Western Digital Unveiled Go-Forward Strategy at Investor Day 2025
Western Digital (WDC) hosted its Investor Day, outlining its strategy ahead of the planned Flash business separation on February 21, 2025. CEO Designate Irving Tan highlighted the company's position in HDD technology and partnerships with major hyperscalers.
The company projects HDD exabyte shipments to grow at a 23% CAGR from 2024 to 2028, driven by AI applications and increasing data storage demands. Global data generation is expected to triple between 2023 and 2028.
WDC announced that its HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) technology development is progressing, with testing currently underway with two major hyperscale customers. The company's portfolio includes ePMR CMR HDDs and UltraSMR technology, aiming to provide scalable storage solutions with optimal total cost of ownership.
Western Digital (WDC) ha ospitato il suo Investor Day, delineando la sua strategia in vista della prevista separazione del business Flash il 21 febbraio 2025. Il CEO Designato Irving Tan ha evidenziato la posizione dell'azienda nella tecnologia HDD e le collaborazioni con importanti hyperscalers.
L'azienda prevede che le spedizioni di HDD in exabyte cresceranno a un CAGR del 23% dal 2024 al 2028, trainate dalle applicazioni AI e dall'aumento della domanda di archiviazione dei dati. Si prevede che la generazione globale di dati triplicherà tra il 2023 e il 2028.
WDC ha annunciato che lo sviluppo della sua tecnologia HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) sta progredendo, con test attualmente in corso con due importanti clienti hyperscale. Il portafoglio dell'azienda include HDD ePMR CMR e tecnologia UltraSMR, con l'obiettivo di fornire soluzioni di archiviazione scalabili con un costo totale di proprietà ottimale.
Western Digital (WDC) organizó su Investor Day, delineando su estrategia antes de la separación planificada del negocio Flash el 21 de febrero de 2025. El CEO Designado Irving Tan destacó la posición de la compañía en la tecnología HDD y las asociaciones con grandes hyperscalers.
La compañía proyecta que los envíos de HDD en exabytes crecerán a una CAGR del 23% desde 2024 hasta 2028, impulsados por aplicaciones de IA y el aumento de la demanda de almacenamiento de datos. Se espera que la generación global de datos se triplique entre 2023 y 2028.
WDC anunció que el desarrollo de su tecnología HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) está avanzando, con pruebas actualmente en curso con dos importantes clientes hyperscale. El portafolio de la compañía incluye HDD ePMR CMR y tecnología UltraSMR, con el objetivo de proporcionar soluciones de almacenamiento escalables con un costo total de propiedad óptimo.
웨스턴 디지털(WDC)은 투자자 날을 개최하고 2025년 2월 21일 예정된 플래시 사업 분리에 대한 전략을 설명했습니다. 디자인된 CEO 어빙 탄은 HDD 기술에서 회사의 위치와 주요 하이퍼스케일러와의 파트너십을 강조했습니다.
회사는 2024년부터 2028년까지 HDD 엑사바이트 출하량이 연평균 23% 성장할 것으로 예상하고 있으며, 이는 AI 애플리케이션과 증가하는 데이터 저장 수요에 의해 촉진됩니다. 2023년과 2028년 사이에 전 세계 데이터 생성이 세 배로 증가할 것으로 예상됩니다.
WDC는 HAMR(Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) 기술 개발이 진행 중이며, 현재 두 개의 주요 하이퍼스케일 고객과 함께 테스트를 진행 중이라고 발표했습니다. 회사의 포트폴리오에는 ePMR CMR HDD 및 UltraSMR 기술이 포함되어 있으며, 최적의 총 소유 비용으로 확장 가능한 저장 솔루션을 제공하는 것을 목표로 하고 있습니다.
Western Digital (WDC) a organisé son Investor Day, décrivant sa stratégie avant la séparation prévue de l'activité Flash le 21 février 2025. Le CEO désigné Irving Tan a souligné la position de l'entreprise dans la technologie HDD et les partenariats avec de grands hyperscaleurs.
L'entreprise prévoit que les expéditions d'HDD en exaoctets croîtront à un TCAC de 23 % de 2024 à 2028, soutenues par des applications d'IA et une demande croissante de stockage de données. La génération de données mondiale devrait tripler entre 2023 et 2028.
WDC a annoncé que le développement de sa technologie HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) progresse, avec des tests actuellement en cours avec deux grands clients hyperscale. Le portefeuille de l'entreprise comprend des HDD ePMR CMR et la technologie UltraSMR, visant à fournir des solutions de stockage évolutives avec un coût total de possession optimal.
Western Digital (WDC) veranstaltete seinen Investorentag und skizzierte seine Strategie im Hinblick auf die geplante Trennung des Flash-Geschäfts am 21. Februar 2025. Der designierte CEO Irving Tan hob die Position des Unternehmens in der HDD-Technologie und die Partnerschaften mit großen Hyperscalern hervor.
Das Unternehmen prognostiziert, dass die HDD-Exabyte-Lieferungen von 2024 bis 2028 mit einer CAGR von 23% wachsen werden, was durch KI-Anwendungen und die steigende Nachfrage nach Datenspeicherung vorangetrieben wird. Es wird erwartet, dass die globale Datengenerierung zwischen 2023 und 2028 sich verdreifachen wird.
WDC gab bekannt, dass die Entwicklung seiner HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording)-Technologie voranschreitet, wobei derzeit Tests mit zwei großen Hyperscale-Kunden durchgeführt werden. Das Portfolio des Unternehmens umfasst ePMR CMR HDDs und UltraSMR-Technologie, mit dem Ziel, skalierbare Speicherlösungen mit optimalen Gesamtkosten anzubieten.
- HAMR technology testing initiated with two major hyperscale customers
- Projected 23% CAGR in HDD exabyte shipments (2024-2028)
- Strategic separation of Flash business progressing as planned
- None.
Insights
The strategic roadmap unveiled at Western Digital's Investor Day signals a pivotal transformation in the company's trajectory, particularly as it approaches the separation of its Flash business. The announcement of HAMR technology testing with two major hyperscale customers represents a significant competitive advantage in the high-capacity enterprise storage market, where timing and technological leadership are important for securing long-term contracts.
The projected 23% CAGR in HDD exabyte shipments through 2028 is particularly noteworthy when contextualized against the economics of data center storage. This growth rate, driven by AI workloads and expanding data lakes, suggests a robust demand environment that could strengthen Western Digital's pricing power and margin potential. The company's multi-technology approach - combining ePMR, UltraSMR, and HAMR - creates a strategic ladder of solutions that allows customers to optimize their storage infrastructure costs while providing Western Digital with multiple revenue streams.
The emphasis on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and sustainability in the strategy reflects an acute understanding of enterprise customer priorities. By enabling predictable, scalable economic transitions for customers, Western Digital is positioning itself as a strategic partner rather than merely a component supplier. This approach could lead to more stable, long-term revenue streams and potentially higher margins.
The exploration of new growth opportunities in servo-mechanics, magnetics, and systems design suggests Western Digital is laying groundwork for diversification beyond traditional storage markets. This could create additional value streams and reduce dependency on cyclical storage markets, though execution will be critical.
CEO Designate Irving Tan Shared the Company’s Vision, Strategic Outlook and AI Market Growth Projection; Company Is Now Testing HAMR Technology with Hyperscale Customers
CEO Designate Irving Tan reinforced Western Digital’s leadership in delivering world-class, sustainable storage solutions at scale. With a deep legacy in HDD technology and innovation, Western Digital remains the trusted partner for the world’s largest hyperscalers, CSPs and OEMs, delivering cutting-edge solutions at the right time with low total cost of ownership (TCO). From industry-leading ePMR CMR HDDs and UltraSMR technology, to HAMR and beyond, Western Digital continues to drive innovation across its portfolio, creating unmatched long-term value for its customers.
Tan shared Western Digital’s projection on how the proliferation of AI will impact the HDD industry and the value of data stored. As companies generate and store more data, growing use cases such as text-to-image GenAI workloads, text-to-video applications and a rising demand for massive data lakes to fuel AI models are expected to increase HDD exabyte shipments at a
To meet this demand today and into the future, Tan announced that the company’s HAMR development is accelerating as testing is underway with two major hyperscale customers. With the company’s differentiated portfolio of scalable capacity across ePMR and UltraSMR technologies, and with UltraSMR gains extending to HAMR, Western Digital is enabling its customers to plan long-term while leveraging expanding capacity points available today. This helps ensure a predictable, scalable economic transition for customers while achieving maximum value as their data center environments evolve.
“The future holds tremendous opportunity, and Western Digital is well-positioned to be the leader in data storage as we meet our customers’ storage needs today and into the future,” said Tan. “We are not just advancing the future of HDD—we’re unleashing the power and value of data for enterprise and cloud customers worldwide.”
The company’s new strategic approach underscores Western Digital’s dedication to meeting customer demands today while positioning for future growth. In support, Tan shared that the team’s expertise and intellectual property across physics, material sciences and manufacturing capability is being applied to exploring new growth opportunities in areas such as servo-mechanics, magnetics and systems design.
Webcast Replay
The video replay and supporting materials of Western Digital’s Investor Day 2025 presentation will be posted to the Investor Relations site, https://investor.wdc.com/ by February 13, 2025.
About Western Digital
Western Digital empowers the systems and people who rely on data. Consistently delivering massive capacity, high quality and low TCO, Western Digital is trusted by hyperscale cloud providers, enterprise data centers, content professionals and consumers around the world. Core to its values, the company recognizes the urgency to combat climate change and is on a mission to design storage technologies that not only meet today’s data demands but also contribute to a more climate-conscious future. Follow Western Digital on LinkedIn and learn more at www.westerndigital.com.
1 Based on internal estimates
2 Worldwide IDC Global DataSphere Forecast, 2024–2028, doc #US52076424, May 2024
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws, including statements regarding expectations for: the timing of the planned separation of the company’s HDD and Flash businesses and its outcome and impact; the company’s business outlook; industry, technology and storage trends, including the impact of artificial intelligence; the company’s market position, demand trends, and growth opportunities for the company’s products; and the company’s product development plans. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Key risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements include: volatility in global economic conditions and demand for the company’s products; operational, financial and legal challenges and difficulties inherent in implementing the separation of the company’s HDD and Flash businesses; inflation; increase in interest rates and economic recession; future responses to and effects of global health crises; the impact of business and market conditions; the outcome and impact of the company’s announced separation transaction, including with respect to customer and supplier relationships, regulatory and contractual restrictions, stock price volatility and the diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the company’s development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with cost saving initiatives, restructurings, acquisitions, divestitures, mergers, joint ventures and the company’s strategic relationships; difficulties or delays in manufacturing or other supply chain disruptions; hiring and retention of key employees; the company’s level of debt and other financial obligations; changes to the company’s relationships with key customers; compromise, damage or interruption from cybersecurity incidents or other data system security risks; actions by competitors; the company’s ability to achieve its GHG emissions reduction and other ESG goals; the impact of international conflicts; risks associated with compliance with changing legal and regulatory requirements and the outcome of legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on August 20, 2024 to which your attention is directed. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements to reflect new information or events, except as required by law.
© 2025 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Western Digital, the Western Digital design, and the Western Digital logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the US and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.
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Source: Western Digital
FAQ
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