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

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) updated its second quarter 2027 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided EPS 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $730.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $650.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $540.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $599.37.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $343.12 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $121.85 and a 12 month high of $799.87. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $435.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $480.46.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 19.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a $0.1750 dividend. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

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

About Western Digital

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.