Western Digital announced a new 100TB+ hard‑disk drive roadmap at its Innovation Day on February 3 2026, positioning the company to meet the growing capacity demands of AI‑driven data centers.
The roadmap introduces a 40TB UltraSMR ePMR drive that is already in qualification with two hyperscale customers and outlines a plan to deliver 100TB HAMR drives by 2029. The dual‑path strategy—UltraSMR/ePMR for immediate capacity gains and HAMR for long‑term scaling—also includes power‑optimized HDDs and a 2027 software platform with an open API to simplify deployment for petabyte‑scale customers.
By targeting high‑capacity, low‑cost storage, Western Digital aims to capture the AI data‑center market, where exabyte‑scale storage is projected to grow at a 23% CAGR. The roadmap’s emphasis on performance, power efficiency, and a flexible software stack signals a strategic pivot toward the AI economy.
Western Digital’s most recent earnings, released July 30 2025 for fiscal Q4 FY2025, reported revenue of $2.61 billion and non‑GAAP diluted EPS of $1.66—an $0.19 (12.9%) beat over the $1.47 consensus and a $0.15 billion (6.1%) revenue beat. The results were driven by strong cloud demand and a mix shift toward higher‑capacity near‑line products, which also helped improve gross and operating margins.
The company’s January 29 2026 release for fiscal Q2 FY2026 showed revenue of $3.0 billion and EPS of $2.13, beating the $1.93 estimate by $0.20 (10.4%). The growth was largely attributable to continued cloud demand, higher‑capacity drive adoption, and disciplined cost control that expanded non‑GAAP gross margin to 46.1% and operating margin to 33.8%.
Segment data for Q4 FY2025 shows that 90% of revenue came from the Cloud segment, with Client and Consumer each contributing about 5%. The same mix was reflected in Q2 FY2026, underscoring the company’s focus on data‑center customers.
Management highlighted the results and outlook. CFO Kris Sennesael praised strong execution and free‑cash‑flow generation, while CEO Irving Tan emphasized the company’s customer‑centric approach and the roadmap’s alignment with AI needs. Chief Product Officer Ahmed Shihab noted that the new capacity and performance innovations position Western Digital as a preferred partner for AI workloads.
Guidance for the coming quarters reflects confidence: for fiscal Q1 FY2026, revenue is guided at $2.7 billion with EPS of $1.54, and for fiscal Q3 FY2026, revenue is guided at $3.2 billion with EPS of $2.30. These figures suggest continued demand growth and margin stability as the company scales its high‑capacity product line.
The combination of a forward‑looking product roadmap, strong recent earnings, and optimistic guidance underscores Western Digital’s strategic focus on AI‑driven data storage and its ability to maintain pricing power and margin expansion in a rapidly growing market.
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