# Western Digital Corporation (WDC)

> Western Digital makes hard disk drives for cloud data centers, computers, and personal storage.

- Exchange: Nasdaq · Sector: Technology · Industry: Semiconductors
- Headquarters: San Jose, California, United States
- Founded: 1970
- Employees: approximately 40,000 (end of fiscal 2026)
- SEC CIK: 0000106040 ([filings on EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000106040))
- Full page: https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/wdc
- Data as of: price 2026-09-28; newest filing used 2026-08-14; latest fiscal period ended 2026-07-03

## Grade

**A+** on the growth-and-cash rubric, 5 of 5 checks passed.

| Check | Result | Now | Before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Revenue growing overall | passed | $12.9B | $6.3B |
| Revenue growing recently | passed | $12.9B | $9.5B |
| Free cash flow positive | passed | $3.5B |  |
| Free cash flow growing overall | passed | $3.5B | -$1.2B |
| Free cash flow growing recently | passed | $3.5B | $1.3B |

Business quality (the + / − mark): 6 of 6 checks passed.

| Check | Result | Now | Before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Profitable | passed | 72.9% |  |
| Healthy profit margin | passed | 72.9% |  |
| Strong operating margin | passed | 34.5% |  |
| Good return on equity | passed | 106.3% |  |
| Debt under control | passed | 0.13 |  |
| Turns sales into cash | passed | 27.2% |  |

How the grade works: the letter counts failed checks (none → A, one → B, two → C, three → D, four or more → F). It is built from SEC filings only — the share price never enters it — and describes the business, not whether the stock is worth buying.

## Key figures

In US dollars, as filed.

| Measure | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Revenue, trailing twelve months | $12.9B |
| Net income, trailing twelve months | $9.4B |
| Free cash flow, trailing twelve months | $3.5B |
| Net margin | 72.9% |
| Operating margin | 34.5% |
| Return on equity | 106.3% |
| Debt to equity | 0.13 |
| Diluted EPS, trailing twelve months | $24.23 |
| Share price | $453.37 |
| Market value | $163.5B |
| Price / earnings | 18.7x |
| Price / sales | 12.7x |

## What the business does

Western Digital designs and makes hard disk drives (HDDs), which store data on spinning magnetic disks. Cloud data centers and enterprise storage companies use its high-capacity drives to keep large amounts of data; computer makers use its drives in desktop and notebook computers. The company also sells external drives for personal storage through retail and distribution partners.

### How it makes money

- **Cloud storage drives** (89% (Q4 fiscal 2026)) — Sells high-capacity drives mainly to cloud data center operators and enterprise customers, including through long-term agreements.
- **Client Devices drives** (6% (Q4 fiscal 2026)) — Sells hard drives for desktop and notebook computers to computer makers and sales-channel customers.
- **Consumer external drives** (5% (Q4 fiscal 2026)) — Sells external hard drives through retailers and other sales partners for personal storage.

### Products

- **High-capacity enterprise hard disk drives** — Drives used in cloud data centers, enterprise storage systems, and smart video systems to store large amounts of data for long periods.
- **Desktop and notebook hard disk drives** — Drives supplied to computer makers and sales-channel customers for use in desktop and notebook computers.
- **External storage drives** — Drives sold through retail and channel partners for people to store personal files and other content.
- **ePMR enterprise drives** — Drives using energy-assisted perpendicular magnetic recording (ePMR); shipments of models with capacity up to 40 terabytes began in Q4 fiscal 2026 (high).
- **HAMR enterprise drives** — Drives using heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR); Western Digital said it planned to ship models with capacity up to 44 terabytes (plan stated August 2026, medium).
- **High-bandwidth hard disk drives** — Drives designed to move data faster for demanding workloads; Western Digital said it was testing samples with customers.

### Customers

- Cloud service providers and large data center operators buy high-capacity drives, often through long-term agreements.
- Neocloud companies and artificial intelligence labs buy drives for data storage.
- Computer makers buy drives for desktop and notebook computers.
- Enterprise storage-system makers buy drives for storage systems used by businesses.
- Resellers, distributors, and retailers buy drives for resale to businesses and consumers.
- Consumers buy external drives through retail and other sales partners.

### Competitors

- Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX) — Makes hard disk drives, including drives for cloud data centers and other storage uses.
- Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation — Makes hard disk drives that compete with Western Digital's drives.
- Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (SSNLF) — Supplies flash-memory storage products, an alternative to hard disk drives for some storage needs.
- Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) — Supplies flash-memory storage products, an alternative to hard disk drives for some storage needs.
- Kioxia Holdings Corporation (KXIA) — Supplies flash-memory storage products, an alternative to hard disk drives for some storage needs.

### What it depends on

- A large part of the business serves cloud customers, so changes in their data-center purchases can affect sales.
- Western Digital relies on outside suppliers for many components and materials, and says some components come from a limited number of suppliers.
- The company makes most of the recording heads and magnetic media used in its drives itself, making production dependent on its own manufacturing operations and technology development.

### What could go wrong

- Losing sales to a major cloud customer, or a change in that customer's data-center plans, could reduce revenue.
- Delays or problems in developing and introducing new drive technologies could make it harder to meet customers' capacity needs or compete with other storage products.
- A disruption at a limited-source supplier could restrict access to components or services needed to make and test drives.

## More on this company

- [Overview](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/wdc)
- [Financial statements](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/wdc/financials)
- [Competitors](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/wdc/peers)
- [Earnings](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/wdc/earnings)

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Source: InspectStocks, built from the company’s own SEC filings. This describes a business — it is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.