Western Digital Raises Quarterly Dividend After 2025 Cut

Western Digital Corporation (WDC) increased its quarterly dividend to $0.15 a share from $0.125, a 20% raise, with an ex-dividend date of June 5, 2026. The new payout implies an annual dividend of $0.60 a share and a forward annual yield of 0.12% based on the listed share price of $517.72.

The increase comes after Western Digital previously cut its dividend in 2025, leaving the company with no current streak of consecutive annual dividend growth. SmarterDividends assigns the payout a safety score of 58 out of 100, or a C grade, indicating a midrange profile rather than a high-confidence income stream.

Business Context

Western Digital remains a major technology company in data storage, with a market capitalization of $178.45 billion. The company has become more focused after separating its flash-memory business into Sandisk, a move intended to let each company concentrate on its own storage market. MarketWatch reported that the separation was designed to clarify the value of Sandisk’s flash-storage business and Western Digital’s hard-disk-drive business: MarketWatch.

Recent operating momentum has been tied to demand for data storage used in artificial-intelligence infrastructure. The Wall Street Journal reported that Western Digital and Sandisk posted higher fiscal third-quarter profits amid strong demand for data-storage products, and that Western Digital’s hard-disk-drive products remain central to persistent data storage for AI workloads: The Wall Street Journal.

The company’s strategic shift followed an earlier decision to separate the flash-memory unit after pressure to simplify the business. Investopedia reported that Western Digital’s plan to split the flash-memory business came after weaker flash demand and abandoned merger discussions with Kioxia: Investopedia.

What It Means for Income Investors

For income investors, the dividend increase restores some cash-return momentum but does not yet establish a durable growth record. The annualized payout remains small relative to the share price, and the company’s 2025 cut is still relevant when assessing reliability. The event is best read as a positive dividend action within a cyclical technology business, not as evidence of a long dividend-growth track record.