New York, February 4, 2026, 11:13 EST — Regular session underway.
- Shares of Western Digital fell roughly 9% in late morning trading, following a broader sell-off among memory and storage stocks
- On Tuesday, the company boosted its share buyback authorization by $4 billion, effective immediately
- Investors are watching for continued buyback activity alongside signs of AI-driven demand in data-center spending
Shares of Western Digital Corp tumbled roughly 9% to $264.17 by late morning Wednesday, after earlier bouncing between $294.48 and $263.69. Seagate Technology dropped around 6%, while Micron Technology slid close to 8%.
The dip came just a day after Western Digital boosted its buyback program and rolled out a new investor pitch detailing how it aims to capitalize on the AI data-center boom.
This stock has become a popular bet on the “more servers, more storage” story. But once sentiment shifts, it can do so quickly — especially with several major earnings reports coming up that typically influence cloud spending trends.
On Tuesday, the company revealed its board has greenlit an extra $4.0 billion for share buybacks, adding to the previous authorization that still had about $484 million available as of Feb. 2. CEO Irving Tan called the move a sign of “confidence” in the company’s future. However, Western Digital noted that the timing and amount of repurchases will hinge on market conditions, and the program could be paused or stopped. (Western Digital)
Reuters says the shift is driven by rising demand for AI server-related memory components, pushing prices up and lengthening lead times. The stock has jumped roughly 57% year-to-date, following a more than threefold surge in 2025. Last week, the company projected quarterly revenue and profits that beat Wall Street forecasts. (Reuters)
At Tuesday’s Innovation Day, Western Digital announced it’s qualifying a 40-terabyte hard drive with two hyperscale customers — the biggest cloud data-center operators — aiming for volume production in the second half of 2026. The company also outlined plans to hit 100TB drives by 2029 using heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), a technology meant to boost data density on disk. Tan described the effort as “reimagin[ing] the hard drive” for AI demands, while IDC’s Ed Burns noted that “market validation is already evident.” (Western Digital)
Tech sentiment wavered Wednesday, dragging the market lower. Software and services stocks sold off, pulling Wall Street into a mixed session. AMD dropped over 12% after warning on revenue, rattling nerves ahead of major earnings reports. (Reuters)
A big buyback authorization doesn’t guarantee immediate stock purchases. The storage cycle could shift if cloud clients pull back on orders or prices drop as supply catches up. Plus, new drive technologies might face qualification delays before gaining traction.
Alphabet will report earnings after Wednesday’s close, with Amazon following suit after Thursday’s bell. These results often serve as key indicators for data-center spending trends. (Investopedia)
