{"id":39699,"date":"2026-01-31T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=39699"},"modified":"2026-02-01T09:53:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T01:53:06","slug":"western-digital-thaks-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/","title":{"rendered":"Western Digital saw 200% annual stock performance,thanks to AI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Company_Profile\" >Company Profile<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Founding\" >Founding<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Business\" >Business<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#AI_Boosts_HDD_Industry\" >AI Boosts HDD Industry<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#High-capacity_storage_still_relies_on_HDDs\" >High-capacity storage still relies on HDDs<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#The_top_rival\" >The top rival<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Global_Data_Center_Storage_Volume\" >Global Data Center Storage Volume<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#The_Hard_Disk_Drive_Industry\" >The Hard Disk Drive Industry<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Only_Three_HDD_Manufacturers_Remain\" >Only Three HDD Manufacturers Remain<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Advantages_of_HDDs\" >Advantages of HDDs<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Hitachi_Global_Storage_Technologies\" >Hitachi Global Storage Technologies<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Acquisition_of_HGST\" >Acquisition of HGST<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Antitrust_Rejection\" >Antitrust Rejection<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Outcome\" >Outcome<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#SenDisk\" >SenDisk<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Mergers_Acquisitions\" >Mergers &amp; Acquisitions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Unsuccessful_Acquisition_of_Kioxia\" >Unsuccessful Acquisition of Kioxia<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Spin-off\" >Spin-off<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Operating_Performance\" >Operating Performance<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Past_Five_Years\" >Past Five Years<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Third_Quarter_2025_Results\" >Third Quarter 2025 Results<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-22\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Remaining_Performance_Obligations_RPOs\" >Remaining Performance Obligations (RPOs)<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-23\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Capital_Market_Performance\" >Capital Market Performance<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-24\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Stock_Price_Performance\" >Stock Price Performance<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-25\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Outlook\" >Outlook<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-26\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Company_Profile\"><\/span>Company Profile<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Founding\"><\/span>Founding<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Western Digital (ticker: WDC) was Founded in 1970 by a Motorola employee, Wittek is a leading global manufacturer of hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and flash memory products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Business\"><\/span>Business<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A company specializing in the research and development and production of computer hard disk drives and storage devices, Wittek, after acquiring Cintiq, also gained a foothold in integrated circuits and SSDs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"AI_Boosts_HDD_Industry\"><\/span>AI Boosts HDD Industry<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"High-capacity_storage_still_relies_on_HDDs\"><\/span>High-capacity storage still relies on HDDs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The demand for high-specification and high-profit chips such as HBM directly squeezes the production capacity of conventional consumer-grade chips, naturally further exacerbating the supply crisis of consumer-grade flash chips. Moreover, don&#8217;t assume that the AI \u200b\u200bindustry only needs high-end production capacity; to store the data required for AI training and enterprise AI model data, data centers worldwide are purchasing large quantities of storage hard drives to expand server capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_top_rival\"><\/span>The top rival<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Western Technology, besides maintaining a strong cash flow base in its HDD business, can also benefit from the flash memory cycle through its NAND business. Even though SanDisk&#8217;s spin-off reduced its NAND exposure, Western Technology still possesses the ability to balance across product categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In contrast, Seagate Technology focuses more on high-capacity HDD technology upgrades, concentrating on the cold storage market, with a robust cash flow as its core value.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Global_Data_Center_Storage_Volume\"><\/span>Global Data Center Storage Volume<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Cybersecurity Ventures&#8217; estimates, the global data center storage volume in 2025 will be approximately 100 ZB, which translates to 1,073,741,824 TB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Hard_Disk_Drive_Industry\"><\/span>The Hard Disk Drive Industry<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Only_Three_HDD_Manufacturers_Remain\"><\/span>Only Three HDD Manufacturers Remain<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the 1990s, there were approximately 40 HDD manufacturers. After several consolidations and mergers, the market is now dominated by a three-way oligopoly: Western Digital, Seagate Technology, and Toshiba Electronic Devices &amp; Storage (a subsidiary of Toshiba). According to Techno Systems Research, in 2024, Western Digital held the top spot with a 40.8% global HDD market share, followed by Seagate at 40.1% and Toshiba at 19.2%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Advantages_of_HDDs\"><\/span>Advantages of HDDs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>80% of data in data centers is stored on HDDs. Compared to SSDs, they offer advantages such as cost-effectiveness and larger capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the traditional HDD market, Western Digital and Seagate Technology hold a highly concentrated market share, wielding significant pricing power. In recent years, due to profit pressures, hard disk drive (HDD) manufacturers have proactively reduced production, and the tightening supply has further enhanced their pricing power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For large data center operators such as Amazon, Google Cloud, and Meta, HDDs remain the choice for balancing cost and capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Hitachi_Global_Storage_Technologies\"><\/span>Hitachi Global Storage Technologies <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Acquisition_of_HGST\"><\/span>Acquisition of HGST<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/australiancompetitionlaw.org\/intmergerlaw\/cases\/westerndigital.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">On March 7, 2011, Western Digital and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) jointly announced their merger<\/a>, with Western Digital remaining as the surviving company. Corresponding to Seagate&#8217;s later acquisition of Samsung Electronics&#8217; hard disk business, this left only Seagate and Western Digital as the major manufacturers of hard disk drives. This marked the beginning of an oligopoly era in the hard disk drive industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Antitrust_Rejection\"><\/span>Antitrust Rejection<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the merger between Western Digital and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) raised concerns from antitrust agencies in various countries. Antitrust regulators in various countries, especially in China and the United States, demanded that Western Digital divest some of HGST&#8217;s 3.5-inch hard disk manufacturing assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Outcome\"><\/span>Outcome<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>2012: Toshiba acquired some of the hard drive manufacturing assets of Western Digital\/HGST, including a factory in Thailand and related intellectual property rights, to solidify its position in the hard drive market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Subsequently, Toshiba&#8217;s hard drive business operated independently under the name Toshiba Electronic Devices &amp; Storage Corporation, while Western Digital continued to operate its hard drive and solid-state drive divisions independently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"SenDisk\"><\/span>SenDisk<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Mergers_Acquisitions\"><\/span>Mergers &amp; Acquisitions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hardwarezone.com.sg\/pc\/storage\/tech-news-it-s-official-western-digital-now-owns-sandisk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">On October 21, 2015, Western Digital announced the acquisition of SenDisk for US$16 billion<\/a>. The acquisition was officially completed on May 12, 2016. SenDisk was subsequently delisted from the US stock market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Unsuccessful_Acquisition_of_Kioxia\"><\/span>Unsuccessful Acquisition of Kioxia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the failed merger attempt between WD and Japanese memory manufacturer Kioxia in 2023, WD announced in October of the same year that it would spin off its flash memory business unit, continuing to operate in the flash memory market under the SenDisk brand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Spin-off\"><\/span>Spin-off<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In March 2025, WD officially spun off its NAND Flash memory business, meaning the company would no longer produce NAND Flash memory or SSDs. Going forward, WD will focus on its own hard disk drive (HDD) market, while its original NAND Flash memory and SSD businesses will be taken over by SanDisk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On March 7, 2025, Western Digital announced its complete exit from the solid-state drive (SSD) market, with its original SSD business being taken over by SenDisk. SenDisk In the traditional hard disk drive (HDD) market, the market is highly concentrated between two companies, Western Digital and Seagate Technology, which have strong pricing power.was relisted on the US stock market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Operating_Performance\"><\/span>Operating Performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Past_Five_Years\"><\/span>Past Five Years<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the past five years, Western Digital experienced weak demand, with revenue declining by an average of 9.4% annually, below industry standards, indicating relatively low business quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the past two years, Western Digital&#8217;s annualized revenue growth rate was 1.8%, higher than the five-year trend, but overall performance still fell short of expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notably, the company has achieved five consecutive quarters of growth, indicating that Western Digital is in the upward phase of the industry cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Third_Quarter_2025_Results\"><\/span>Third Quarter 2025 Results<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Revenue in Q3 increased by 27.4% year-over-year to $2.82 billion, exceeding analysts&#8217; expectations of $2.74 billion by 2.8%. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) were $1.78, exceeding analysts&#8217; expectations of $1.58 by 12.9%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Adjusted operating profit was $856 million, exceeding analysts&#8217; expectations of $756.4 million (operating profit margin 30.4%, exceeding expectations by 13.2%). Operating profit margin: 28.1%, higher than 15.1% in the same period last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Free cash flow was $599 million, a significant improvement from -$61 million in the same period last year. Inventory turnover days: 80 days, an increase from 76 days in the previous quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following the earnings release, the company&#8217;s stock price rose by as much as 12.6%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Remaining_Performance_Obligations_RPOs\"><\/span>Remaining Performance Obligations (RPOs)<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>AI drives hard drive demand! Western Digital secured significant Remaining Performance Obligations (RPO) orders from hyperscale customers. CEO Irving Tan revealed at the Q3 2025 earnings call that Western Digital&#8217;s top seven customers&#8217; purchase orders are already booked until at least the first half of 2026, with one of the largest hyperscale cloud customers signing an agreement extending to 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Capital_Market_Performance\"><\/span>Capital Market Performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Stock_Price_Performance\"><\/span>Stock Price Performance<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Western Digital&#8217;s stock surged 8.77% on October 1, 2025, closing at $130.59, a record closing high. Western Digital has already surged 207% this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Outlook\"><\/span>Outlook<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Looking ahead, sell-side analysts expect Western Digital&#8217;s revenue to grow by 14.9% over the next 12 months, an improvement over the growth rate of the past two years. This forecast is particularly noteworthy for a company the size of Western Digital, suggesting that its new products and services will provide stronger momentum for revenue growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is attributed to strong capital expenditures by technology companies in AI and data centers. With no signs of these investments slowing down, the company&#8217;s current shift towards higher-capacity hard drives is expected to support continued gross margin expansion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"180\" height=\"69\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/WDC-Custom.jpg\" alt=\"Western Digital\n\" class=\"wp-image-39700\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/01\/31\/western-digital-thaks-ai\/\">Western Digital saw 200% annual stock performance,thanks to AI<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/09\/22\/seagate-comeback-ai\/\">Seagate comeback thanks to AI, No 1 S&amp;P 500 perform stocks YTD<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/03\/04\/hp-important-good-company\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does HP make money? The pros and cons of investing in HP<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/09\/24\/hpe-on-enterprise\/\">HPE expertizes on enterprise technology services<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/06\/04\/how-dell-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does the resurrected Dell make money?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/06\/24\/ai-pc-supply-ecosystem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI PC is changing the PC supply chain and ecosystem<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/05\/03\/supermicro-is-not-worth\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Supermicro, a repeat offender of scandals, valuation is not justified and unsustanable, no worth for long-term holding<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/07\/16\/ibm-cloud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How does IBM make money? What&#8217;s next?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/12\/14\/buffett-hold-for-long-haul\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Is Buffett no longer hold for long haul? TSMC, HP, and US Bancorp cases study<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/09\/08\/gelsinger-impossible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Gelsinger faces a impossible mission, time is running out<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/08\/31\/how-bad-is-intel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How bad is Intel right now?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/06\/12\/intel-is-spinning-into-five\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Intel is spinning into five separate companies<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/05\/25\/will-intel-go-bankrupt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Will Intel go bankrupt?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/10\/30\/how-does-intel-make-money-and-the-benefits-to-invest-in-it\/\">How does Intel make money? and the benefits to invest in it<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/11\/05\/intels-current-difficult-dilemma\/\">Intel&#8217;s current difficult dilemma<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/06\/24\/ai-pc-supply-ecosystem\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI PC is changing the PC supply chain and ecosystem<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/04\/22\/amd-make-money\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How AMD makes money? A rare case of turning defeat into victory<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/02\/05\/amd-jaw-dropping\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why is AMD\u2019s performance so jaw-dropping?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the traditional hard disk drive market, the market is highly concentrated between two companies, Western Digital and Seagate Technology, which have strong pricing power.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,1277,1492],"tags":[1580,935,555],"class_list":["post-39699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hardware","category-computer","category-datacenter","tag-sndk","tag-stx","tag-wdc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39699"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40794,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39699\/revisions\/40794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}