Western Digital

WDC · Nasdaq · Information Technology · Financials, fiscal 2017 to 2026

WDC · Last close · October 26, 2026

$356.13

Western Digital's revenue rose 35.7% to $12.9 billion in fiscal 2026. Its operating margin was 34.5%, up from 24.5% a year earlier. Free cash flow was $3.5 billion, up 174.5%. It paid out $2.8 billion in dividends and buybacks, 79% of free cash flow. The diluted share count rose 6.7%.

WESTERN DIGITAL CORPORATION Latest fiscal year ended July 3, 2026 10-K filed August 14, 2026 · 0001628280-26-057139 Updated October 23, 2026

Revenue

$12.9B

35.7%

Operating margin

34.5%

9.9 pts

Net income

$9.4B

398.9%

Free cash flow

$3.5B

174.5%

Return on capital

52.2%

33.2 pts

Market cap

$136.8B

Oct 26 close

P/E

13.8x

On $25.79 EPS, 4 qtrs

Operating margin is operating income as a share of revenue. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending. Return on capital is after-tax operating income as a share of the money invested in the business: debt plus equity, minus cash. Market cap is the last closing share price times the latest diluted share count, so it is approximate. P/E is the last close divided by diluted earnings per share over the last four quarters, or the latest fiscal year where the quarters aren't available; there is none when the company made a loss.

What Western Digital does

Western Digital designs and makes hard disk drives (HDDs), which store data by recording it magnetically on spinning disks. It sells them under the Western Digital and WD brands. It makes substantially all of the recording heads and magnetic media inside its drives. It split off its flash-memory business as a separate company, Sandisk.

It sells into three end markets. Cloud covers high-capacity drives for data centers run by cloud, internet and social media companies and for enterprise storage, and is by far the largest. Client covers drives for desktop and notebook computers sold to computer makers and through channel partners. Consumer covers external storage products sold through retailers and channel partners. In the year ended July 3, 2026, the Cloud end market accounted for 89% of net revenue and its top 10 customers accounted for 73%.

Western Digital says its competitors include Seagate and Toshiba in hard drives, along with makers of NAND flash memory, an alternative storage technology, and storage systems providers. It has about 4,700 active patents.

Its biggest risks, as it describes them

Losing a large Cloud customer, since a few customers account for most of its revenue.
Not managing technology changes and new product launches well enough to stay competitive.
Depending on a limited number of suppliers for key materials and components.
Product defects that could lead to recalls, warranty claims or lawsuits.
Swings in demand and pricing in the storage industry, and changes in U.S. trade policy and tariffs.

From Western Digital's annual report on Form 10-K, filed August 14, 2026, in our words; the 10-K has the full description and every risk factor. Updated with each new 10-K.

Charts show fiscal years, from the 10-K filings.

Revenue and margins

Revenue

US$ billions, fiscal years

Margins

Percent of revenue

GrossOperatingNetFree cash flow

Net income and earnings per share

From fiscal 2017 to 2026, earnings per share grew 38.0% a year and net income 42.2% a year, as new shares raised the share count by 29% and diluted each share's earnings.

Net income

US$ billions, fiscal years; loss years in red.

Diluted earnings per share

US$ per share, fiscal years, restated for any stock splits; loss years in red.

Returns on capital

Return on capital and on equity

Percent. Return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business (debt plus equity, minus cash); return on equity is net income over shareholders' equity. Both use the average of opening and closing balances.

Return on capitalReturn on equity

Cash flow

Free cash flow

US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure; negative years in red.

Payouts and share count

Dividends and buybacks

US$ billions, cash paid in each fiscal year

DividendsShare buybacks

Diluted share count

Weighted-average diluted shares, millions

Valuation

Two ways to value Western Digital yourself, both starting from its filings: a discounted cash flow model and the price-to-earnings method.

What Western Digital says to expect

Second quarter fiscal 2027: revenue, gross margin and EPSLooking ahead, for our fiscal second quarter of 2027, at the midpoint of the ranges, we expect revenue of $5.1 billion, non-GAAP gross margin of 60.5%, and non-GAAP EPS of $5.80.

The company's own words, from its earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99), filed October 22, 2026. They are its expectations, not ours, and not a forecast or price target from The Filing Desk. Replaced when the next release is out.

Discounted cash flow (DCF)

A discounted cash flow (DCF) model values a business as the cash it may generate in future, discounted back to today. The starting figures come from Western Digital's 10-K (or, for net cash and shares, its latest 10-Q) and the assumptions are yours: start from one of three example scenarios, then change any figure to see what it implies for a share, and how that compares with the last share price.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Western Digital's fiscal 2026 free cash flow of $3.5B, net cash of $527M at July 3, 2026 and 383 million diluted shares, from its filings. The scenarios are fitted to Western Digital: the base scenario's growth in years 1 to 5 is its revenue growth over the last 3 years, 27.4% a year, kept between 0% and 20%; the cautious and optimistic ones are lower and higher, and growth in years 6 to 10 is halfway to the long-run rate. The base scenario's discount rate is 10%: 9% for a business of moderate risk (Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals), plus 1 point for unsteady results (a loss in fiscal 2024); the cautious and optimistic ones use a point more and a point less. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

From the filings

Starting free cash flow, US$ millions

Cash from operations minus capital spending in fiscal 2026.

Net cash, US$ millions

Cash and short-term investments minus debt and finance leases at July 3, 2026. Negative means net debt.

Diluted shares, millions

Weighted-average diluted shares in fiscal 2026.

Your assumptions

Start from

Fitted to Western Digital's own revenue growth, as above. Cautious: growth of 10% then 6% a year, 2% after year 10, a 11% discount rate. Base: growth of 20% then 11% a year, 2.5% after year 10, a 10% discount rate. Optimistic: growth of 25% then 14% a year, 3% after year 10, a 9% discount rate.

Free cash flow growth, years 1 to 5 (% a year)

Free cash flow growth, years 6 to 10 (% a year)

Growth after year 10 (% a year)Long-run growth forever after year 10. Usually close to inflation, and always below the discount rate.

Discount rate (% a year)The yearly return an investor wants for the risk. A higher rate gives a lower value.

Value per share on these assumptions

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $356.13
Value on these assumptions, against the last close: —

Cash flows in years 1 to 10, valued today: —
Everything after year 10, valued today: —
Plus net cash: —
Share of value from after year 10: —

Projected free cash flow

US$ billions. Each column is one year's projected free cash flow, split into what it is worth today and the part removed by discounting.

Value todayRemoved by discounting

How the value changes with two assumptions

Value per share in US$, with the growth rates above. The highlighted cell matches the current assumptions.

How the model works. Free cash flow grows at the first rate for five years and the second rate for five more, and each year is discounted at the discount rate. Everything after year 10 is valued as year-10 cash flow × (1 + growth after year 10) ÷ (discount rate − growth after year 10), discounted back ten years. Net cash is added and the total is divided by diluted shares. The result depends entirely on the assumptions. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation. The last close is the consolidated US closing price, from Databento.

Price-to-earnings (P/E) method

Another common way to value a company is to multiply its earnings per share by a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple: the number of years of today's earnings an investor pays for a share. A higher multiple usually means investors expect earnings to grow. Choose a multiple, for example from similar companies, to see the value it gives.

Careful. Western Digital's P/E today, 13.8×, is less than half the example multiple. A gap that wide usually means one of two things: its latest earnings include large one-off items, such as a tax benefit or a gain on a sale, or investors expect its earnings to fall. Either way the examples can mislead, so they aren't set against the share price. Check the earnings in its latest filings before using them.

Value per share on three example scenarios, from Western Digital's earnings per share of $25.79 (over the last four quarters). Each grows earnings for a year at the cash flow scenarios' rates and applies a multiple to next year's earnings: 30.9×, the middle of Western Digital's own P/E today, its peers' median and its sector's median (its peers' median) for the base scenario, 20% less and more for the cautious and optimistic ones. The price is brought back a year at 11%, 10% and 9%. Select one to load it into the calculator. These are the model's arithmetic on those assumptions, not a forecast or a price target.

Earnings per share, US$

Diluted earnings per share over the four quarters to October 2, 2026, from the 10-Qs and 10-K.

P/E multiple

P/E today is the last close divided by the latest earnings per share, the four quarters' where available. Peers: Seagate Technology, Sandisk, NetApp, Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Earnings growth in the years ahead (% a year) Starts at Western Digital's revenue growth over the last 3 years, 27.4% a year, kept between 0% and 20%, as the base scenario does.

Earnings per share in the years ahead, US$

Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5

Type your own estimate for any year; the years after it carry on at the growth rate.

Apply the multiple to earnings

A multiple on a future year's earnings gives the price then, brought back to today at the discount rate below.

Discount rate (% a year) The yearly return an investor wants for the risk, as in the cash flow model.

Value per share today at this multiple

—

Last close, October 26, 2026: $356.13
Value at this multiple, against the last close: —
Western Digital's P/E at the last close: 13.8×

Company	Last close	Earnings per share	P/E today
Seagate TechnologySTX	$644.21	$13.90	46.3×
NetAppNTAP	$222.08	$7.09	31.3×
Hewlett Packard EnterpriseHPE	$58.72	$1.93	30.4×
SandiskSNDK	$1,255.58	$73.76	17.0×
Western DigitalWDC	$356.13	$25.79	13.8×

How the P/E method works. Value per share is earnings per share times the multiple. On a future year's earnings, that gives the price in that year, which is brought back to today at the discount rate: price ÷ (1 + discount rate) for each year ahead. It is quick and easy to compare across companies, but it ignores debt and cash, and earnings can swing with one-off gains and charges, so a multiple says most about steady, profitable businesses. Like the cash flow model, the result depends entirely on the assumptions you choose. It is not a forecast, a price target or a recommendation.

Balance sheet

Fiscal year end	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Cash and short-term investments	2.3	2.0	1.6	2.1	1.6
Debt incl. finance leases	7.0	7.1	7.4	4.7	1.1
Net debt (negative means net cash)	4.7	5.0	5.9	2.6	−0.5
Net debt to EBITDA	1.4x	18.0x	35.6x	0.9x	−0.1x
Debt to equity	0.6x	0.6x	0.7x	0.9x	0.1x
Interest coverage	7.9x	−1.8x	−1.0x	6.5x	27.0x
Current ratio	1.8x	1.4x	1.3x	1.1x	1.3x
Quick ratio	1.1x	0.8x	1.1x	0.8x	1.0x

US$ billions unless stated, at each fiscal year end. Net debt to EBITDA is debt minus cash, divided by operating income before depreciation and amortization: roughly how many years of those earnings the net debt equals. Debt to equity is debt as a multiple of shareholders' equity. Interest coverage is operating income divided by interest expense. The current ratio is current assets over current liabilities; the quick ratio leaves out inventory.

Insider trades

Over the 12 months between October 27, 2025 and October 26, 2026, no insider bought Western Digital shares on the open market, and 10 insiders sold $75.3 million, $56.3 million of it under trading plans set up in advance.

Date	Insider	Trade	Shares	Price	Value	Filing
Oct 21, 2026	Cynthia L TregillisChief Legal Officer & Corp Sec	Sold plan	807	$380.00	$306,660	Form 4
Sep 4, 2026	Vidyadhara K GubbiChief of Global Operations	Sold	1,795	$459.87	$825,467	Form 4
Sep 4, 2026	Cynthia L TregillisChief Legal Officer & Corp Sec	Sold plan	432	$451.20	$194,918	Form 4
Sep 1, 2026	Stephanie A StreeterDirector	Sold	1,600	$455.00	$728,000	Form 4
Aug 31, 2026	Stephanie A StreeterDirector	Sold	4,000	$447.82	$1.8 million	Form 4
Aug 27, 2026	Cynthia L TregillisChief Legal Officer & Corp Sec	Sold plan	1,007	$478.36	$481,709	Form 4
Aug 26, 2026	Cynthia L TregillisChief Legal Officer & Corp Sec	Sold plan	476	$450.78	$214,571	Form 4
Aug 24, 2026	Cynthia L TregillisChief Legal Officer & Corp Sec	Sold plan	684	$446.17	$305,180	Form 4
Aug 21, 2026	Cynthia L TregillisChief Legal Officer & Corp Sec	Sold plan	235	$477.27	$112,158	Form 4
Aug 11, 2026	Irving TanChief Executive Officer, Director	Sold plan	20,000	$444.97	$8.9 million	Form 4
Jul 28, 2026	Martin I ColeDirector	Sold plan	3,808	$448.66	$1.7 million	Form 4
Jul 28, 2026	Martin I ColeDirector	Sold plan	192	$462.77	$88,852	Form 4

The latest 12 of 46 trades. Open-market purchases and sales by officers, directors and 10% owners, from their Form 4 filings with the SEC: one row per person, day and filing, at the day's average price. Grants, option exercises and shares withheld for tax aren't counted. Insiders buy and sell for many reasons, such as taxes, spreading their savings or a plan set up months earlier, so a trade on its own says little about where a company is heading. For information only, not investment advice. Insider trades at all companies

Piotroski F-score

The F-score counts how many of nine simple tests of profitability, funding and efficiency a company passed in a year (Piotroski, 2000). The more tests passed, the stronger the year: 8 or 9 is strong, 0 to 2 weak. Companies that report no gross profit are scored on the other eight.

Test	FY24	FY25	FY26
Net income is positive	Fail	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations is positive	Fail	Pass	Pass
Return on assets rose	Pass	Pass	Pass
Cash from operations exceeds net income	Pass	Fail	Fail
Debt fell relative to assets	Fail	Pass	Pass
Current ratio rose	Fail	Fail	Pass
Share count didn't rise	Fail	Fail	Fail
Gross margin rose	Pass	Pass	Pass
Revenue rose relative to assets	Pass	Pass	Pass
F-score	4 of 9	6 of 9	7 of 9
Accruals ratio	−2.1%	1.0%	39.4%

The accruals ratio is net income minus cash from operations, over average total assets.

Compare

Put Western Digital side by side with any other company we cover: revenue, growth, margins, cash flow and returns, with ten years of charts.

Similar companies

Company	Year	Revenue growth	Operating margin	Free cash flow margin	Return on capital	Net debt to EBITDA	F-score	Compare
Western Digital	FY26	35.7%	34.5%	27.2%	52.2%	−0.1x	7
Seagate Technology	FY26	34.1%	33.6%	25.5%	92.0%	0.4x	8	Compare
Sandisk	FY26	175.3%	61.2%	56.8%	105.9%	−0.4x	7	Compare
NetApp	FY26	5.4%	24.2%	27.0%	—	−0.6x	7	Compare
Hewlett Packard Enterprise	FY25	13.8%	−1.3%	1.8%	−0.9%	9.0x	4	Compare

Each company's latest fiscal year. Fiscal years end in different months, so the periods don't line up exactly. Free cash flow margin is free cash flow as a share of revenue. Net debt to EBITDA is explained under the balance sheet, and the F-score above.

10 years of figures

Fiscal year	FY17	FY18	FY19	FY20	FY21	FY22	FY23	FY24	FY25	FY26
Income statement
Revenue	19.1	20.6	16.6	16.7	16.9	18.8	6.3	6.3	9.5	12.9
Revenue growth	46.9%	8.1%	−19.8%	1.0%	1.1%	11.1%	−66.7%	1.0%	50.7%	35.7%
Gross profit	6.1	7.7	3.8	3.8	4.5	5.9	1.4	1.8	3.7	6.3
Research and development	2.4	2.4	2.2	2.3	2.2	2.3	1.0	0.9	1.0	1.2
Operating income	2.0	3.6	0.1	0.3	1.2	2.4	−0.5	−0.4	2.3	4.5
Net income	0.4	0.7	−0.8	−0.2	0.8	1.5	−1.7	−0.8	1.9	9.4
Diluted EPS (US$)	1.34	2.20	−2.58	−0.84	2.66	4.89	−5.37	−2.61	5.12	24.28
Diluted shares (millions)	296	307	292	298	309	316	318	326	359	383
Cash flow
Cash from operations	3.4	4.2	1.5	0.8	1.9	1.9	−0.4	−0.3	1.7	3.9
Capital expenditure	0.6	0.8	0.9	0.6	1.1	1.1	0.8	0.5	0.4	0.4
Free cash flow	2.9	3.4	0.7	0.2	0.8	0.8	−1.2	−0.8	1.3	3.5
Dividends paid	0.6	0.6	0.1	0.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2
Share buybacks	0.0	0.6	0.6	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	2.6
Acquisitions	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Stock-based compensation	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.2
Balance sheet at fiscal year end
Cash and short-term investments	6.4	5.0	3.5	3.0	3.4	2.3	2.0	1.6	2.1	1.6
Debt incl. finance leases	13.2	11.2	10.5	9.6	8.7	7.0	7.1	7.4	4.7	1.1
Total assets	29.9	29.2	26.4	25.7	26.1	26.3	24.5	24.2	14.0	13.9
Total liabilities	18.4	17.7	16.4	16.1	15.4	14.0	12.7	13.1	8.5	5.0
Shareholders' equity	11.4	11.5	10.0	9.6	10.8	12.3	11.0	10.8	5.3	8.9
Margins and ratios
Gross margin	31.8%	37.3%	22.6%	22.6%	26.7%	31.3%	22.2%	28.1%	38.8%	48.9%
Operating margin	10.2%	17.5%	0.5%	2.0%	7.2%	12.7%	−8.8%	−6.4%	24.5%	34.5%
Net margin	2.1%	3.3%	−4.5%	−1.5%	4.8%	8.2%	−26.9%	−12.6%	19.8%	73.0%
Free cash flow margin	15.0%	16.3%	4.0%	1.1%	4.4%	4.0%	−19.6%	−12.4%	13.4%	27.2%
Return on capital	—	10.1%	0.4%	1.6%	6.7%	10.3%	−2.6%	−1.9%	19.0%	52.2%
Return on equity	3.5%	5.9%	−7.0%	−2.6%	8.1%	13.4%	−14.5%	−7.3%	23.4%	133.0%
Return on assets	1.3%	2.3%	−2.7%	−1.0%	3.2%	5.9%	−6.6%	−3.3%	9.9%	67.7%
Net debt to EBITDA	1.7x	1.1x	3.7x	3.4x	2.2x	1.4x	18.0x	35.6x	0.9x	−0.1x

US$ billions unless stated. Where a later 10-K restated a year, the latest filed figure is shown. Download all figures (CSV, US$ millions)

Source: Western Digital's Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR. For information only, not investment advice. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with Western Digital.