Why Western Digital Stock Jumped 490%?
Over the past year, Western Digital (WDC) stock skyrocketed nearly 5-fold, fueled by a powerful mix of booming AI-driven demand, sharp corporate restructuring, and soaring profitability. Behind this surge lies a strategic blend of innovation, robust earnings, and shareholder rewards—unpacking these moves reveals the full story.
Below is an analytical breakdown of stock movement into key contributing metrics.
| 2062025 | 2062026 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock Price ($) | 48.0 | 282.6 | 488.4% |
| Change Contribution By: | |||
| Total Revenues ($ Mil) | 8,377.0 | 10,734.0 | 28.1% |
| Net Income Margin (%) | 15.0% | 35.4% | 137.0% |
| P/E Multiple | 13.3 | 25.3 | 90.9% |
| Shares Outstanding (Mil) | 346.0 | 341.0 | 1.5% |
| Cumulative Contribution | 488.4% |
So what is happening here? The stock surged 488%, driven by a 28% revenue rise, a 137% boost in net margin, and a 91% jump in P/E multiple. Let’s explore the key moves behind these gains.
Here Is Why Western Digital Stock Moved
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- Corporate Restructure: Western Digital finalized its corporate split on February 24, 2025, becoming a pure-play HDD leader.
- Strong Earnings & Guides: WDC consistently beat earnings estimates and provided strong guidance throughout FY2025 and FY2026.
- AI Data Storage Demand: Exploding AI datasets drove significant demand for high-capacity HDDs and storage solutions.
- Shareholder Returns: The company announced a $4 billion share repurchase program and declared dividends.
- AI-Focused Innovation: WDC unveiled a new storage roadmap for AI needs, including 40TB UltraSMR drives in 2026.
Our Current Assesment Of WDC Stock
Opinion: We currently find WDC stock relatively expensive. Why so? Have a look at the full story. Read Buy or Sell WDC Stock to see what drives our current opinion.
Risk: A good way to gauge risk for WDC is to check how deeply it fell during major market shocks. It plunged nearly 90% in the Dot-Com crash, took a 75% hit in the Global Financial Crisis, and dropped around 61% during the inflation shock. Even the less severe events like the 2018 correction and the Covid pandemic led to dips of about 66% and 59%, respectively. Solid fundamentals matter, but when panic hits, WDC hasn’t been immune to steep losses.
WDC stock may have seen strong gains recently, but investing in a single stock without detailed, thorough analysis can be risky. The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 — the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.