Western Digital Corporation (WDC) is a leading developer, manufacturer, and provider of data storage devices and solutions, utilizing both hard disk drives (HDD) and NAND flash technologies. The company serves three primary end markets: Cloud, Client, and Consumer, offering products tailored for public or private cloud environments, original equipment manufacturers, and retail consumers . WDC operates under two main reportable segments, Flash and HDD, which significantly contribute to its overall financial performance . The company's revenue is geographically diversified, with major contributions from the United States, China, and other regions .
- Flash - Develops and provides NAND flash-based storage solutions for various applications, including personal computers, mobile devices, gaming, and automotive industries.
- HDD - Manufactures and supplies hard disk drive storage solutions, catering to enterprise customers and cloud environments, as well as OEMs and channel customers.
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| Name | Position | External Roles | Short Bio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
David V. Goeckeler Executive | Chief Executive Officer | Board Member at Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) | David V. Goeckeler has been the CEO of WDC since March 2020, leading strategic acquisitions and development projects. He previously held senior roles at Cisco Systems, Inc.. | View Report → |
Irving Tan Executive | Executive Vice President of Global Operations | Chairman of the Board of Directors of SATS Ltd.; Board Member at Stanley Black & Decker, Singapore Economic Development Board, PSA International | Irving Tan joined WDC in March 2022, overseeing manufacturing, procurement, and IT, and is set to become CEO of the standalone HDD company. | |
Kimberly E. Alexy Board | Director | Founder and Principal of Alexy Capital Management; Board Member at Five9, Inc. | Kimberly E. Alexy has been a director since November 2018, with expertise in capital markets and cybersecurity, serving as Chair of the Audit Committee. | |
Matthew E. Massengill Board | Independent Chair of the Board | None | Matthew E. Massengill has been a director since January 2000 and has served as Chair of the Board since 2015, with prior roles as CEO and President of WDC. | |
Roxanne Oulman Board | Director | N/A | Roxanne Oulman was appointed to the board effective upon the spin-off of WDC's flash business, serving on the Compensation and Talent Committee and the Audit Committee. | |
Stephanie A. Streeter Board | Lead Independent Director | None | Stephanie A. Streeter has been a director since November 2018, contributing to corporate responsibility practices and board refreshment efforts. |
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Given the increasing demand for HDD capacity, especially from cloud and AI applications, how is Western Digital addressing potential capacity constraints, and what specific measures are you taking to expand your manufacturing capacity for heads and media to meet future demand?
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With the shift towards longer-term agreements in your HDD business, how are you managing the risks of customers placing shadow orders or overbooking, and are there plans to implement take-or-pay agreements to ensure demand visibility and mitigate supply-demand imbalances?
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As you progress with the separation of your Flash and HDD businesses, can you elaborate on the operational challenges and financial implications, including the anticipated increase in operating expenses due to synergy costs, and how this separation will enhance shareholder value in the long term?
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Despite achieving record HDD gross margins and the highest revenue levels in 11 quarters, HDD pricing remained relatively stable quarter-over-quarter; can you explain the factors influencing pricing dynamics and how sustainable is the current margin improvement amidst potential market volatility and competition?
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In your Flash business, you've highlighted ongoing weakness in consumer and client segments due to PC OEMs pushing out refresh cycles; what strategies are you implementing to mitigate these headwinds and drive growth in these challenged end markets?
Research analysts who have asked questions during WESTERN DIGITAL earnings calls.
Aaron Rakers
Wells Fargo
4 questions for WDC
Ananda Baruah
Loop Capital Markets LLC
4 questions for WDC
Asiya Merchant
Citigroup Global Markets Inc.
4 questions for WDC
Karl Ackerman
BNP Paribas
4 questions for WDC
Thomas O’Malley
Barclays Capital
4 questions for WDC
Wamsi Mohan
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
4 questions for WDC
Amit Daryanani
Evercore
3 questions for WDC
Christopher Muse
Cantor Fitzgerald
3 questions for WDC
Mark Miller
The Benchmark Company LLC
3 questions for WDC
Vijay Rakesh
Mizuho
3 questions for WDC
Erik Woodring
Morgan Stanley
2 questions for WDC
Harlan Sur
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
2 questions for WDC
Joseph Moore
Morgan Stanley
2 questions for WDC
Steven Fox
Fox Research
2 questions for WDC
Timothy Arcuri
UBS
2 questions for WDC
Kris Shankar
TD Cowen
1 question for WDC
Matthew Bryson
Wedbush Securities Inc.
1 question for WDC
Mehdi Hosseini
Susquehanna Financial Group
1 question for WDC
Sreekrishnan Sankarnarayanan
Wolfe Research, LLC
1 question for WDC
Srinivas Pajjuri
Raymond James & Associates, Inc.
1 question for WDC
Tim Arcuri
UBS
1 question for WDC
Competitors mentioned in the company's latest 10K filing.
| Company | Description |
|---|---|
In HDD, we compete with this company in the Cloud, Client and Consumer end markets. | |
Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation | In HDD, we compete with this company in the Cloud, Client and Consumer end markets. |
Kioxia | In Flash, we compete with vertically integrated suppliers such as this company. |
In Flash, we compete with vertically integrated suppliers such as this company. | |
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | In Flash, we compete with vertically integrated suppliers such as this company. |
SK Hynix, Inc. | In Flash, we compete with vertically integrated suppliers such as this company. |
Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., Ltd. | In Flash, we compete with vertically integrated suppliers such as this company. |
Recent press releases and 8-K filings for WDC.
- WDC launched the Power & Real Estate Partnership (PREP) Program to acquire and partner on power-ready land for the rapidly growing data center sector, targeting predictable outcomes in 18–24 months and offering early cashflow with WDC covering 100% of forward development costs.
- The program provides land and power owners higher margins, faster closings, access to 10,000+ WiredRE experts and end-users, and reduced risk capital via WDC’s in-house EPC and supply chain expertise.
- Anchor deal includes the sale of a 1,000 MW powered land site to Google, the largest AI-powered land transaction in ERCOT history.
- Sean Stofer has joined WDC as Partner/Co-CEO, bringing over 20 years of energy sector leadership to enhance in-house site qualification and development planning.
- WDC is qualifying North American sites with criteria including <6 ¢/kWh power, 100 MW+ availability, and scalability via grid and onsite generation.
- Demand strong; expects 15% CAGR exabyte growth to 2028 base case with potential 23% upside as AI accelerates, and plans supply increases via areal density rather than unit volume.
- Pricing environment stable with ASP per terabyte/exabyte flat sequentially and YoY; long-term agreements secured for fiscal 2026 and early 2027 with top customers.
- Technology roadmap includes next-gen EPMR delivering 28 TB CMR and 36 TB ultra-SMR in H1 CY2026, and HAMR qualification in H2 CY2026 with volume ramp in H1 CY2027 targeting 36–44 TB drives.
- Financials feature gross margins in the low-40s%, OpEx ~13% of revenue, net leverage at ~1× EBITDA; capital return includes a $0.10/share quarterly dividend and a $2 billion buyback program.
- Strong demand with 15–23% CAGR in storage exabytes through 2028, supply aligned via areal density gains (avg. unit 21–22 TB to reach 36–44 TB) without increasing unit capacity.
- Stable pricing on an ASP per terabyte basis (flat QoQ/YoY) underpinned by POs/LTAs covering FY26 and early FY27 volumes and prices.
- HDDs to command ~80% of new capacity due to 6× lower acquisition cost and 3.6× lower TCO vs SSDs, sustaining HDD’s ~80% installed base share.
- Product roadmap: next-gen ePMR CMR at 28 TB/UltraSMR 36 TB qual’ing in H1 CY26; HAMR qual in H2 CY26, volume ramp of 36–44 TB drives in H1 CY27.
- Financials: gross margins in low 40s% with further upside, net leverage ~1× EBITDA, $0.10/share dividend initiated, and $2 billion buyback program underway ($150 million executed Q3).
- Western Digital is prioritizing growth and operational excellence, reorganizing with dedicated hyperscaler-focused teams and emphasizing product leadership through EPMR, UltraSMR, and upcoming HAMR technologies.
- Demand is accelerating beyond the 15% exabyte CAGR baseline to roughly 23% driven by AI workloads, with firm multi-year POs from top four hyperscalers extending into FY27, indicating the early innings of a multi-quarter growth cycle.
- The company shipped 32 TB UltraSMR drives at scale—800k units in Q1 post-qualification, 1.7 M in Q2, and over 2 M expected in Q3—and plans to introduce a 36 TB generation by early 2026 while advancing HAMR reliability and yields.
- Gross margins have expanded into the low 40s% through cost reductions, stable pricing, and mix benefits; OpEx ran below the 14% of revenue target, providing further leverage as revenue grows.
- Strong free cash flow and a healthy balance sheet (net debt ~$2.6 B) underpin a capital return policy of dividends and share buybacks—$150 M repurchased in Q1—offsetting dilution from in-the-money convertible notes.
- Q4 2025 revenue was $1.90 billion, up 12% sequentially and above guidance.
- Reported a GAAP net loss of $23 million (−$0.16 per share) and Non-GAAP EPS of $0.29, reversing a prior quarter loss.
- Full-year 2025 revenue reached $7.355 billion, up 10% year-over-year, with a GAAP net loss of $1.641 billion.
- Fiscal Q1 2026 outlook: revenue of $2.10 billion to $2.20 billion and Non-GAAP EPS of $0.70 to $0.90.
- $2 billion buyback program initiated immediately, complemented by a $0.40 per share dividend, as part of the company’s capital return and deleveraging strategy.
- The company is focused on a cloud-centric business model with 87% of revenues tied to the cloud, emphasizing stronger customer engagement and long-term agreements with hyperscale clients.
- Operational improvements have driven yield enhancements from around 60% to nearly 90% and support the transition to HAMR technology for increased capacity and reliability.
- Western Digital has appointed Kris Sennesael as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective May 12, 2025.
- Sennesael brings over 25 years of financial leadership experience, including roles as CFO at Skyworks Solutions, Enphase Energy, and Standard Microsystems.
- His compensation package includes an annual base salary of $715,000, a 100% target bonus, a $2 million signing bonus, and significant equity awards.
- Q3 2025 earnings delivered robust performance with $2.3B in revenue, non-GAAP EPS of $1.36, and GAAP EPS of $2.11 .
- Completed the planned Flash business separation and appointed new Chief Product Officer Ahmed Shihab to drive innovation .
- Outlined a capital allocation strategy with a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per share, future share buybacks, and a target net leverage of 1.1–1.5× .
- Generated strong liquidity with free cash flow of $436M and operating cash flow of $508M .
- Secured long-term agreements with two hyperscale customers for data center demand and revenue visibility through calendar 2025 into H1 2026 .
- Redeemed $1.8B of 4.750% Sr. Unsecured Notes, supporting strategic financial adjustments .
- Noted revenue declines in key segments: cloud down 4%, client down 2%, and consumer down 13% .
- Western Digital Corporation completed the separation of its Flash business unit into Sandisk Corporation, which is now an independent public company trading under the symbol SNDK (filing dated April 7, 2025).
- The report provides preliminary unaudited financial statements and reclassifies the historical results of Sandisk as discontinued operations starting from the separation date.
- Western Digital Corporation announced the redemption of $1.8 billion in 4.75% Senior Notes due 2026, with the redemption scheduled for April 14, 2025 and executed at par, meaning 100% of the principal will be repaid.
- After the redemption, the company will have $500 million of Senior Notes remaining outstanding, reflecting a significant reduction in its outstanding debt.