US · Information Technology
Western Digital (WDC) stock research: earnings, ownership, and cash flow
Western Digital operates in the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry within the Information Technology sector and is a constituent of the S&P 500. This page connects filing evidence with ownership, insider activity, forecasts, ETFs, and peer context so each dataset can be checked against the others.
Deterministic, source-linked commentary
WDC signals across filings and ownership
WDC's current operating picture begins with the latest company report. 10-Q covers CY2026Q1. quarterly revenue was $3.3B; year-over-year growth was 45.5%; operating margin was 35.7%; trailing free cash flow was -$275.0M. Read together, these figures test whether scale is translating into profit and cash. Verify periods and company footnotes in the original SEC EDGAR filing.
WDC's published outlook is useful only while its inputs hold. The forecast scenarios were updated 2026-05-21. Revenue growth, margins, cash generation, and risk assumptions must be checked against each new filing.
The useful next step is to test WDC from another angle. Use institutional ownership, insider filings, forecast scenarios alongside the filing. Company facts can update before 13F positions, so align every source date and report period before treating a difference as a change in fundamentals.
Business model
Company snapshot
Western Digital operates in the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry within the Information Technology sector and is a constituent of the S&P 500. The latest standardized snapshot records $11.78B of trailing revenue, $8.07B of net income, and -$275M of free cash flow. These figures describe the reported company, while valuation and price require a separate market-data timestamp.
Operating lines
A named product, service, or operating exposure identified in the company description.
A named product, service, or operating exposure identified in the company description.
A named product, service, or operating exposure identified in the company description.
Geographic revenue mix
The current standardized filing dataset does not extract a comparable geographic revenue table for every issuer. Review the latest 10-K segment note for domestic and international mix, concentration, foreign-exchange sensitivity, and country-specific regulation.
10-Q · 2026-05-01
What the latest filing shows
Revenue for the latest standardized quarter was $3.34B, while diluted EPS was 8.2. Revenue changed 45.5% from the comparable period. Gross margin was 50.2% and operating margin was 35.7%. Margin direction matters because it shows whether growth is translating into operating leverage or requiring more cost to support.
Open original SEC filingCY2026Q1
Earnings analysis
| Period | Revenue | Net income | EPS | Operating margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CY2026Q1 | $3.34B | $3.21B | 8.2 | 35.7% |
| TTM | $11.78B | $8.07B | 16.75 | 31% |
| CY2024 | $9.52B | $1.89B | See filing | 24.5% |
The standardized data shows revenue growth of 45.5%, an operating margin of 31%, and a net margin of 68.5%. Without a dedicated earnings article, the original filing remains the primary source for management guidance and expectation comparisons.
Scenario analysis
Forecast range
WDC is a NASDAQ-100 stock with a checked price of 459.62, market cap of 158.42B, and revenue of 11.78B. A practical 2026 scenario map is $345-414 in a bear case, $423-529 in a base case, and $542-666 in a bull case. The forecast depends on semiconductor and AI hardware exposure.
Forecast assumptions
- Revenue growth must be checked against the latest filing and management guidance.
- Current reported operating margin is 31%.
- TTM free-cash-flow margin is -2.3%.
- Discount rates and valuation multiples should move when risk-free rates, business risk, or estimate confidence changes.
This is not a buy or sell recommendation. Forecasts are conditional ranges whose assumptions can fail.
Open forecast methodology and scenariosInformation Technology
Peer comparison
| Company | TTM revenue | Revenue growth | Operating margin | Tracked holders |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WDCWestern Digital | $11.78B | 45.5% | 31% | 0 |
| NXPINXP Semiconductors | $12.12B | 12.2% | 31.4% | 0 |
| ADIAnalog Devices | $12.3B | 37.2% | 31.5% | 0 |
| MSIMotorola Solutions | $11.02B | 7.4% | 23.3% | 0 |
| GLWCorning Inc. | $10.86B | 20.5% | 20.7% | 0 |
| STXSeagate Technology | $10.73B | 44.1% | 27.7% | 0 |
| SNDKSandisk | $12.98B | 251% | 26.7% | 0 |
WDC's 45.5% revenue growth and 31% operating margin should be read against peers using the same reporting definitions. A higher margin may reflect pricing power or business mix, while a lower margin can reflect investment, cyclicality, or weaker economics.
Fund ownership
ETF exposure
WDC appears among the disclosed top holdings of 2 tracked ETFs shown below. ETF weights change with price movement, rebalancing, creations, redemptions, and issuer methodology.
10-K · 2025-08-14
Key risk factors disclosed in the latest 10-K
The categories below are a deterministic research checklist anchored to Western Digital's industry and latest annual filing. They summarize areas investors should locate in Item 1A; they do not replace the company's exact legal disclosure.
- Demand and product-cycle risk: Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals can experience changing customer demand, replacement cycles, and competitive product launches that affect revenue timing.
- Competition and execution: Market share depends on product quality, pricing, distribution, innovation, and management's ability to convert investment into durable customer demand.
- Supply chain and counterparties: Supplier concentration, logistics disruption, component availability, and customer concentration can affect delivery schedules, costs, and working capital.
- Regulation and litigation: Antitrust, privacy, securities, labor, tax, environmental, and industry-specific rules may change costs or restrict products and business practices.
- Financial and market risk: Foreign exchange, interest rates, credit conditions, investment values, and capital-allocation decisions can affect reported earnings and valuation.
Research workflow
Common research questions about WDC
Who is the largest tracked institutional holder of WDC?
The current tracked-manager sample does not identify an active WDC holder. The WDC ownership page will reflect a matching position when one enters the filing dataset.
What does recent insider activity show for WDC?
No recent Form 4 transaction appears in the current WDC window. Check the WDC Form 4 history for later company-officer or director filings.
What business does Western Digital operate?
Western Digital operates in the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry within the Information Technology sector and is a constituent of the S&P 500. The WDC company snapshot connects that business description with reported revenue, profit, and cash flow.
How does WDC compare with a close operating peer?
WDC's revenue growth is 45.5% and its operating margin is 31.0%. Compare those figures with NXPI research using the same definitions.
What do the latest financials say about WDC?
10-Q reports $11.8B of trailing revenue, with revenue growth of 45.5% and an operating margin of 31.0%. The supporting period and source are listed in the WDC filing section.
How strong is WDC's cash return profile?
Western Digital does not show a positive trailing dividend cash outflow in the standardized snapshot, while free cash flow is -$275.0M. Review the WDC filing evidence before assessing capital-allocation capacity.
Which assumptions matter most for the WDC outlook?
The WDC range depends on revenue growth, operating margin, cash conversion, and the risk assumptions in each new filing. Recheck them in the WDC forecast section.
Primary and reference data
Sources and methodology
- Filings: SEC EDGAR CompanyFacts, 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, Form 4, 13F-HR.
- Fundamentals: SEC EDGAR CompanyFacts; market references may use yfinance and Finnhub where explicitly available.
- ETF: Issuer disclosures and the locally dated ETF holdings snapshot.
Methodology: How SnowballHare parses and validates data.
Editorial standards: How research is published.
Disclaimer: Informational only; not investment, legal, or tax advice. Cross-check material facts against original filings before acting.
Reference notes
Data notes
Reporting dates
Use filing dates, report periods, and source links together for WDC. A company filing, a 13F disclosure, a Form 4 transaction, and an earnings release can describe different time windows, so the date beside each row matters before comparing signals.
Ownership context
13F rows are delayed public long-equity snapshots from a selected manager universe. They are useful for seeing which tracked institutions reported exposure, but they do not show every hedge, short position, cash balance, or trade made after the quarter ended.
Insider transactions
Form 4 activity should be read by transaction type, role, value, and remaining ownership. Open-market purchases and sales are different from grants, option exercises, gifts, or tax withholding, and the original SEC filing is still the controlling document.
Earnings and forecasts
Earnings pages and forecast pages are linked when a supported article exists. Treat those pages as context for reported numbers, guidance, margins, and scenario assumptions, then return to the table data when you need the underlying source date or filing trail.