New York, Feb 13, 2026, 10:34 (EST) — Regular session
- Western Digital shares fall about 2% in early New York trade, paring Thursday’s rebound
- Investors stay cautious after a sharp tech selloff and as inflation data resets rate-cut bets
- Focus shifts to buybacks, guidance and the March dividend timetable
Western Digital Corp shares fell on Friday morning, extending a choppy stretch for storage-linked names. The stock was down 2.3% at $277.50 by 10:19 a.m. EST, after earlier sliding to $266.67. Seagate dropped 3.8% and Micron fell 2.4%, while NetApp rose 3.3%.
The pullback follows a sharp tech selloff a day earlier that pushed investors to rethink how quickly AI spending turns into profits. “We see this as a ‘prove it’ year for AI. We need to start seeing some return on investments,” said Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at GuideStone Funds. (Reuters)
On Friday, traders had fresh inflation numbers to work with. U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2% in January and 2.4% from a year earlier, both softer than economists expected, while core CPI — which strips out food and energy — rose 0.3% on the month, the Labor Department said. Wall Street’s main indexes were little changed at the open as investors weighed the Federal Reserve’s path after it kept its benchmark rate in the 3.50%-3.75% range last month. (Reuters)
Western Digital closed up 3.78% on Thursday at $284.10, logging a second straight gain on heavier-than-average volume, but it still lagged some rivals on a bruising day for the broader market. About 13 million shares changed hands, above its 50-day average of 9.3 million, MarketWatch data showed. (MarketWatch)
For investors, the stock has become a fast-moving way to express a view on the AI data-center buildout — and on how durable that wave is when the macro picture turns noisy.
Earlier this month, Western Digital said its board authorized an additional $4.0 billion of share repurchases, with about $484 million left under the prior authorization as of Feb. 2. A share repurchase, often called a buyback, is when a company buys its own stock and reduces the number of shares in the market. “The expanded $4.0 billion buyback authorization demonstrates our confidence in WD’s future,” CEO Irving Tan said. (Western Digital)
In late January, the company reported fiscal second-quarter revenue of $3.02 billion, up 25% from a year earlier, and non-GAAP earnings of $2.13 a share. Non-GAAP results strip out certain items to give investors another view of operating performance. “Our business continues to strengthen,” CFO Kris Sennesael said, as the company forecast fiscal third-quarter revenue of $3.2 billion, plus or minus $100 million, and non-GAAP EPS of $2.30, plus or minus $0.15. (Western Digital)
Still, tech has not been trading on company stories alone this week. A renewed rush into safer assets on Thursday pulled the U.S. 10-year yield to its lowest level of 2026, a reminder that rates and risk appetite can swamp single-stock narratives for long stretches. (Financial Times)
Traders will be watching whether Western Digital steadies after Friday’s early dip and whether buybacks show up as a backstop if volatility persists. The next near-term marker is March 5, the record date for its 12.5-cent quarterly dividend, with payment due March 18.
