Western Digital (WDC) Research & Development (2009 - 2026)
Western Digital (WDC) recorded Research & Development of $283 million in fiscal Q1 2027 (quarter ended Oct 2, 2026), down 3.7% from $294 million a year earlier and down 0.4% from the prior quarter.
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Analysis
Western Digital (WDC) Research & Development (2009 - 2026) Analysis & Trends
On a TTM basis, Western Digital's Research & Development came in at $1.15 billion as of Oct 2, 2026, up 12.1% year-over-year; for FY2026 (ended Jul 3, 2026), it was $1.16 billion, up 16.8% from FY2025.
- Annual Research & Development has a five-year compound annual growth rate of -12.3% (FY2021 to FY2026).
- Across earlier fiscal years, Research & Development came in at $994 million in FY2025 (+4.6%), $950 million in FY2024 (-3.7%), $986 million in FY2023 (-57.6%) and $2.32 billion in FY2022 (+3.6%).
- The fiscal Q1 2027 figure is the lowest quarterly Research & Development since fiscal Q4 2025.
- On a year-over-year basis, Research & Development rose in five of the last eight quarters, with growth averaging 1.9%.
- Peak year-over-year performance for Research & Development in the last five years was growth of 28.4% in fiscal Q2 2026, against a decline of 49.3% in fiscal Q2 2025 at the low end.
- Per Business Quant, the preceding three fiscal quarters came in at $284 million (Q4 2026), $294 million (Q3 2026) and $289 million (Q2 2026).
Peer Set
Peer Comparison
| # | Company | Market Cap | Enterprise Value | Gross Profit (Qtr) | R&D (Qtr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apple | 5,177.41 Bn | 4,922.87 Bn | 54.82 Bn | 11.73 Bn |
| 2 | Cisco Systems | 377.40 Bn | 377.40 Bn | 11.79 Bn | 2.42 Bn |
| 3 | Arista Networks | 249.38 Bn | 198.58 Bn | 2.33 Bn | 486.90 Mn |
| 4 | Dell Technologies | 220.34 Bn | 176.10 Bn | 9.83 Bn | 1.11 Bn |
| 5 | Sony | 166.48 Bn | 103.89 Bn | 7.96 Bn | - |
| 6 | Sandisk | 127.44 Bn | 112.27 Bn | 9.38 Bn | 384.00 Mn |
| 7 | Seagate Technology Holdings | 121.35 Bn | 116.20 Bn | 2.43 Bn | 200.00 Mn |
| 8 | Western Digital | 110.67 Bn | 100.50 Bn | 2.53 Bn | 283.00 Mn |
| 9 | Hewlett Packard Enterprise | 64.15 Bn | 42.09 Bn | 4.93 Bn | 1.16 Bn |
| 10 | Garmin | 54.56 Bn | 44.11 Bn | 1.26 Bn | 312.92 Mn |
Historic Data
Download Data
Historic Data
| Date | Value |
|---|---|
| Oct 2, 2026 | 283.00 Mn |
| Jul 3, 2026 | 284.00 Mn |
| Apr 3, 2026 | 294.00 Mn |
| Jan 2, 2026 | 289.00 Mn |
| Oct 3, 2025 | 294.00 Mn |
| Jun 27, 2025 | 262.00 Mn |
| Mar 28, 2025 | 245.00 Mn |
| Dec 27, 2024 | 225.00 Mn |
| Sep 27, 2024 | 262.00 Mn |
| Jun 28, 2024 | 267.00 Mn |
| Mar 29, 2024 | 243.00 Mn |
| Dec 29, 2023 | 444.00 Mn |
| Sep 29, 2023 | 431.00 Mn |
| Jun 30, 2023 | -565.00 Mn |
| Mar 31, 2023 | 476.00 Mn |
| Dec 30, 2022 | 523.00 Mn |
| Sep 30, 2022 | 552.00 Mn |
| Jul 1, 2022 | 598.00 Mn |
| Apr 1, 2022 | 572.00 Mn |
| Dec 31, 2021 | 575.00 Mn |
API Access
Western Digital Research & Development API
Pull this series into your own models, spreadsheets and apps with the Business Quant
Historical Metrics API. The request below matches the chart above — change the
frequency, period or values and it follows. Swap YOUR_API_KEY for your own key.
https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=research-and-development&ticker=WDC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEYimport requests
url = "https://data.businessquant.com/historic"
params = {"slug": "research-and-development", "ticker": "WDC", "period": "max", "api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"}
data = requests.get(url, params=params).json()const res = await fetch("https://data.businessquant.com/historic?slug=research-and-development&ticker=WDC&period=max&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY");
const data = await res.json();