New York, January 28, 2026, 13:21 ET — Regular session
- Shares of Western Digital jumped roughly 11% in early afternoon trading.
- Seagate projected quarterly results beating estimates, driven by strong AI-related storage demand.
- Western Digital will release its earnings after markets close on Thursday.
Shares of Western Digital (WDC) surged 11.3% to $281.31 on Wednesday, briefly hitting $281.61, as investors flocked to data-storage stocks following Seagate’s strong forecast linked to AI-driven demand. Seagate projected third-quarter revenue around $2.90 billion, plus or minus $100 million, with adjusted EPS of $3.40, plus or minus 20 cents. This comes after Seagate reported second-quarter revenue of $2.83 billion and adjusted EPS of $3.11. 1
This shift is significant since storage is now a bottleneck in the AI expansion. Increased computing power drives a surge in data needing storage, and nearline hard drives — those large-capacity disks found in data centers — have once again become a focal point in pricing, at least for the moment.
Western Digital will release its fiscal second-quarter earnings after the market closes on Thursday, followed by a conference call at 4:30 p.m. ET. 2
The rally follows Tuesday’s session, when the stock jumped 4.9% to close at $252.66, hitting a new 52-week high. 3
Analyst moves have injected fresh momentum. Cantor Fitzgerald bumped its price target to $300 from $250 and maintained an “overweight” rating earlier this week, StockStory reported. 4
Mizuho has bumped up its price target on Western Digital to $265 from $240, keeping an Outperform rating intact. The move reflects growing demand for artificial intelligence and the chance for higher average selling prices on nearline hard drives — basically, what they sell each drive for. 5
Seagate CEO Dave Mosley put it plainly on Tuesday: “modern data centers increasingly need storage solutions that combine performance and cost-efficiency at exabyte-scale,” he said. 1
Western Digital investors are now watching to see if Thursday’s report echoes the tight supply Seagate has been hinting at — and if the company’s guidance will move higher following the stock’s recent surge.
The risk is clear: expectations have climbed, and any hint that cloud orders are leveling off or pricing is topping out could spark a sharp sell-off. If rates or earnings disappoint elsewhere, a deeper retreat in high-growth tech would only add pressure.
Western Digital is set to report earnings after Thursday’s close. Investors will zero in on pricing trends, supply issues, and any commentary from management about hyperscale demand heading into the March quarter.
