- Though it beat FQ2 (Dec. quarter) estimates, Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) has guided on its CC for FQ3 revenue of $3.65B-$3.75B and EPS of $1.80-$1.90, mostly below a consensus of $3.73B and $1.95. The company blames a seasonally weaker hard drive market and lower factory utilization.
- Western is down 2% AH. Archrival Seagate (STX), which reports on Monday, is down 2.1%, as is hard drive/SSD controller supplier Marvell (MRVL).
- Western estimates the total addressable market (TAM) for hard drives was 142M in FQ2; that's slightly above guidance for TAM to be roughly flat with an FQ1 level of 139M. Gaming was an area of strength, no doubt thanks to the Xbox One/PS4 launches.
- FQ2 gross margin was 30.1%, +30 bps Q/Q and +140 bps Y/Y, and slightly better than guidance. FQ3 gross margin is expected to be near the midpoint of Western's 27%-32% model range (implies 29.5%).
- $150M was spent on buybacks, and 54% of revenue came from non-PC applications. ASP rose by $2 Q/Q to $60, thanks to a stronger mix of branded drive and distributor sales.
-
FQ2 results, PR, prepared remarks, datasheet