.15) and has previously authorized buybacks, which support shareholder returns and reduce float over time. (Company release/announcements)
• Neutral Sentiment: Momentum / long?term scores supportive — Stock?momentum metrics and style?score writeups (Zacks and others) highlight WDC as a momentum winner given AI capex trends, but these are descriptive rather than new catalysts. Zacks: WDC momentum piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Share buyback authorization noted ahead of results — Analysts referenced a prior $4B repurchase authorization, which is supportive but not an immediate earnings lever. Benzinga: analyst notes & buyback mention
• Negative Sentiment: Profit?taking / “sell the news” pressure — Despite the beat, the stock fell as some investors took profits after an enormous run (large YTD gains), and elevated expectations mean even good results can trigger short?term selling. Yahoo Finance: WDC falls despite beat
• Negative Sentiment: Market sentiment fragility in the memory trade — Coverage notes that the broader “memory/HDD” trade can reverse quickly after stretched multiple moves, so near?term volatility remains a risk even with strong fundamentals. MarketWatch: memory trade faltering

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after buying an additional 3,019 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 229.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 55.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.