Morningstar

Morningstar, Inc.

Equity Bottom-Up

Western Digital is one of two leaders in the hard disk drive, or HDD, market and with the purchase of SanDisk in 2016 has become a significant player within the NAND flash market. The firm has invested significant resources into successfully negotiating the technological transition from HDD to flash storage. SSDs have important performance benefits versus the older spinning disc media and as a result, HDDs have lost their luster for both PCs and servers. HDDs currently have superior cost metrics…

Western Digital’s fiscal third-quarter results were mixed as revenue was within the company’s previous guidance, but adjusted earnings were lower than we expected due to poor utilization and an inventory charge. We have been awaiting confirmation that the storage market would recover in the back half of 2019 as presaged by management a few quarters ago and the firm reiterated this view, with expectations for improvements from both flash and hard disk drives, or HDDs. However, while our revenue…

United States

Western Digital Corporation is a global provider of solutions for the collection, storage, management, protection and use of digital content, including audio and video. The Company's products include hard drives, solid-state drives, and home entertainment and networking products.