WDCWESTERN DIGITAL CORP

Computer Storage Devices

Revenue: $12.9B; 36% YoY
Operating margin: 34.5%; 41% YoY
EBITDA: $4.8B; 73% YoY
Market cap: $136.9B
Employees: 40,000; $323K revenue each
Net debt / EBITDA: 2.5×; $12.0B net debt
AI in 10-K: 8.3; mentions per 10K words

Takeover score 3 of 13

Fixable underperformance 2 of 7

TSR below peersYes
4 of 5 years
3+ of last 5 years
High CEO pay despite TSRNo
—
Median CEO pay ≥ $15M while TSR trails
Earnings not backed by cashYes
42% of net income
Cash flow under 80% of net income
Dilutive SBCNo
2% of revenue
Over 10% of revenue
Payouts exceed cash flowNo
70% of cash flow
Buybacks + dividends over cash flow
Goodwill-heavyNo
30% of assets
Over 40% of assets
Shareholder dissentNo
—
Any vote under 80% support

Buyer economics 0 of 4

Low revenue per employeeNo
$323K · 27th pct
Bottom quartile of its SIC industry
Quiet on AINo
8.3 per 10K words · 90th pct
Bottom quartile of AI mentions in 10-Ks
Net cashNo
2.5× EBITDA net debt
More cash than debt, positive EBITDA
Buyout-sizedNo
$136.9B market cap
Market cap $500M–$5B

Catalysts 1 of 2

Active 13DNo
0 filings
Active-intent 13D in 18 months
Net insider sellingYes
−$77M net
Net sales over $10M in 12 months

Financials

Metric	FY2022	FY2023	FY2024	FY2025	FY2026	YoY	Trend
Revenue	$18.8B	$6.3B	$6.3B	$9.5B	$12.9B	36%
Operating income	$2.4B	−$548M	−$403M	$2.3B	$4.5B	91%
Net income	$1.5B	−$902M	−$765M	$1.6B	$9.4B	474%
Operating cash flow	$1.9B	−$408M	−$294M	$1.7B	$3.9B	132%
Capex	$1.1B	$821M	$487M	$412M	$418M	1.5%
Stock-based comp	$326M	$318M	$295M	$265M	$204M	23%
Buybacks	—	$0	$0	$149M	$2.6B	1640%
Dividends	$0	$0	$0	$44M	$174M	295%

Deal filings

None.

13D filers

None on file.

Insider trading

Open-market buys, 12 mo: $0 · 0
Open-market sells, 12 mo: $77M · 237
Net: −$77M

Pay vs performance

Year	CEO total comp	Comp actually paid	TSR (indexed)	Peer TSR
FY2026	—	—	1021	383
FY2025	—	—	198	352
FY2024	—	—	179	316
FY2023	—	—	89	208
FY2022	—	—	102	138