WDC vs POET Stock Comparison

Western Digital and Poet Technologies Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WDC Western Digital Corp
$356.13 -22.0% 1M +175.2% 1Y
Market cap
$133.31B
P/E
13.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.48B
Div. yield
0.16%
Server and Storage Hardware Technology
6 wins
POET Poet Technologies Inc.
$5.37 -30.9% 1M -34.8% 1Y
Market cap
$710.40M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.71T
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Design Technology
1 win

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

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

QuestionWDCPOETLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $133.31B $710.40M WDC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 13.0x 0.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 17.5x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +43.0% +266.1% POET
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 69.2% -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 0.16% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +175.2% -34.8% WDC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +53.4%/yr -8.7%/yr WDC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 81.2% 140.3% WDC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 22/100 WDC

Percentile Scorecard

WDCPOET

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

AxisWDCPOET
Valuation 43 #24 of 41 52 #16 of 32
Growth 97 #2 of 37 10 #27 of 30
Profitability 94 #3 of 36 4 #27 of 28
Financial Health 59 #20 of 47 –
Shareholder Returns 58 #12 of 27 –
Overall 70 22
  • WDC ranked among 49 companies in Computer Hardware
  • POET ranked among 40 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodWDCPOETSPY
1 month -22.0%-30.9% -0.8%
3 months -28.5%-24.3% +3.5%
6 months -11.1%-32.5% +7.0%
Year to date +106.7%-15.2% +12.2%
1 year +175.2%-34.8% +13.0%
3 years +1,108.9%+93.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +129.6%+24.7% +23.1%
5 years +749.3%-36.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +53.4%-8.7% +11.0%
10 years +733.6%+42.1% +258.0%
10 years, per year +23.6%+3.6% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureWDCPOETSPY
Volatility, 1Y 81.2%140.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.1%140.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.154.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.16-0.25 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.5%-92.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -52.3%-73.9% -1.8%
52-week high $746.23$20.57 $779.14
52-week low $124.92$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.

MultipleWDCPOET
P/E now vs peer median 13.0xmedian 36.9x 0.0xmedian 42.4x
P/S now vs peer median 9.2xmedian 1.5x 0.0xmedian 9.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.8xmedian 18.3x 0.0xmedian 32.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 31.1xmedian 15.4x -23.4xmedian 32.1x
P/B now vs peer median 14.3xmedian 1.1x 1.6xmedian 4.0x
PEG now vs peer median 0.17median 0.97 0.00median 2.73

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 monthsWDCPOET
Revenue $14.48B $1.71T
Gross profit $7.62B –
Operating income $5.71B -$19.77T
Net income $10.02B -$75.72M
Free cash flow $4.29B -$30.34M
R&D $1.15B $19.85T
EPS (diluted) $26.10 $-812,866.51
Cash & equivalents $1.31B $432.53M
Total debt $12.58B –
Shares (diluted) 384.00M 93.16M
Enterprise value $123.13B -$921.21M

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
MetricWDCPOET
P/E 13.0x 0.0x
P/FCF 31.1x -23.4x
P/Operating cash flow 27.4x -20.0x
P/S 9.2x 0.0x
P/B 14.3x 1.6x
P/Tangible book 14.3x 1.6x
EV/EBITDA 21.8x 0.0x
EV/EBIT 23.3x 0.0x
EV/Revenue 9.2x 0.0x
EV/FCF 31.0x 2.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 27.3x 2.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.17 0.00

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWDCPOET
Revenue growth (1Y) 43.0% 266.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 57.4% 68.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 85.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 126.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 104.4% -208.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 85.5% -363.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 288.7% -40.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 83.2% -55.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 286.8% 9.2%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 75.8% -45.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 108.7% -14.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 88.3% -37.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 121.1% -29.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 66.0% -38.5%

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWDCPOET
Debt / assets 5.5% –
Debt / equity 0.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x –
Debt / FCF 0.2x –
Liabilities / assets 34.3% –
Equity / assets 65.7% –
Interest coverage 48.8x -101.5x
Current ratio 1.4x –
Quick ratio 0.9x –
Cash ratio 0.3x –
Altman Z-score 19.75 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWDCPOET
Dividend yield 0.2% –
Net buyback yield 2.3% -112.8%
Shareholder yield 2.4% -112.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 2.0% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 4.6% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 151.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – –

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.

ConsensusWDCPOET
Forward P/E 17.5xFY2027 –
EPS, next fiscal year $20.34FY2027 $-0.26FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +99.0%FY2027 –
EPS growth, the year after +70.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.30BFY2027 $6.19MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +41.7%FY2027 +478.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +36.9% +1,180.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWDCPOET
Held by institutions 93.7% 36.6%
Institutions holding 1,845 154
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.3% +108.4%
Institutions buying 1,127 116
Institutions selling 596 28
Buyers to sellers 1.89 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.

WDCPOET
WDC 1.00 0.28
POET 0.28 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WDC and POET?

Western Digital (WDC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Western Digital (WDC) $133.31B, Poet Technologies (POET) $710.40M.

Which company is growing faster?

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

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Western Digital (WDC) returned the most: Western Digital (WDC) +175.2%, Poet Technologies (POET) -34.8%. Over five years, Western Digital (WDC) compounded fastest (Western Digital (WDC) +53.4%/yr, Poet Technologies (POET) -8.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Western Digital (WDC) 0.16%. Poet Technologies (POET) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Western Digital (WDC) has been the steadiest (Western Digital (WDC) 81.2%, Poet Technologies (POET) 140.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do WDC and POET move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.28, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, WDC 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.