WDC vs ZBRA vs NLST Stock Comparison

Western Digital, Zebra Technologies and Netlist Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
WDC Western Digital Corp
$396.42 -12.5% 1M +217.3% 1Y
Market cap
$144.42B
P/E
14.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.48B
Div. yield
0.00%
Server and Storage Hardware Technology
6 wins
ZBRA Zebra Technologies Corp
$384.70 +3.5% 1M +40.2% 1Y
Market cap
$18.00B
P/E
33.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.85B
Div. yield
–
Electronic Components Technology
1 win
NLST Netlist Inc
$6.94 +28.0% 1M +951.5% 1Y
Market cap
$2.27B
P/E
2,789x
Revenue (TTM)
$332.69M
Div. yield
–
Server and Storage Hardware Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Western Digital leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Western Digital 6, Netlist 4, Zebra Technologies 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionWDCZBRANLSTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $144.42B $18.00B $2.27B WDC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 14.4x 33.4x 2,789x WDC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.5x 17.0x 7.5x NLST
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +43.0% +12.7% +129.2% NLST
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 69.2% 9.2% 0.2% WDC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 53.8% 10.6% — WDC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 2.4x -40.8x NLST
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +217.3% +40.2% +951.5% NLST
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +58.6%/yr -6.4%/yr -2.6%/yr WDC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 81.3% 45.5% 104.8% ZBRA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 78/100 62/100 45/100 WDC

Percentile Scorecard

WDCZBRANLST

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

AxisWDCZBRANLST
Valuation 50 #56 of 111 69 #35 of 111 7 #103 of 111
Growth 98 #3 of 108 46 #59 of 108 93 #9 of 108
Profitability 98 #3 of 104 85 #17 of 104 38 #65 of 104
Financial Health 68 #38 of 115 18 #94 of 115 52 #56 of 115
Shareholder Returns 78 #18 of 78 94 #6 of 78 34 #52 of 78
Overall 78 62 45
  • WDC ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • ZBRA ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware
  • NLST ranked among 121 companies in Computer Hardware

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodWDCZBRANLSTSPY
1 month -12.5%+3.5%+28.0% +0.9%
3 months -14.2%+35.9%+185.6% +5.9%
6 months -4.0%+78.5%+225.8% +8.5%
Year to date +130.1%+58.4%+679.8% +13.3%
1 year +217.3%+40.2%+951.5% +12.4%
3 years +1,245.6%+85.7%+542.6% +88.1%
3 years, per year +138.0%+22.9%+86.0% +23.5%
5 years +903.1%-28.0%-12.2% +68.2%
5 years, per year +58.6%-6.4%-2.6% +11.0%
10 years +785.9%+480.5%+519.6% +263.4%
10 years, per year +24.4%+19.2%+20.0% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureWDCZBRANLSTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 81.3%45.5%104.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 82.5%38.0%95.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.181.702.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.670.889.08 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.5%-67.8%-93.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -46.9%-1.6%0.0% -0.9%
52-week high $746.23$391.00$6.94 $779.14
52-week low $124.92$199.30$0.54 $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.

MultipleWDCZBRANLST
P/E now vs peer median 14.5xmedian 33.5x 34.1xmedian 33.5x 2,793xmedian 33.5x
P/S now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 2.8x 3.1xmedian 2.8x 7.0xmedian 2.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 24.2xmedian 19.6x 19.4xmedian 19.6x 3,352xmedian 19.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 34.6xmedian 29.8x 20.1xmedian 29.8x -149.2xmedian 29.8x
P/B now vs peer median 15.9xmedian 2.9x 5.3xmedian 2.9x 99.9xmedian 2.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.19median 1.10 -9.01median 1.10 106.59median 1.10

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 monthsWDCZBRANLST
Revenue $14.48B $5.85B $332.69M
Gross profit $7.62B $2.90B $54.02M
Operating income $5.71B $858.00M $408.00K
Net income $10.02B $539.00M $789.00K
Free cash flow $4.29B $904.00M -$15.53M
R&D $1.15B $622.00M $3.92M
EPS (diluted) $26.10 $11.20 $0.00
Cash & equivalents $1.31B $157.00M $30.66M
Total debt $12.58B $2.77B $10.94M
Shares (diluted) 384.00M 48.13M 370.75M
Enterprise value $134.25B $16.55B $2.18B

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
MetricWDCZBRANLST
P/E 14.5x 34.1x 2,793x
P/FCF 34.6x 20.1x -149.2x
P/Operating cash flow 30.5x 18.6x -149.3x
P/S 10.2x 3.1x 7.0x
P/B 15.9x 5.3x 99.9x
P/Tangible book 15.9x 6.7x 99.9x
EV/EBITDA 24.2x 19.4x 3,352x
EV/EBIT 25.9x 24.3x 5,611x
EV/Revenue 10.2x 3.6x 6.9x
EV/FCF 34.5x 23.0x -147.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 30.4x 21.3x -147.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.19 -9.01 106.59

Growth

14 metrics
MetricWDCZBRANLST
Revenue growth (1Y) 43.0% 12.7% 129.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 57.4% 2.1% 64.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 85.2% 14.9% 1,221%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 126.7% 4.2% 127.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 104.4% 8.1% 101.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 85.5% -0.9% 26.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 288.7% -1.6% 102.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 83.2% -6.1% 26.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 286.8% 4.8% 101.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 75.8% -3.8% 26.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 108.7% 5.8% 48.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 88.3% 63.5% 28.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 121.1% 6.0% 48.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 66.0% 83.6% 28.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricWDCZBRANLST
Gross margin 52.6% 49.6% 16.2%
EBITDA margin 42.1% 18.3% 0.2%
Operating margin 39.4% 14.7% 0.1%
Pretax margin 73.2% 12.1% 0.2%
Net margin 69.2% 9.2% 0.2%
FCF margin 29.6% 15.5% -4.7%
Operating cash flow margin 33.6% 16.7% -4.7%
Return on equity 110.0% 15.6% 4.7%
Return on assets 71.3% 6.4% 1.0%
Return on invested capital 53.8% 10.6% –
Return on capital employed 57.3% 19.1% 1.3%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.7x 4.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 1.8x -19.7x
Stock comp / revenue 1.6% 3.0% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricWDCZBRANLST
Debt / assets 5.5% 32.0% 3.8%
Debt / equity 0.1x 0.8x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.1x 2.4x -40.8x
Debt / FCF 0.2x 3.1x -0.2x
Liabilities / assets 34.3% 60.2% 68.4%
Equity / assets 65.7% 39.8% 31.6%
Interest coverage 48.8x – –
Current ratio 1.4x 0.5x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.3x 0.7x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.0x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 21.60 3.75 25.93

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricWDCZBRANLST
Dividend yield 0.1% – –
Net buyback yield 2.0% 5.0% -1.1%
Shareholder yield 2.2% 5.0% -1.1%
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.

ConsensusWDCZBRANLST
Forward P/E 16.5xFY2027 17.0xFY2026 7.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $24.04FY2027 $22.59FY2026 $0.92FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +135.2%FY2027 +42.6%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +70.9% -4.5% -4.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $20.04BFY2027 $6.35BFY2026 $691.20MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +55.1%FY2027 +17.7%FY2026 +266.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +39.2% +1.2% +26.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersWDCZBRANLST
Held by institutions 93.7% 100.0% 0.0%
Institutions holding 1,846 644 4
Change in shares held, QoQ -1.3% +4.5% +146.0%
Institutions buying 1,127 309 3
Institutions selling 597 242 0
Buyers to sellers 1.89 1.28 –

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.

WDCZBRANLST
WDC 1.00 0.20 0.15
ZBRA 0.20 1.00 0.10
NLST 0.15 0.10 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, WDC, ZBRA and NLST?

Western Digital (WDC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Western Digital (WDC) $144.42B, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) $18.00B, Netlist (NLST) $2.27B.

Which stock is cheaper, WDC, ZBRA and NLST?

Western Digital (WDC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Western Digital (WDC) 14.4x, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 33.4x, Netlist (NLST) 2,789x). On next year's consensus earnings, Netlist (NLST) is cheapest (Western Digital (WDC) 16.5x, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 17.0x, Netlist (NLST) 7.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Netlist (NLST) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Western Digital (WDC) +43.0%, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) +12.7%, Netlist (NLST) +129.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Western Digital (WDC) has the highest net margin (Western Digital (WDC) 69.2%, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 9.2%, Netlist (NLST) 0.2%). On return on invested capital, Western Digital (WDC) leads (Western Digital (WDC) 53.8%, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 10.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Netlist (NLST) returned the most: Western Digital (WDC) +217.3%, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) +40.2%, Netlist (NLST) +951.5%. Over five years, Western Digital (WDC) compounded fastest (Western Digital (WDC) +58.6%/yr, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) -6.4%/yr, Netlist (NLST) -2.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Western Digital (WDC) 0.00%, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 0.00%, Netlist (NLST) 0.00%. Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) and Netlist (NLST) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) has been the steadiest (Western Digital (WDC) 81.3%, Zebra Technologies (ZBRA) 45.5%, Netlist (NLST) 104.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, WDC, ZBRA and NLST?

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.