Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.17

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.1750 per share by the data storage provider on Thursday, December 17th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This is a 16.7% increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

Western Digital has a dividend payout ratio of 11.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Western Digital to earn $34.27 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 1.8%.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $347.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $435.48 and its 200-day moving average is $480.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $121.85 and a 1 year high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 19.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal Q1 2027 adjusted earnings of $4.64 per share and revenue of $4.38 billion, exceeding estimates of roughly $4.09–$4.14 billion. Revenue grew 55.5% year over year, driven by data-center demand and stronger pricing. Western Digital earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s fiscal Q2 outlook was also strong, calling for approximately $5.1 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $5.80, plus or minus $0.20. Gross margins are expected to approach 60%, suggesting continued hard-drive pricing power. Western Digital results and guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital generated about $1.38 billion in free cash flow and raised its quarterly dividend 16.7% to $0.175 per share. Management also said AI inference, robotics and cloud workloads are supporting long-term storage demand, with visibility extending into 2030–2031. Western Digital storage demand outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish overall, but several firms lowered their price targets while maintaining positive ratings. Rosenblatt cut its target to $650 with a “buy” rating, and Cantor Fitzgerald reduced its target to $625 while retaining an “overweight” rating. Rosenblatt analyst action
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat failed to sustain gains as investors questioned higher capital expenditures, potential supply growth, inventory levels and execution risks surrounding the HAMR technology transition. Concerns about hyperscaler spending may be weighing on the entire AI infrastructure group.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is also being dragged lower by a broad AI, semiconductor and memory-stock sell-off. After a major prior rally, investors may be taking profits and demanding stronger evidence that current growth and pricing strength can persist.
• Negative Sentiment: An insider disclosed a sale of 807 shares worth approximately $306,660 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is small relative to the insider’s remaining holdings, but it adds a modest sentiment overhang. SEC insider filing

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.