Compare · Technology
Sandisk vs. Western Digital: how they make money
The same facts for both companies, in the same order, from each company's own page and filings. This is not a ranking and says nothing about which share to own.
Each company in 5 points
Sandisk
1 · What it sells
Sandisk makes flash memory, the chips that keep data when the power is off, and sells it as drives, built-in storage and memory cards, with FY2026 revenue of $20.2 billion.
Sources and detail on the Sandisk page2 · Who pays it
In FY2026, device makers and distributors (Edge) paid 60.1% of revenue, data center customers 25.4%, and retailers and other sellers serving shoppers (Consumer) 14.5%.
Sources and detail on the Sandisk page3 · What it keeps from $100
Of every $100 that came in during FY2026, Sandisk kept $54.1 as net income, including an $808 million gain on equity securities, $807 million of it on Nanya shares, while operating income, before interest and tax, was $61.2 per $100 of revenue.
Sources and detail on the Sandisk page4 · Where the operating profit comes from
Sandisk has one reportable segment and does not disclose profit by end market; its total FY2026 operating income was $12.4 billion.
Sources and detail on the Sandisk page5 · The one thing to watch
Sandisk's revenue rose 378% in Q1 FY2027 from a year earlier while exabytes sold rose almost 10%, and its gross margin was 7.1% in FY2023 and 85.0% in Q1 FY2027.
Sources and detail on the Sandisk page
Western Digital
1 · What it sells
Western Digital makes hard disk drives, mostly high-capacity drives for cloud data centers, and had FY2026 revenue of $12.9 billion.
Sources and detail on the Western Digital page2 · Who pays it
In FY2026, cloud and enterprise data centers (Cloud) paid 88.9% of revenue, PC makers and channel customers (Client) 5.6%, and retail and channel partners serving shoppers (Consumer) 5.4%.
Sources and detail on the Western Digital page3 · What it keeps from $100
Of every $100 that came in during FY2026, Western Digital kept $48.4 as net income, including a $6.5 billion non-operating gain on Sandisk shares, while operating income was $34.5 per $100 of revenue.
Sources and detail on the Western Digital page4 · Where the operating profit comes from
Western Digital has one reportable segment, hard drives, and does not report profit by end market; its total FY2026 operating income was $4.5 billion.
Sources and detail on the Western Digital page5 · The one thing to watch
Western Digital's gross margin was 22.2% in FY2023 and 57.8% in Q1 FY2027, and in that quarter its Cloud price per exabyte was about 25% higher than a year earlier.
Sources and detail on the Western Digital page
Where each $100 went
Each company's own receipt for its latest full fiscal year, with matching lines in the same order where both have them.
Sandisk
Where $100 went · FY2026
| Cost of revenue | $27.3 |
|---|---|
| Research and development | $6.3 |
| Selling, general and admin | $3.2 |
| Other operating items | $0.4 |
| Interest and other expense | $1.2 |
| Income tax | $7.5 |
| Kept as net income | $54.1 |
| Total | $100 |
Cityfort calculation from FY2026 10-K. Of every $100 that came in during FY2026 (revenue plus the equity securities gain and interest income): each line = line ÷ $21.1 billion × 100. The profit line includes the $808 million gain on equity securities, $807 million of it on Nanya shares.
Western Digital
Where $100 went · FY2026
| Cost of revenue | $33.9 |
|---|---|
| Research and development | $6.0 |
| Selling, general and admin | $2.8 |
| Business realignment charges | $0.8 |
| Interest, exchange costs and other | $5.6 |
| Income tax | $2.5 |
| Kept as net income | $48.4 |
| Total | $100 |
Cityfort calculation from the FY2026 10-K. Of every $100 that came in during FY2026 (revenue plus the Sandisk share gain and interest income): each line = line ÷ $19.5 billion × 100. The profit line includes the $6.5 billion gain on Sandisk shares, which is not cash from customers.
Line items differ because each company groups its costs its own way in its filings. Only on Sandisk's receipt: Other operating items; Interest and other expense. Only on Western Digital's receipt: Business realignment charges; Interest, exchange costs and other.
Revenue, net income and free cash flow
Up to five fiscal years for each company, drawn on one shared scale per measure. Amounts in US$ as reported (GAAP).
Revenue
Sandisk
Western Digital
See the numbers
Net income
Sandisk
Western Digital
See the numbers
Free cash flow
Sandisk
Western Digital
See the numbers
Sources: Sandisk S3, S2, S1 · Western Digital S18, S11, S10, S1
Who pays each company
Sandisk
- Device makers and distributors (Edge) · 60.1% of revenueMakers of PCs, phones, game consoles, cars and other devices, buying flash built into their products, plus distributors.
- Data center customers (Datacenter) · 25.4% of revenuePublic and private cloud operators and enterprise server users buying enterprise SSDs. This was 43.5% of revenue in Q1 FY2027.
- Retailers and other sellers serving shoppers (Consumer) · 14.5% of revenueRetail stores and other sales channels that sell portable drives, memory cards and USB drives to shoppers. This was 3.6% of revenue in Q1 FY2027.
Western Digital
- Cloud and enterprise data centers (Cloud) · 88.9% of revenueHyperscale cloud service providers, neoclouds and enterprise customers buying high-capacity drives. Cloud was 88% of revenue in Q1 FY2027.
- PC makers and channel customers (Client) · 5.6% of revenueMakers of desktop and notebook computers, and channel customers, buying drives built into PCs.
- Retail and channel partners serving shoppers (Consumer) · 5.4% of revenueRetailers and channel partners that sell Western Digital's external drives to shoppers.
Revenue by segment
Sandisk
FY2026
| Segment | Revenue | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Edge | $12.2B | 60.1% |
| Datacenter | $5.2B | 25.4% |
| Consumer | $2.9B | 14.5% |
Western Digital
FY2026
| Segment | Revenue | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud | $11.5B | 88.9% |
| Client | $726M | 5.6% |
| Consumer | $703M | 5.4% |
Debt and cash
Sandisk
- Debt
- $0M
- Cash and investments
- $5.1B
On Oct 2, 2026.
At Oct 2, 2026 Sandisk had $5.1 billion of cash and no borrowings. A year earlier it had $1.44 billion of cash and $1.35 billion of debt.
Western Digital
- Debt
- $791M
- Cash and investments
- $1.3B
On Oct 2, 2026.
At Oct 2, 2026 Western Digital had $1.3 billion of cash and $791 million of debt. At Jun 28, 2024 its debt was $7.5 billion.
Sources: Sandisk S10, S1, S4, S19, S14 · Western Digital S3, S2, S1, S10, S30
Who owns each company
Sandisk
- One class of shares.
- Officers and directors as a group: 0.3% of shares (as of Sep 4, 2026).
- BlackRock, Inc.: 7.7% (as of Sep 30, 2026).
- Vanguard Capital Management: 7.6% (as of Sep 4, 2026).
- FMR LLC: 5.4% (as of Sep 4, 2026).
- 1 more holders on the Sandisk page.
Western Digital
- One class of shares.
- Officers and directors as a group: 0.2% of shares (as of Sep 22, 2026).
- FMR LLC: 9.2% (as of Nov 5, 2026).
- BlackRock, Inc.: 8.5% (as of Jan 25, 2024).
- Vanguard Capital Management: 7.5% (as of Apr 30, 2026).
- 1 more holders on the Western Digital page.
Sources: Sandisk S17, S4, S26, S24, S25 · Western Digital S20, S2, S21, S22
Risks only one page tracks
Risks whose type the other company's page does not list. Both pages track risks of these types: pricing, customer or supplier concentration, execution, regulation, technology. Every risk is on each company's page.
Sandisk
- Some FY2026 cash flow came from customers and unpaid tax (liquidity)FY2026 operating cash flow of $11.7 billion included $1.4 billion of refund liabilities, $1.2 billion of contract liabilities and $1.4 billion of income tax owed but not yet paid. Sandisk's Aug 17, 2026 10-K says it expects to be subject to the 15% corporate alternative minimum tax in FY2027.
Western Digital
- More shares from convertible notes (other)Shares outstanding rose from 360.5 million on Aug 7, 2026 to 374.3 million on Oct 15, 2026, as convertible notes were settled partly in shares. The remaining $141 million of notes are called for Nov 16, 2026, and the company said it expects holders of substantially all of them to convert first; it pays the principal in cash and the rest in shares.
Key facts
- How does Sandisk make money compared with Western Digital?
- Sandisk's revenue by segment in FY2026: Edge 60.1%, Datacenter 25.4%, Consumer 14.5%. Western Digital's revenue by segment in FY2026: Cloud 88.9%, Client 5.6%, Consumer 5.4%.
- Which is bigger by revenue, Sandisk or Western Digital?
- Sandisk reported $20.2B of revenue in FY2026, and Western Digital reported $12.9B in FY2026.
- How much net income did Sandisk and Western Digital report?
- Sandisk reported net income of $11.4B in FY2026, and Western Digital reported $9.3B in FY2026.
- How much of every $100 did Sandisk and Western Digital keep as net income?
- Sandisk kept $54.1 of every $100 that came in during FY2026, and Western Digital kept $48.4 in FY2026 (Cityfort calculation from each company's annual report).
- How much debt and cash do Sandisk and Western Digital have?
- Sandisk had $0M of debt and $5.1B of cash and investments on Oct 2, 2026. Western Digital had $791M of debt and $1.3B of cash and investments on Oct 2, 2026.
- When do Sandisk's and Western Digital's fiscal years end?
- Sandisk: ends on the Friday nearest June 30. Western Digital: ends on the Friday nearest June 30.
Sources: Sandisk S3, S2, S1, S4, S10, S19, S14 · Western Digital S18, S11, S10, S1, S2, S3, S30
Built from each company's page. Sandisk updated Nov 6, 2026; Western Digital updated Nov 6, 2026.
Sources
Sandisk
- S1Form 10-K, fiscal year 2026 (ended Jul 3, 2026), Sandisk Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 17, 2026
- S2Form 10-K, fiscal year 2025 (ended Jun 27, 2025), Sandisk Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 21, 2025
- S3Form 10 (10-12B/A), information statement, Exhibit 99.1, Sandisk Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Jan 27, 2025
- S4Form 10-Q, Q1 FY2027 (ended Oct 2, 2026), Sandisk Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Oct 30, 2026
- S10Q1 FY2027 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1), Sandisk Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Oct 29, 2026
- S14Q1 FY2026 earnings release (8-K Ex. 99.1), Sandisk Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Nov 6, 2025
- S172026 proxy statement (DEF 14A), Sandisk Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Oct 6, 2026
- S19Form 8-K, Sep 11, 2026 (revolving credit facility amendment), Sandisk Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Sep 11, 2026
- S24Schedule 13G, Vanguard Capital Management (as of Mar 31, 2026), Vanguard Capital Management (SEC EDGAR), Apr 30, 2026
- S25Schedule 13G/A, FMR LLC (as of Jun 30, 2026), FMR LLC (SEC EDGAR), Aug 6, 2026
- S26Schedule 13G/A, BlackRock, Inc. (as of Sep 30, 2026), BlackRock, Inc. (SEC EDGAR), Oct 27, 2026
Western Digital
- S1Form 10-K, fiscal 2026 (year ended Jul 3, 2026), Western Digital Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 14, 2026
- S2Form 10-Q, Q1 fiscal 2027 (quarter ended Oct 2, 2026), Western Digital Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Oct 23, 2026
- S3Q1 fiscal 2027 earnings release (Form 8-K Ex. 99.1, Oct 22, 2026), Western Digital Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Oct 22, 2026
- S10Form 10-K, fiscal 2025 (year ended Jun 27, 2025), Western Digital Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 14, 2025
- S11Form 10-K, fiscal 2024 (year ended Jun 28, 2024), Western Digital Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Aug 20, 2024
- S188-K filed Apr 7, 2025, Ex. 99.1: preliminary unaudited financials recast with the Flash business as discontinued operations (FY2022-FY2024, Q1 FY2024-Q2 FY2025), Western Digital Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Apr 7, 2025
- S202026 proxy statement (DEF 14A, annual meeting Nov 20, 2026), Western Digital Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Oct 5, 2026
- S21Schedule 13G/A by FMR LLC on Western Digital common stock (as of Sep 30, 2026), FMR LLC (SEC EDGAR), Nov 5, 2026
- S22Schedule 13G by Vanguard Capital Management on Western Digital common stock (as of Mar 31, 2026), Vanguard Capital Management (SEC EDGAR), Apr 30, 2026
- S308-K filed Sep 14, 2026: notice to redeem all 3.00% convertible notes due 2028 on Nov 16, 2026, Western Digital Corporation (SEC EDGAR), Sep 14, 2026
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