Western Digital 1Q Profit Grows on Data Storage Demand, Higher Pricing — Update

By Elias Schisgall

Western Digital's profit and revenue grew in the fiscal first quarter, as the company capitalizes on growing data-storage demand tied to the build out of artificial-intelligence infrastructure.

Demand for Western Digital's hard disk drives remains strong, Chief Executive Irving Tan told analysts on a Thursday call, and is increasingly coming from customers outside the company's core base, such as neoclouds and AI frontier labs.

The demand means Western Digital is able to sell its products at higher prices. The blended average selling price per terabyte of storage rose 28% during the first quarter.

"Our visibility is extending further and with it our conviction in the durability of demand for data storage on HDDs," Tan said, adding that the company has visibility to 2030 or 2031 across its top seven customers.

Shares of Western Digital fell 5.6% to $334.51 after the bell, after closing down 6.4% at $354.19. The stock had more than doubled in value this year through the close. Investors broadly rotated out of AI-connected stocks on Thursday, fueled in part by capital spending disclosures from Meta Platforms.

The company on Thursday reported a profit of $1.78 billion, or $4.63 a share. That compares with a profit of $1.15 billion, or $3.07 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted earnings were $4.64 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting $4.11 a share.

Revenue grew to $4.38 billion from $2.82 billion. Analysts had been expecting $4.14 billion in revenue.

For the current fiscal second quarter, the company guided for adjusted earnings of between $5.60 and $6.00 a share on revenue between $5 billion and $5.2 billion.

Analysts currently expect first-quarter adjusted earnings of $4.84 a share on $4.57 billion in revenue.

The company also lifted its quarterly dividend by 17% to 17.5 cents a share.

The new payout, equal to 70 cents a year, represents a 0.2% annual yield based on the company's Thursday closing price of $354.19. The dividend is payable on Dec. 17 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 4.

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 22, 2026 18:58 ET (22:58 GMT)