Western Digital Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Western Digital (NAS: WDC) reported earnings on July 25. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended June 29 (Q4), Western Digital beat expectations on revenue and crushed expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue improved significantly and GAAP earnings per share improved significantly.


Margins expanded across the board.

Revenue details
Western Digital reported revenue of $4.75 billion. The 17 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected revenue of $4.25 billion on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were 98% higher than the prior-year quarter's $2.40 billion.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
EPS came in at $3.35. The 20 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ predicted $2.48 per share. GAAP EPS of $2.87 for Q4 were 335% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.66 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
For the quarter, gross margin was 31.0%, 1,150 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 18.7%, 1,130 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 15.7%, 910 basis points better than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $4.36 billion. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $2.45.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $16.55 billion. The average EPS estimate is $8.01.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 1,286 members out of 1,362 rating the stock outperform, and 76 members rating it underperform. Among 283 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 269 give Western Digital a green thumbs-up, and 14 give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Western Digital is outperform, with an average price target of $44.39.

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The article Western Digital Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Western Digital. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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