New York, Feb 17, 2026, 06:08 EST — Premarket
Western Digital NASDAQ:WDC slipped 1.4% to $277.70 ahead of Tuesday’s open, following a 0.9% drop to $281.58 at Friday’s close. Shares have surged roughly 312% in the past year, hitting a 52-week peak of $307.50.
U.S. markets returned from the Presidents Day break to find megacap tech under pressure, with an early slump setting the tone. Stock index futures slipped before the open, the Nasdaq 100 especially soft, as investors braced for a loaded week on rates and risk.
Shares of other storage and memory players struggled ahead of the bell. Seagate Technology dropped 1.8% in early trading, with Micron Technology off by 2.3%.
Right now, broader macro forces are carrying more weight than individual company stories, as traders keep an eye on the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes set for release Wednesday. Later this week brings the “core PCE” price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation measure that leaves out food and energy. MarketWatch
Western Digital’s most recent major move landed on Feb. 3, when it tacked another $4 billion onto its share repurchase program, citing memory chip demand from artificial intelligence servers. According to Reuters, the company still had roughly $484 million left on its previous buyback authorization that day.
Chief Executive Irving Tan, in the company statement that day, said the larger buyback “demonstrates our confidence” in the company’s outlook. He also pointed to a capital plan aimed at juggling reinvestment, cutting debt and returning value to shareholders. Western Digital
Western Digital has been chipping away at its short-term debt load. In a Feb. 5 filing, the company said it put up funds with its trustee to fully redeem its 4.750% senior notes due 2026, wiping out its obligations tied to the indenture.
The company’s latest quarterly numbers, out Jan. 29, showed revenue at $3.02 billion, with adjusted earnings coming in at $2.13 a share. CEO Tan pointed to “disciplined execution” as the driver behind meeting AI-fueled demand. CFO Kris Sennesael, looking ahead, put the fiscal third-quarter revenue forecast at about $3.2 billion midpoint, with adjusted profit expected to land near $2.30 per share. Western Digital
The rally doesn’t leave much cushion for any letdown. A slowdown in cloud customer spending, softer storage prices, or another shift in the rates outlook could send high-beta hardware stocks tumbling fast — and buybacks may get shelved if markets sour.
Traders are eyeing the first full session after the holiday to see if tech stocks exposed to interest rates face renewed selling. Western Digital’s next event comes when management is set to speak at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 3 at 10:45 a.m. ET, according to the company.
