How much a stock's price changes over time is a significant driver for most investors. Not only can price performance impact your portfolio, but it can help you compare investment results across sectors and industries as well.
Another factor that can influence investors is FOMO, or the fear of missing out, especially with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in Western Digital (WDC) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to WDC for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
Western Digital's Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at Western Digital's main business drivers.
Western Digital Corporation, headquartered in San Jose, CA, is a leading developer and manufacturer of data storage devices and solutions based on NAND flash and hard disk drive technologies. It provides broad range of HDD and Flash storage solutions used in desktop PCs, servers, network-attached storage devices, video game consoles, digital video recorders and a host of other consumer electronic devices.
The acquisition of SanDisk (2016) enabled the company to venture into the flash drive storage technology space. The company also has a huge patent portfolio more than 33,000 active patents globally.
The company markets its products and solutions through its sales personnel, dealers, distributors, retailers, and subsidiaries.
Western Digital reported fiscal 2025 revenues of $9.5 billion. The company derives its revenue from Cloud, Client and Consumer end markets.
Revenues from the Cloud end market comprised 88% of total revenues for fiscal 2025. Revenues from the Client end market and the Consumer end market were 6% of total revenues each, respectively.
Western Digital mainly competes with companies like Intel, Micron, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Seagate Technology and Toshiba Corporation.
In February 2025, Western Digital completed the separation of its HDD and Flash businesses into two independent, publicly traded companies, each with a specific focus on its respective market. With a deep understanding of memory and storage technology, the new SanDisk (SNDK) is ready to meet market demands. It is well-equipped to take advantage of AI opportunities while maximizing the value of its products for both consumers and businesses.
Bottom Line
Anyone can invest, but building a successful investment portfolio requires research, patience, and a little bit of risk. So, if you had invested in Western Digital, ten years ago, you're likely feeling pretty good about your investment today.
A $1000 investment made in February 2016 would be worth $6,041.63, or a gain of 504.16%, as of February 4, 2026, according to our calculations. This return excludes dividends but includes price appreciation.
In comparison, the S&P 500's gained 261.71% and the price of gold went up 310.86% over the same time frame.
Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for WDC.
Western Digital's fiscal second-quarter results were driven by rising AI-led demand and deeper customer commitments through long-term contracts. Cloud end market (89% of total revenues) grew 28% to $2.7 billion on strong demand for higher-capacity nearline products. It shipped more than 3.5 million ePMR drives, supporting up to 26TB CMR and 32TB UltraSMR, driving total shipments of 215 exabytes, up 22% year over year. Growing AI and cloud demand is boosting the need for higher-density storage, and Western Digital is meeting this by working closely with hyperscale customers to deliver reliable, high-capacity drives at scale with optimal performance and TCO. Shareholder-friendly capital returns, with more than 100% of free cash flow returned through dividends and buybacks, bode well. It expects fiscal third-quarter revenues of $3.2 billion (+/- $100 million), up 40%.
Shares have gained 32.30% over the past four weeks and there have been 5 higher earnings estimate revisions for fiscal 2026 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.
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Western Digital Corporation (WDC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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