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Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) announced their fiscal Q2 2020 earnings beating analyst expectations.

The data storage maker reported sales of $4.23 billion for the quarter ending January 3, 2020 which met consensus estimates of $4.22 billion. Sales for the quarter were flat compared to the same quarter last year.

The December quarter results reflect strong execution in our product roadmap, success in increasing our hard drive gross margin, and an improving flash market. We expect an accelerated recovery in our flash gross margins, which coupled with ongoing strength in demand for both hard drives and flash, positions us well for continued profitable growth in calendar year 2020. CEO of Western Digital, Steve Milligan

Wall Street analysts were expecting earnings per share of $0.58 which the company was able to beat, reporting earnings of $0.62 per share.

The company also provided guidance for their Q3 2020, estimating revenues between $4.1 – $4.3 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of between $0.85-$1.05. Previous analyst estimates had pegged the company revenues for Q3 at $4.07 billion and earnings at $0.74 per share so the updated guidance is likely to cause the stock to rise.

Western Digital’s stock has had a resurgent year in 2019 ending the year up 77% from the start but that was after it had seen a 51% decline in 2018. The stock has been up 6% this year so far as tighter memory chip supply could be beneficial to Western Digital as it would likely lead to higher chip prices. Fears are that the Coronavirus could tighten supply of memory chips as Yangtze Memory Tech Co, China’s leading memory manufacturer is based in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Western Digital’s stock was up 5% in after-market trading immediately following the release of earnings at the time of publishing.

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Don Weaver

Don has over 15 years of technology, business and start-up experience focusing on software, hardware integration and project management. Don’s research at Grizzle explores the intersection of technology and money. Don holds an MBA from HEC Paris.

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