Data storage · Nearline HDD leader (48%)
Western Digital
The No.1 in nearline exabytes at 48% (NAND spun off as SanDisk). 2025 cloud revenue $3B (+48%), with cloud 87-89% of revenue. It shipped 199EB of nearline (+37%); its 2026 production is sold out to AI-datacenter customers, with deals to top hyperscalers into 2027-28. Up 280% in 2025, the No.3 in the S&P. A core of the AI storage supercycle.
WDC Updated Jul 12, 2026 3 AI consumers· 3 recurring
Per the valuechain.wiki graph, Western Digital is directly linked to 3 companies (1 supply, 2 revenue relationships) and reaches 20 companies within two hops; the links are backed by 6 dated sources, 1 of them primary filings (as of 2026-07-12).
Financials & Segments
- Total revenue · Cloud revenue $3B (+48%)
- Customer concentration · 48% nearline share; 2026 sold out.
- Segments · Nearline HDD (cloud) · Client/other
Revenue from
- hyperscalers (nearline cloud) High confidence· Revenue $9.5B · FY2025 · FY2025 (June year-end) revenue $9.52B (+51%), net income $1.9B (vs -$33M), nearline 190EB (+32%), cloud 90%. Pure HDD after SanDisk (NAND) spin-off
Nearline HDDs to hyperscalers (48% share, 199EB, 87% cloud).Confirms EN Forbes (Tom Coughlin) Published Feb 2, 2026: C4Q 2025 and 2025 Hard Disk Drive Industry UpdateConfirms EN Blocks & Files Published Jul 31, 2025: Western Digital FY2025 results — nearline focus deepens (pure HDD post-SanDisk) - Microsoft Medium confidence
Supplies nearline HDDs to hyperscalers like Microsoft — 2026 output sold out and locked by long-term contracts, so customer capex is volume visibility. - Meta Platforms Medium confidence
Supplies nearline HDDs to cloud players like Meta — AI-datacenter cold/warm data storage demand flows into rising EB shipments.
Pays to
- HDD glass substrate (Hoya) Medium confidence
Sources glass substrates for high-capacity/HAMR HDDs from HOYA — the 3.5" glass shift is central to the capacity roadmap, so HOYA capacity is the upstream ramp bottleneck.Mentions EN Tom's Hardware Published May 15, 2025: HDD components maker Hoya describes 22TB & 24TB hard drives - heads, media & components (undisclosed) Low confidence
Heads, media and mechanical parts.Mentions EN Blocks & Files Published Jul 31, 2025: Western Digital FY2025 results — nearline focus deepens (pure HDD post-SanDisk) - capacity expansion · R&D (undisclosed) Low confidence
HDD capacity and R&D.Mentions EN Blocks & Files Published Jul 31, 2025: Western Digital FY2025 results — nearline focus deepens (pure HDD post-SanDisk)
Value-chain ripple (2 tiers)
Following node-to-node links up to 2 tiers; each firm is shown once, at its nearest tier.
| Company | Chain | '21 | '22 | '23 | '24 | '25 | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snowflake | lead2 | +20.4 | -57.6 | +38.6 | -22.4 | +42.1 | +53.7 |
| Starbucks Corp | lead2 | +11.1 | -13.2 | -1.2 | -2.5 | -5.3 | +26.3 |
| Johnson Controls | lead2 | +77.4 | -19.3 | -7.6 | +39.8 | +53 | +21.7 |
| Rockwell Automation, Inc. | lead2 | +41.2 | -24.8 | +22.6 | -6.2 | +38.4 | +12.6 |
| Illinois Tool Works Inc. | lead2 | +23.6 | -8.5 | +21.6 | -1 | -0.4 | +11 |
| Parker-Hannifin Corporation | lead2 | +18.3 | -6.9 | +60.8 | +39.6 | +39.5 | +10.2 |
| 3M Company | lead2 | +4.9 | -29.6 | -3.3 | +46.1 | +26.4 | +6.8 |
| Costco Wholesale | lead2 | +51.8 | -19 | +49 | +39.6 | -5.4 | +6.7 |
| Procter & Gamble | lead2 | +20.5 | -5 | -0.9 | +17.3 | -12.3 | +4.5 |
| Walmart Inc | lead2 | +2 | -0.5 | +12.9 | +74 | +24.5 | -3.2 |
| ServiceNow | lead2 | +17.9 | -40.2 | +82 | +50.1 | -27.7 | -7.8 |
| Stryker Corporation | lead2 | +10.2 | -7.4 | +23.8 | +21.3 | -1.5 | -13.3 |
| Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. | lead2 | -14.5 | -41.4 | +54.6 | +14.4 | +39.1 | -16.1 |
| Adobe Inc. | lead2 | +13.4 | -40.7 | +77.3 | -25.5 | -21.3 | -23.9 |
| Autodesk, Inc. | lead2 | -7.9 | -33.5 | +30.3 | +21.4 | +0.1 | -26.4 |
| Boston Scientific Corporation | lead2 | +18.2 | +8.9 | +24.9 | +54.5 | +6.8 | -49.9 |
| Microsoft | lead1 | +52.5 | -28 | +58.2 | +12.9 | +15.6 | +4 |
| Meta Platforms | lead1 | +23.1 | -64.2 | +194.1 | +66 | +13.1 | -6.4 |
| Western Digital | node | +17.7 | -51.6 | +66 | +13.9 | +283.7 | +171.6 |
| Hoya Corporation | benef1 | +10.8 | -3 | +34.4 | +11.3 | +24.9 | -6.1 |
YTD as of 2026-09-04 · source: Yahoo Finance
Western Digital operates across S&P 500, Storage, Nearline HDD leader (48%). It surged +283.7% in 2025 and +171.6% in 2026. The stock (+171.6%) is ahead of both its demand side (avg -1.2%) and supply side (avg -6.1%). Having run ahead of its chain, it is the first spot to give back if customer numbers fail to follow. Among connected nodes the furthest ahead is Microsoft (+4%) and the furthest behind is Meta Platforms (-6.4%). If chain logic explains the gap, the laggard is the next propagation candidate; if not, the link itself deserves a second look. A core of the AI storage supercycle.
Analysis generated from returns as of 2026-09-04Analyst ratings
Consensus: Buy 2 · Hold 1 · Sell 0 · Avg. target $760 · Price $467 (09-05) · Upside +63%
| Broker | Rating | Target | Published | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells Fargo · Aaron Rakers | Overweight | $730 | Jul 10, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| Goldman Sachs · James Schneider | Neutral | $650 | Jul 6, 2026 | Report ↗ |
| Cantor Fitzgerald · C.J. Muse | Overweight | $900 | Jun 29, 2026 | Report ↗ |
AI storage demand and tight HDD supply drove aggressive summer-2026 target hikes (Cantor $900, BofA $732), though Goldman Sachs stays Neutral.