Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Releases Q2 2027 Earnings Guidance

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) updated its second quarter 2027 earnings guidance on Friday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 5.600-6.000 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 4.720. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.0 billion-$5.2 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $4.5 billion.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Western Digital from $540.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $599.37.

Western Digital Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $343.12 on Friday. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $121.85 and a 12-month high of $799.87. The stock has a market cap of $128.44 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $435.48 and a 200 day moving average of $480.46.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business’s revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 19.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a $0.1750 dividend. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 2.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal Q1 2027 adjusted earnings of $4.64 per share and revenue of $4.38 billion, exceeding estimates of roughly $4.09–$4.14 billion. Revenue grew 55.5% year over year, driven by data-center demand and stronger pricing. Western Digital earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s fiscal Q2 outlook was also strong, calling for approximately $5.1 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $5.80, plus or minus $0.20. Gross margins are expected to approach 60%, suggesting continued hard-drive pricing power. Western Digital results and guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital generated about $1.38 billion in free cash flow and raised its quarterly dividend 16.7% to $0.175 per share. Management also said AI inference, robotics and cloud workloads are supporting long-term storage demand, with visibility extending into 2030–2031. Western Digital storage demand outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish overall, but several firms lowered their price targets while maintaining positive ratings. Rosenblatt cut its target to $650 with a “buy” rating, and Cantor Fitzgerald reduced its target to $625 while retaining an “overweight” rating. Rosenblatt analyst action
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat failed to sustain gains as investors questioned higher capital expenditures, potential supply growth, inventory levels and execution risks surrounding the HAMR technology transition. Concerns about hyperscaler spending may be weighing on the entire AI infrastructure group.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is also being dragged lower by a broad AI, semiconductor and memory-stock sell-off. After a major prior rally, investors may be taking profits and demanding stronger evidence that current growth and pricing strength can persist.
• Negative Sentiment: An insider disclosed a sale of 807 shares worth approximately $306,660 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is small relative to the insider’s remaining holdings, but it adds a modest sentiment overhang. SEC insider filing

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.