Western Digital Corp. (WDC) stock prices were up by 3.24% as of the market closing on October 28th 2021. This brought the price per share up to SUD$57.28. Subsequent after hours fluctuations saw the stock dip by 10.30%, bringing it down to USD$51.38.
WDC Stock Resists Headwinds
WDC stock reported strong demand across diverse end markets, especially for its cloud products. In conjunction with Western Digital’s strong innovation engine, broad routes to market, and sharpened execution these developments enabled the company to deliver solid results within its guidance range. These promising forecasts are despite the continued adverse effects of the global coronavirus pandemic and the ongoing supply chain disruptions. While the disruptions are transitory, the company’s long term opportunities remain constant as the world hurtles towards digital transformation. The company is confident that the migration to the cloud and strong demand for storage solutions will continue to drive significant opportunities.
Promising Financials
The first quarter of fiscal 2022 saw WDC stock generate USD$521 million in cash flow from operations, while also making a total debt repayment of USD$213 million. The company ended the quarter with a solid liquidity position, coming in at USD$3.3 billion in total cash and cash equivalents. As of the end of the quarter, the company reported 316 million average outstanding shares. Furthermore, WDC manage to fully repay the remaining balance of Term Loan B, in the amount of USD$943 million. This repayment was on the basis of the company’s strong financial performance, bringing the total gross debt outstanding to USD$7.7 billion.
Segment Growth
WDC refined its end-markets that were reported to be Cloud, Client, and Consumer in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. Cloud represented 44% of total revenue, setting a new company record. This development was led by record capacity enterprise hard drive revenue, as well as nearly 30% quarter over quarter growth in enterprise SSD revenue.
WDC Stock’s OptiNAND
Over the course of the quarter, WDC stock announced OptiNAND, a revolutionary technology that makes use of flash in the HDD control plane. This results in the further enhancement of areal density, with industry proven PMR technology.
Future Outlook for WDC Stock
The company reported a promising quarter, as evidenced by the strength of its financial reports for the first quarter of fiscal 2022. WDC stock is keen to maintain the momentum generated over the course of the quarter, which it will try to carry through to the end of the year and beyond. Current and potential investors are hopeful that management will be able to effectively leverage the resources at their disposal. This is hoped to facilitate significant and sustained increases in shareholder value over the long term.
