Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Key Points

• Western Digital has provided its Q1 2026 earnings guidance with an EPS range of 1.540-1.690, significantly higher than the consensus estimate of 1.347, and revenue guidance of $2.6 billion-$2.8 billion, above the consensus of $2.5 billion.
• Analysts have mixed views on WDC stock; while BNP Paribas maintains an "outperform" rating, others like Susquehanna have lowered their price targets significantly, indicating a varied outlook among experts.
• Western Digital's board has authorized a $2.0 billion stock repurchase plan, reflecting confidence in the company's undervalued stock as insiders, including the CEO, have recently sold shares.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) updated its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 1.540-1.690 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 1.347. The company issued revenue guidance of $2.6 billion-$2.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $2.5 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush raised their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.74.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.7%

NASDAQ WDC traded down $2.14 on Friday, hitting $76.55. 8,789,013 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,140,905. The company has a market capitalization of $26.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $62.22 and a 200 day moving average of $53.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $78.80.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 4th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.77%.

Western Digital declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Western Digital stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) by 229.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,388 shares of the data storage provider's stock after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.'s holdings in Western Digital were worth $56,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.