WDC vs DLB vs POET Stock Comparison

Western Digital, Dolby Laboratories and Poet Technologies Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WDC Western Digital Corp
$396.42 -12.5% 1M +217.3% 1Y
Market cap
$143.77B
P/E
14.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.48B
Div. yield
0.00%
Server and Storage Hardware Technology
6 wins
DLB Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
$61.68 +6.0% 1M -7.3% 1Y
Market cap
$5.90B
P/E
26.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.35B
Div. yield
0.02%
Semiconductor EDA Software Technology
3 wins
POET Poet Technologies Inc.
$5.84 -21.2% 1M -17.4% 1Y
Market cap
$529.59M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.71T
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Design Technology
1 win

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Western Digital leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Western Digital 6, Dolby Laboratories 3, Poet Technologies 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionWDCDLBPOETLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $143.77B $5.90B $529.59M WDC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.3x 26.1x 0.0x WDC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.5x 13.7x — DLB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +43.0% +0.6% +266.1% POET
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 69.2% 16.7% -4,420.7% WDC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 53.8% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% 0.00% DLB
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +217.3% -7.3% -17.4% WDC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +58.6%/yr -6.9%/yr -6.9%/yr WDC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 81.3% 30.2% 140.1% DLB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 78/100 66/100 23/100 WDC

Percentile Scorecard

WDCDLBPOET

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisWDCDLBPOET
Valuation 50 #56 of 111 89 #11 of 94 51 #47 of 94
Growth 98 #3 of 108 25 #69 of 92 14 #79 of 92
Profitability 98 #3 of 104 71 #27 of 90 3 #87 of 90
Financial Health 68 #38 of 115 60 #40 of 99 –
Shareholder Returns 78 #18 of 78 86 #11 of 73 –
Overall 78 66 23
  • WDC ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • DLB ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • POET ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodWDCDLBPOETSPY
1 month -12.5%+6.0%-21.2% +0.9%
3 months -14.2%+17.4%-8.3% +5.9%
6 months -4.0%-2.5%-11.5% +8.5%
Year to date +130.1%-4.0%-7.7% +13.3%
1 year +217.3%-7.3%-17.4% +12.4%
3 years +1,245.6%-21.6%+110.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year +138.0%-7.8%+28.2% +23.5%
5 years +903.1%-30.2%-30.1% +68.2%
5 years, per year +58.6%-6.9%-6.9% +11.0%
10 years +785.9%+29.7%+127.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year +24.4%+2.6%+8.6% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureWDCDLBPOETSPY
Volatility, 1Y 81.3%30.2%140.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.5%31.5%141.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.180.544.66 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.67-0.24-0.12 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.5%-49.6%-92.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.9%-10.7%-71.6% -0.9%
52-week high $746.23$69.09$20.57 $779.14
52-week low $124.92$48.50$4.17 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleWDCDLBPOET
P/E now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 33.5x 25.7xmedian 46.0x 0.0xmedian 46.0x
P/S now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 2.8x 4.3xmedian 7.9x 0.0xmedian 7.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.2xmedian 19.6x 15.5xmedian 28.3x 0.0xmedian 28.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.6xmedian 29.8x 14.8xmedian 41.4x -25.5xmedian 41.4x
P/B now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 2.9x 2.2xmedian 4.6x 1.7xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.19median 1.10 12.34median 2.30 0.00median 2.30

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsWDCDLBPOET
Revenue $14.48B $1.35B $1.71T
Gross profit $7.62B $1.19B –
Operating income $5.71B $239.10M -$19.77T
Net income $10.02B $228.00M -$75.72M
Free cash flow $4.29B $392.67M -$30.34M
R&D $1.15B $265.94M $19.85T
EPS (diluted) $26.10 $2.39 $-812,866.51
Cash & equivalents $1.31B $669.39M $432.53M
Total debt $12.58B – –
Shares (diluted) 384.00M 94.52M 93.16M
Enterprise value $133.59B $3.29B -$1.10B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricWDCDLBPOET
P/E 14.5x 25.7x 0.0x
P/FCF 34.6x 14.8x -25.5x
P/Operating cash flow 30.5x 13.3x -21.8x
P/S 10.2x 4.3x 0.0x
P/B 15.9x 2.2x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 15.9x 2.6x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA 24.2x 15.5x 0.0x
EV/EBIT 25.9x 21.5x 0.0x
EV/Revenue 10.2x 3.8x 0.0x
EV/FCF 34.5x 13.1x 0.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.4x 11.8x 0.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.19 12.34 0.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWDCDLBPOET
Revenue growth (1Y) 43.0% 0.6% 266.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 57.4% 1.7% 68.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 85.2% -0.5% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 126.7% 1.5% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 104.4% -15.1% -208.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 85.5% -1.0% -363.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 288.7% -14.2% -40.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 83.2% 1.3% -55.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 286.8% -12.3% 9.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 75.8% 2.1% -45.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 108.7% -6.0% -14.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 88.3% 9.5% -37.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 121.1% -10.4% -29.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 66.0% 9.3% -38.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWDCDLBPOET
Gross margin 52.6% 87.6% –
EBITDA margin 42.1% 24.5% -1,154%
Operating margin 39.4% 17.7% -1,154%
Pretax margin 73.2% 20.4% -1,143%
Net margin 69.2% 16.7% -4,421%
FCF margin 29.6% 29.0% 0.0%
Operating cash flow margin 33.6% 32.3% 0.0%
Return on equity 110.0% 8.7% -16,983,708%
Return on assets 71.3% 7.1% –
Return on invested capital 53.8% – –
Return on capital employed 57.3% 8.6% –
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.4x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 1.9x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 9.6% 239.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWDCDLBPOET
Debt / assets 5.5% – –
Debt / equity 0.1x – –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x – –
Debt / FCF 0.2x – –
Liabilities / assets 34.3% 17.9% –
Equity / assets 65.7% 82.1% –
Interest coverage 48.8x – -101.5x
Current ratio 1.4x 3.2x –
Quick ratio 0.9x 3.1x –
Cash ratio 0.3x 1.6x –
Altman Z-score 21.60 8.36 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWDCDLBPOET
Dividend yield 0.1% 2.3% –
Net buyback yield 2.0% 3.5% -103.7%
Shareholder yield 2.2% 5.9% -103.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 2.0% 58.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 4.6% 34.2% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 151.3% 8.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 9.6% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusWDCDLBPOET
Forward P/E 16.5xFY2027 13.7xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $24.04FY2027 $4.49FY2026 $-0.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +135.2%FY2027 +5.9%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +70.9% +4.7% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $20.04BFY2027 $1.50BFY2026 $6.19MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +55.1%FY2027 +11.1%FY2026 +478.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +39.2% -7.7% +1,180.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWDCDLBPOET
Held by institutions 93.7% 100.0% 36.6%
Institutions holding 1,846 389 154
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.3% +5.8% +108.4%
Institutions buying 1,127 195 116
Institutions selling 597 148 28
Buyers to sellers 1.89 1.32 4.14

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

WDCDLBPOET
WDC 1.00 0.01 0.29
DLB 0.01 1.00 0.06
POET 0.29 0.06 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WDC, DLB and POET?

Western Digital (WDC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Western Digital (WDC) $143.77B, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) $5.90B, Poet Technologies (POET) $529.59M.

Which stock is cheaper, WDC, DLB and POET?

Western Digital (WDC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Western Digital (WDC) 14.3x, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 26.1x, Poet Technologies (POET) 0.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) is cheapest (Western Digital (WDC) 16.5x, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 13.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Poet Technologies (POET) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Western Digital (WDC) +43.0%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) +0.6%, Poet Technologies (POET) +266.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Western Digital (WDC) has the highest net margin (Western Digital (WDC) 69.2%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 16.7%, Poet Technologies (POET) -4,420.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Western Digital (WDC) returned the most: Western Digital (WDC) +217.3%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -7.3%, Poet Technologies (POET) -17.4%. Over five years, Western Digital (WDC) compounded fastest (Western Digital (WDC) +58.6%/yr, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) -6.9%/yr, Poet Technologies (POET) -6.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Dolby Laboratories (DLB) has the highest dividend yield: Western Digital (WDC) 0.00%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 0.02%, Poet Technologies (POET) 0.00%. Poet Technologies (POET) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) has been the steadiest (Western Digital (WDC) 81.3%, Dolby Laboratories (DLB) 30.2%, Poet Technologies (POET) 140.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, WDC, DLB and POET?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Western Digital (WDC) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.