Financial Comparison: Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) versus Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) are both large-cap technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Western Digital and Apple”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Western Digital	$12.92 billion	8.38	$9.42 billion	$25.77	11.22
Apple	$478.83 billion	10.58	$132.18 billion	$8.97	38.86

Apple has higher revenue and earnings than Western Digital. Western Digital is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Apple, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Western Digital and Apple, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Western Digital	0	5	21	2	2.89
Apple	4	13	24	2	2.56

Western Digital currently has a consensus target price of $591.04, suggesting a potential upside of 104.37%. Apple has a consensus target price of $343.74, suggesting a potential downside of 1.38%. Given Western Digital’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Western Digital is more favorable than Apple.

Dividends

Western Digital pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Apple pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.3%. Western Digital pays out 2.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Apple pays out 12.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Apple has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Apple is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Western Digital and Apple’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Western Digital	69.20%	55.62%	33.13%
Apple	27.60%	125.35%	33.76%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

92.5% of Western Digital shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of Apple shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Western Digital shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Apple shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Volatility and Risk

Western Digital has a beta of 2.27, suggesting that its stock price is 127% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Apple has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Apple beats Western Digital on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops and supplies hard disk drives (HDDs) and related data-storage products. Its drives serve data centers and cloud providers, as well as businesses and consumers who need storage for computers, network-attached storage systems, surveillance and other applications. Its product brands include WD and Ultrastar. Founded in 1970, the company began as an electronics and semiconductor business before expanding into data storage. In February 2025, Western Digital completed the separation of its flash-memory business into the independently traded SanDisk Corporation, leaving Western Digital focused on HDDs.

About Apple

Apple Inc. designs, manufactures and markets consumer electronics, software and digital services. Its products include the iPhone, Mac computers, iPad, Apple Watch and AirPods, along with operating systems and applications such as iOS, macOS and iPadOS. The company also offers services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud and Apple Pay. These products and services are integrated across Apple’s devices and are sold to consumers, businesses and institutions around the world. Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple serves customers globally through online and retail stores, wireless carriers and other resellers.