Earnings call analysis

Western Digital (WDC) Q1 FY2027 Earnings Call: Guidance and Outlook

Management provided guidance for the second quarter of fiscal 2027, reflecting continued strong demand and favorable pricing across all end markets.

About Western Digital. Western Digital Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets a broad range of data storage devices and software solutions across the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the rest of Asia, serving an international market.

Call date

Oct 22, 2026

Sentiment score

+45 Positive

Management tone, -100 to +100

Sentiment change

vs Q4 FY2026 call

Sector

Information Technology, Technology Hardware, Storage and Peripherals

Next report

Feb 4, 2027

View calendar

Quarterly guidance

Revenue: $5.1 billion, plus/minus $100 million
Gross Margin: 60% to 61%
Operating Expenses: $400 million to $410 million
EPS: $5.80, plus/minus $0.20

Annual guidance

Annual guidance: No specific annual guidance was provided, though management noted CapEx will be modestly above the 4% to 6% of revenue range over the next two years.

Outlook

Demand: Demand remains robust and durable across cloud, enterprise, and AI markets.
Exabyte growth: Expected to accelerate throughout fiscal 2027 and 2028 as new platforms ramp.
Pricing: Favorable pricing environment expected to continue for the next 3 to 4 quarters.
CapEx: Anticipated to be modestly above the 4% to 6% of revenue range over the next two years to support head and media technology investments.
HAMR: Volume shipments scheduled for the first half of calendar year 2027.
Customer base: Diversifying into new cloud, AI Frontier labs, and physical AI applications.

Sources and method

Dombey's summary of the Western Digital Q1 FY2027 earnings call held Oct 22, 2026, written from the call itself. Every figure on this page was checked against what was said on the call, and quoted lines are management's own words; we do not add estimates or prices. The tone score is our read of management's wording, guidance and answers. Check figures against the company's SEC filings before acting. This is research, not investment advice.

Updated Nov 8, 2026. All earnings call analyses

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