Western Digital (WDC) shares rose more than 8% following the board's authorization of an additional $4.0 billion for share repurchases. This capital allocation move signals management's confidence in the company's financial trajectory.
During its Innovation Day, the company detailed a multi-year HDD roadmap specifically targeting the AI data center market. A 40TB UltraSMR drive is currently in customer qualification. The company projects a development path to reach 100TB+ drives by 2029.
Positive market sentiment is also supported by ongoing balance sheet simplification and debt reduction efforts. Recent actions include transactions involving the company's remaining SanDisk stake and the elimination of its Series A Convertible Perpetual Preferred Stock.