Western Digital (WDC.N): Management Callback Takeaways

Citi spoke with Western Digital management following the September-quarter earnings and summarized the key takeaways. Management emphasized that demand remains strong and is not the constraint on growth; the top seven customers provide visibility through 2030-2031, and aggregated demand signals support 25%+ long-term exabyte CAGR. Revenue and exabyte shipments remain constrained primarily by Western Digital's ability to supply drives rather than end-market demand. CapEx is expected to remain modestly above the historical 4%-6% of revenue range for roughly the next two years, focused on head wafers, media capacity, glass substrates, HAMR-related manufacturing and automation rather than adding HDD unit capacity. Pricing remains favorable;