| Factor | Score | Distribution | Value | Avg | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Valuation | 38 | 13.7x | 17.3x | Bottom tier | |
Growth | 92 | 75.7% | 7.1% | Top tier | |
Quality | 97 | 48.8% | 4.5% | Top tier | |
Safety | 91 | — | 2.6x | Top tier | |
Capital Return | 67 | 0.15% | 0.06% | Top tier | |
Momentum | 51 | 273.8% | -1.6% | Around median | |
Sentiment | 42 | 11 | 3 | Around median |
The floor: what the company is worth if growth stopped today
72% of today's price is what a buyer pays for growth that has not happened yet.
10-year US Treasury yield 4.96% as of 2026-10-22. Estimates computed from company data and analyst targets, not investment advice.
Ten ratios that matter, each compared against its sector median and average — so you can see whether a number is rich or cheap relative to peers in the same sector.
Western Digital Corporation sells HDD hard disk drives, with its business focused on meeting the high-capacity storage needs of cloud computing companies and data centers. It benefits commercially from selling greater capacity and improving storage pricing, while expanding the use of ePMR and UltraSMR technologies and preparing for HAMR products. In quarter 4 of fiscal year 2026, ended 2026-07-03, cloud accounted for 89% of revenue, compared with 6% for client devices and 5% for consumers; WDC's performance is therefore closely tied to cloud customers' spending and data retention needs.
In quarter 1 of fiscal year 2027, ended 2026-10-02, revenue according to EL7 data was approximately $4.4 billion, net income was $1.8 billion, and diluted earnings per share were $4.63. Gross margin for the same period was 57.8%, and operating margin according to EL7's calculation was approximately 46.7%. These levels reflect strong business profitability, but year-over-year revenue growth and year-over-year changes in margins are unavailable on a reliable comparative basis because the definition of the revenue line item differs between periods.
Operating cash flow according to EL7 data was approximately $1.6 billion in quarter 1 of fiscal year 2027, ended 2026-10-02, while cash and short-term investments were $1.3 billion against total debt of $789.0 million according to EL7 data at the end of the same period. For the last 12 months through 2026-10-02, revenue was $14.5 billion and net income was $10.0 billion, compared with operating cash flow according to EL7 data of $4.9 billion. This gap makes the quality of earnings conversion into cash one of the key issues requiring monitoring, despite strong profitability and liquidity.
Q1 FY2027
Last 12 months to 2026-10-02
When: Quarter 2 of fiscal year 2027
Achieving the targeted revenue range of $5.00 billion to $5.20 billion
Achieving the targeted earnings per share range of $5.60 to $6.00
When: Quarter 3 of fiscal year 2027
The 40-terabyte ePMR platform reaching 50% of nearline capacity shipped
In the 2026-10-21 snapshot, the median analyst target was $583, within a range of $400 to $1050 across 8 analysts, an estimate that incorporates their growth expectations and naturally tends toward optimism. The industry-multiple value is $447, within a range of $299 to $700, based on next year's earnings at a median multiple of 23.1 across 18 companies, and therefore measures the pricing of WDC's earnings relative to its peers. The no-growth value is $99 at a discount rate of 14.1%, and measures the value remaining if current after-tax operating profit stays constant forever. Analyst targets and the industry multiple place the value above the no-growth value, but the median target exceeding the industry-multiple value reflects the different weight placed on expected growth versus earnings pricing using a peer benchmark, while the distance from the no-growth value highlights the importance of continued business growth.
Figures in the text are as of 2026-10-22; the live price is shown at the top of the page.
Western Digital described itself on the 2026-08-05 call as a company specializing in HDD hard disk drives after completing its first full fiscal year with this focus. In quarter 4 of fiscal year 2026, ended 2026-07-03, cloud accounted for 89% of revenue, compared with 6% for client devices and 5% for consumers. The product roadmap centers on 40-terabyte ePMR drives and 44-terabyte HAMR drives, so competition in HDD is more directly connected to its business than server memory news alone.
Management believes that inference and AI agents generate data, logs, and contexts that need to be retained, increasing demand for high-capacity storage. On the 2026-08-05 call, it said that approximately 80% of the data stored in hyperscale data centers resides on hard disk drives, and described demand from AI labs and autonomous vehicle companies. The company was testing high-bandwidth drives with 5 customers, targeting transfer performance of up to 8 times that of existing drives. Translating these trials into commercial adoption remains dependent on qualification and the products' ability to meet customer needs.
Automated analysis for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
When: The first half of 2027
Starting shipments of 44-terabyte HAMR drives
For the last 12 months through 2026-10-02, net income was $10.0 billion compared with operating cash flow according to EL7 data of $4.9 billion, representing cash conversion of 49%. Free cash flow according to EL7's calculation (operating cash flow minus capital expenditures) for the last 12 months was approximately $4.3 billion. These cash flows support the company's ability to return capital, as share repurchases for the same period were $3.0 billion. However, the gap between profit and cash means that assessing earnings sustainability requires monitoring cash conversion alongside margins.
Guidance published on 2026-10-22 targets revenue between $5.00 billion and $5.20 billion for quarter 2 of fiscal year 2027, and earnings per share between $5.60 and $6.00 for the same period. This compares with analyst estimates of $4.57 billion for revenue and $4.82 for earnings per share. This follows revenue according to EL7 data of $4.4 billion and net income of $1.8 billion in quarter 1 of fiscal year 2027, ended 2026-10-02. Achieving the guidance range will therefore test whether strong demand translates into actual results, while monitoring the ramp-up of 40-terabyte drives.
News published on 2026-10-02 reported that Toshiba plans to double its hard disk drive production capacity and targets a 30% market share measured by storage capacity. This relates directly to WDC's high-capacity cloud products, at a time when its profitability depends on product mix, pricing, and production discipline. WDC's gross margin was approximately 57.8% in quarter 1 of fiscal year 2027, ended 2026-10-02, making the preservation of pricing consequential for earnings. The announced plan is not evidence that the targeted share has been achieved, but it opens the possibility of increased supply and competition for customers.