【招商电子】西部数据FY26Q1跟踪报告：FY26Q1毛利率超指引预期，预计2026年EB存储供给紧张

Core Viewpoint - Western Digital (WDC.O) reported strong Q1 FY26 results with revenue of $2.8 billion, a year-over-year increase of 27% and a quarter-over-quarter increase of 8%, driven by robust demand for nearline drives [2][3] Financial Performance - Revenue of $2.8 billion exceeded guidance, with a gross margin of 43.9%, up 6.6 percentage points year-over-year and 2.6 percentage points quarter-over-quarter, attributed to ASP growth and cost control [2][3] - Operating income reached $856 million, with an operating margin of 30.4%, reflecting a 110% increase year-over-year [5] - Free cash flow was $599 million, demonstrating strong cash generation capabilities [15] Business Segments - Cloud business revenue was $2.51 billion, up 31.48% year-over-year and 7.77% quarter-over-quarter, accounting for 89% of total revenue [3][14] - Client business revenue was $1.46 billion, up 5.04% year-over-year, while consumer business revenue was $1.62 billion, down 1.22% year-over-year [3][14] Product Demand and Supply - Total storage capacity delivered was 204EB, a 23.6% increase year-over-year, with nearline shipments of 183EB, up 20.8% year-over-year [3][14] - The company expects continued high demand for high-capacity drives, with ePMR product shipments exceeding 2.2 million units, corresponding to approximately 70EB of storage [3][14] Guidance and Market Outlook - For Q2 FY26, the company guides revenue between $2.8 billion and $3.0 billion, with a gross margin of 44%-45%, indicating a year-over-year increase of 8.6 percentage points [4][17] - The company anticipates a tight supply situation in the EB storage market through 2026, with significant capacity expansion expected in 2027 [4][17] AI and Data Infrastructure - The adoption of AI across industries is driving demand for data infrastructure, with HDDs playing a crucial role in storing the massive amounts of data generated [6][7] - AI applications are reshaping data generation and storage, leading to increased demand for high-capacity HDDs [6][7] Operational Efficiency - AI tools have improved manufacturing efficiency by up to 10%, enhancing yield and optimizing testing processes [9][25] - The company has established a new testing lab to accelerate the adoption of next-generation high-capacity drives [9][10] Shareholder Returns - The company repurchased approximately 6.4 million shares for $553 million and increased its dividend by 25% to $0.125 per share [16][12] - Cumulative shareholder returns since Q4 FY25 have reached $785 million [16] Strategic Focus - The company is focused on expanding its ePMR roadmap while introducing new technologies like HAMR to meet growing data storage demands [12][11] - The management emphasizes maintaining operational discipline and leveraging AI opportunities to drive long-term shareholder value [18][12]