Regular session
A 7.1% slide to $351.70 took roughly $9 billion off the market cap of the $131.6 billion storage company in a single session. Moves this size rarely settle in a day, so keep an eye on whether the stock stabilizes near these levels.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
That wraps up our initial coverage of Western Digital’s Q1 results. Thank you for stopping by!
Call preview · Q1 2027
4:20pm ET
With gross margin already guided to 60%-61% for the January quarter, the recurring margin-durability thread analysts raised on each of the last three calls now shifts to how long that pricing holds. Expect the questions to center on LTA contract terms and the HAMR transition, since that is what tells investors whether the 58.1% margin is a new baseline or a cycle peak.
Q1 FY2027 reported
4:24pm ET
Operating income of $2.05 billion on $4.38 billion of revenue means nearly half of every dollar sold dropped to operating profit, the payoff from locked long-term agreement pricing the analyst questions kept circling this afternoon. Free cash flow of $1.38 billion more than doubled, funding the ramp without straining the balance sheet.
Q1 2027
4:04pm ET
AI storage demand pushed non-GAAP gross margin to 58.1% from 43.9% a year ago, the kind of expansion that resets what this business can earn. Management's guidance and a dividend raised to $0.175 a share also instill confidence in investors.
Western Digital just reported fiscal Q1 earnings, with shares initially jumping 4% following the report. Here are the key numbers:
Quick Read:
Western Digital’s initial 4% after-hours rally comes after a brutal selloff leading into earnings, suggesting the strong results could help restore investor confidence.
Last quarter — Q4 FY2026
3:05pm ET
Q4 FY2026 showed pricing power doing the heavy lifting: the EPS upside ran far ahead of the revenue upside, which is what happens when hard drive and NAND contract prices climb faster than volumes. That makes tonight's gross margin guidance the number that decides whether the AI storage trade still has room to run.
next print Thu, Oct 22
Prediction markets
3:15pm ET
Traders on Polymarket are pricing exabytes shipped as tonight's swing factor, with the lowest volume threshold favored at 70% and the top rungs of the ladder priced near even odds. That ladder tells you the crowd expects shipment growth, but is far less certain it clears the high bar implied by the AI storage narrative.
70%
63%
51%
43%
43%
Earnings preview · Q1 FY2027
2:55pm ET
Western Digital has beaten on every one of its last six reports, yet the stock fell after three of the most recent ones, so the setup tonight is about whether a beat is finally enough. With a 22% drawdown over the past month already pricing in caution, the margin and pricing commentary will carry more weight than the headline.
Call preview · Q1 FY2027
3:00pm ET
Analysts have pressed management on gross margin expansion and its durability on all four of the last calls, and that thread decides tonight's reaction: with long-term agreement pricing locked and the HAMR ramp still early, the margin commentary is what tells investors whether AI storage demand is translating into profit or just volume. Cost per exabyte and yield progress are the supporting evidence to listen for.
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.
Seagate shares have surged nearly 450% over the past year, but a sudden drop today ahead of tonight's fiscal Q4 report raises the question of whether HAMR execution and cloud demand can hold up…
Seagate and Western Digital both posted blockbuster quarters with nearly identical revenue guidance, yet one is shipping next-generation HAMR drives into hyperscale contracts right now while the other bets its future on timing the…
Seagate defied every prediction that solid-state storage would kill the hard drive, and cloud AI demand has since sent shares on a historic run. Whether that momentum carries into 2027 depends on factors most…
Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX | STX Price Prediction) reports fiscal Q3 2026 earnings tonight after the market close. Shares have surged into the earnings report, and the bar set by management is high. The Setup…
Seagate stock cratered 31% in a month on fears that a Toshiba supply surge will crush pricing, but the upcoming earnings report could either validate those fears or expose them as overblown. Watch one…
Seagate shares have already tripled in a year, yet analysts tracking hyperscaler storage contracts believe the real move is still ahead. Here is what the capacity allocation data reveals about where this stock could…
Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC | WDC Price Prediction) reports fiscal second quarter 2026 results today after the bell. After a 111% earnings beat last quarter and a stock price that’s surged 490% over the…
Hard drives look like a relic next to the glamorous AI chip trade, yet Seagate shareholders have watched the stock surge nearly 300% in a single year. The real question is whether the forces…
Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX | STX Price Prediction) reports fiscal Q1 2026 earnings after the close, entering with one of the hottest rebounds in tech hardware. The stock has soared more than 120% over…
