WDC Stock Sinks 11% After-Hours Despite Earnings Beat — Retail Questions Selloff, Blames ‘Technicals And Algos’

• Western Digital reported fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.56 and revenue of $3.75 billion, beating Wall Street estimates on both metrics.
• The company forecast first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $4.1 billion, plus or minus $100 million, and adjusted EPS of $3.85-$4.15, roughly in line with expectations.
• Stocktwits retail traders said the earnings beat did not warrant such a sharp selloff.

Western Digital Corp. (WDC) shares tumbled nearly 11% in after-hours trading on Wednesday despite the hard-drive maker reporting quarterly earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street estimates. The sharp selloff appeared to reflect expectations for a stronger outlook from one of the beneficiaries of the artificial intelligence infrastructure boom.

At the time of writing, WDC shares were down 10.8% in after-hours trading, after having ended the regular session 5.4% lower.

WDC Beats Estimates

Western Digital reported fiscal fourth-quarter non-GAAP earnings of $3.56 per diluted share, up from $1.70 a year earlier and ahead of the $3.3 expected by analysts, according to fiscal.ai. Revenue for the quarter rose to $3.75 billion from $2.61 billion a year earlier, topping analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion, according to fiscal.ai.

“As global data creation continues to accelerate, we enter fiscal year 2027 with continued confidence in the durability of demand and with increasing visibility into our business,” Chief Executive Officer Irving Tan said.

WDC’s Q1 FY27 Outlook

For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Western Digital forecast revenue of $4.1 billion, plus or minus $100 million, and adjusted earnings per share of $3.85 to $4.15. Analysts were expecting adjusted earnings of $3.76 per share on revenue of $4.04 billion.

While the company beat quarterly estimates, investors appeared underwhelmed by guidance that was only modestly above consensus.

WDC Stock: What Stocktwits Retail Says

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment on WDC jumped to ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume improved to ‘high’ from ‘normal’ during the same period.

Some retail investors expressed confusion and frustration over the stock’s sharp decline despite the earnings beat and positive guidance.

One trader said the reaction was driven by “technicals and algos,” adding that “a 10% is ridiculous” after the company beat expectations across the board. The trader also said, “In no world does this beat on all levels equate to a crash, let alone being flat.”

Another retail investor pushed back against the market’s reaction, saying “they beat top and bottom,” and added that the bears were using the slightly softer guidance “as an excuse.”

WDC shares have surged more than 190% year to date.

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