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Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) shares are trading higher Wednesday, moving in sympathy with Seagate Technology Holdings PLC‘s (NASDAQ:STX), which posted strong first-quarter earnings. WDC shares are powering higher on strong volume. Get the complete analysis here. What To Know: Seagate reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.61, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37. Revenue came in at $2.63 billion, also exceeding expectations of $2.54 billion, according to Benzinga Pro. The company highlighted record gross margins of 39.4% on a GAAP basis and 40.1% on a non-GAAP basis. Seagate generated $532 million in cash flow from operations and $427 million in free cash flow during the quarter. The data storage firm also increased its quarterly dividend by about 3% to 74 cents per share and returned $182 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in the quarter. CEO Dave Mosley said Seagate's results reflect strong execution and growing demand for its high-capacity storage products, particularly its Mozaic HAMR line, which is now qualified with five of the world's largest cloud customers. Western Digital stock is trading higher as investors view Seagate's strong quarterly performance as a positive sign for demand trends across the data storage industry. Western Digital is expected to report first-quarter earnings on Thursday after the market closes. Analysts are looking for earnings per share of $1.58 and revenue of $2.73 billion, according to Benzinga Pro estimates. WDC Price Action: At the time of writing, Western Digital stock is trading 14.87% higher at $143.58, according to data from Benzinga Pro. See Also: Why CleanSpark Stock Is Trading Higher Today Image via Shutterstock
