Western Digital is expected to report earnings at 4:00 PM ET tonight, with Wall Street watching whether booming AI storage demand can justify the stock’s enormous gains over the past year.
Analysts expect roughly $4.14 billion in revenue, slightly above management’s $4.10 billion forecast. Investors will also be watching gross margin guidance of 55% to 56% for evidence that stronger hard drive pricing and demand for 40TB drives are translating into higher profits.
Despite beating earnings expectations for five consecutive quarters, Western Digital shares have plunged 21.93% over the past month. However, the stock remains up an incredible 188.73% over the past year, giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $131 billion.
The big question tonight is whether Western Digital can demonstrate that AI-driven storage demand and stronger pricing are sustainable.
Another strong quarter could help reverse the recent selloff, while signs of slowing demand could raise concerns that the AI storage boom is approaching its peak.
This article is updated throughout the trading day. Check back for more.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC | WDC Price Prediction) is expected to report fiscal first-quarter 2027 results today at 4:00 PM ET. The stock has fallen by over 50% from its June high, so this report determines whether the AI storage story gets its footing back.
Last quarter, revenue of $3.747B rose 43.8% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.56 came in ahead of the $3.29 consensus. Non-GAAP gross margin reached 54.4%, up 1,310 bps, and free cash flow hit $1.281B.
Shares still slipped 3.81% the next day. Today the stock is down 7.56% intraday, though it remains up 103.33% year to date.
The CEO stressed “continued confidence in the durability of demand and with increasing visibility into our business.”
| Metric | Q1 FY27 Estimate | YoY Change | FY27 Estimate | FY28 Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $4.14B | +45% (guide midpoint) | $19.27B | $26.45B |
| EPS (Normalized) | $4.08 | +129% | $20.53 | $33.09 |
The EPS consensus was at $3.73 90 days prior and now is above the $4.00 guide midpoint. The FY28 figure assumes operating leverage keeps building well beyond this quarter.
Here are some of the top numbers I’m watching in Western Digital’s earnings tonight:
| Quarter | EPS Surprise | 1-Day Move | 7-Day Move | 30-Day Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 FY26 | +8.11% | -3.81% | +7.92% | +5.71% |
| Q3 FY26 | +13.81% | +2.51% | +11.23% | +37.68% |
| Q2 FY26 | +10.36% | +7.99% | +12.93% | +4.42% |
| Q1 FY26 | +12.66% | +8.75% | +18.44% | +15.83% |
On average, shares shifted 12.63% in the seven days following earnings over the past year.
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Thomas Richmond is a financial writer and content strategist with 5+ years of experience covering stocks and financial markets. He has published over 500 articles focused on individual stock analysis, helping investors better understand business fundamentals, stock valuations, and long-term opportunities.
Thomas previously served as a Content Lead at TIKR, a stock research platform, where he helped scale the company’s blog to hundreds of articles per month and contributed to a weekly newsletter reaching more than 100,000 investors.
Outside of work, Thomas enjoys weight lifting and soccer.
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