Western Digital (WDC) reported first quarter 2010 EPS of $1.25, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 90 cents per share. Revenue Western Digital reported first quarter 2010 revenue of $2.21 billion, up 5% from the prior year and 15% on a sequential basis. Revenue from sales of Western Digital branded products, like WD TV, was $382 million, almost flat with the year-ago quarter and up 20% sequentially from $318 million in the previous quarter. The company witnessed rational industry pricing during the quarter, as supply and demand were evenly balanced. Revenues by sales channel were as follows: 52% from OEM, 31% distribution and 17% branded products, compared to 56%, 26% and 18%, respectively, in the year-ago quarter and 54%, 29% and 17%, respectively in the previous quarter. Average hard drive selling price was around $49 per unit, down $4 from the year-ago quarter, but ...

Westerb Digital Corp. (WDC) just reported a record quarter and easily topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

Company Description

Western Digital makes hard drives and sells them globally. The storage devices are used in computers, surveillance equipment, DVRs and various other applications.

Crushed Estimates

On Oct 22 Western Digital announced first-quarter results that set multiple company records. Revenue came in at $2.2 billion on 44.1 million units shipped, both the highest in company history.

Earnings came in at $1.25 per share, crushing the Zacks Consensus of just 90 cents. Even after 9 revisions in the past 7 days, Western Digital still stunned analysts.

Impressive Growth

Full-year estimates also saw revisions from 9 analysts in the past 30 days. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2010 is currently $3.64, up from $2.19 over the past 3 months. Next year's estimates average $4.01, up from $3.10 in the same time period.

These levels are

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 19, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Eastman Chemical (EMN), E.I. DuPont (DD), T. Rowe Price (TROW), Western Digital (WDC) and SuperValu (SVU). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

Third-quarter earnings season hits full stride this week with 439 companies confirmed to report. More than of a quarter of these are from the S&P 500 (135 companies).

Housing data will be the highlight on the economic calendar. The existing home sales data will be influenced by the first-time home buyers' credit. The starts and permits data could be more interesting, especially if they show fear on the part of builders about the subsidy

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Western Digital Corporation (WDC) has surprised the last four quarters by an average of 106.19%. The stock has soared off of optimism about the improving technology sector. With earnings results looming, can it keep up the big beats?

Company Description

Western Digital manufactures hard drives for electronic devices, including PCs and netbooks.

Western Digital Crushed Estimates in Fiscal Fourth Quarter 2009

On July 28, Western Digital reported its fiscal fourth-quarter results which saw it surprising on the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 181.48%. Earnings per share were 76 cents compared to the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 27 cents.

Revenue, however, fell to $1.9 billion on 40 million hard drives shipped from $2 billion and 35.2 million hard drives shipped in the year ago period.

Cash Hoard Grows

Western Digital is a cash generating machine. In the fiscal fourth quarter, it added $349 million in cash which brings its total

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – August 25, 2009 - Zacks Research Equity Strategist, Dirk Van Dijk says that S&P 500 earnings are continuing to show red ink. He tracks companies on the Zacks.com web site, naming names, while forecasting trends for the months ahead.

Key Points from Van Dijk's Latest Earnings Assessment

Growth

Second-quarter total net income down 31.0% year-over-year Third quarter expected to be down 27.5% year-over-year Staples and Health Care only sectors to post positive growth in second quarter Only 30.9% of companies posted earnings growth; 23.7% posted sales growth year-over-year

Surprise

Results much stronger than feared with median surprise of 6.7% Positive surprises lead disappointments by 3.4:1 margin (surprise ratio) Surprise ratio above 8:1 for Health Care and above 4:1 for Tech, Staples ...

Key Points:

Growth

Second-quarter total net income down 31.0% year-over-year Third quarter expected to be down 27.5% year-over-year Staples and Health Care only sectors to post positive growth in second quarter Only 30.9% of companies posted earnings growth; 23.7% posted sales growth year-over-year

Surprise

Results much stronger than feared with median surprise of 6.7% Positive surprises lead disappointments by 3.4:1 margin (surprise ratio) Surprise ratio above 8:1 for Health Care and above 4:1 for Tech, Staples and Discretionary Margins the cause, not revenue growth 71.2% of firms beat on earnings: 45.9% beat sales estimates

Levels

Bottom-up estimate for S&P 500 now $60.60 in 2009 versus $60.41 last week. S&P 500 now expected to earn $74.90 in 2010 versus $74.74 last week Top down estimates $53.84 and $67.44, respectively

Revisions

Total estimate increases outnumber cuts by more than 5:3 for 2009 Upward revisions outnumber cuts by more than 4:3 for 2010 Revisions ratios for both years have risen consistently through earnings season For

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When you invest in a stock, one of the best things you can see is analysts raising their expectations about what the company is going to earn for the current fiscal year. There are several ways of measuring this, but the following is a list of the companies with the biggest increases in their consensus earnings expectations for this year over the last month.

To make the list, a company had to have a current mean (average) estimate of over 50 cents, be a member of the S&P 500 and have at least three estimates for this year. The 50-cent restriction was put in to prevent small dollar changes that are huge percentage moves from dominating the list (going from a penny expected to a nickel). Having 3 or more estimates also helps insure it was not a fluke. The S&P 500 restriction was put in to make sure we

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – July 27, 2009 – Zacks.com releases the list of companies likely to issue earnings surprises. This week’s list includes Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), Travelers Companies (TRV), Verizon (VZ), Walt Disney (DIS), Apache (APA), Corning (GLW), Life Technologies (LIFE) and Western Digital (WDC). To see more earnings analysis, visit http://at.zacks.com/?id=3207.

Every day, Zacks.com makes 4 stock picks available, free of charge. To see them, go to http://at.zacks.com/?id=5612.

This Week's Events

Nearly 750 companies will report, of which 144 are in the S&P 500. Dow components include Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), Travelers Companies (TRV), Verizon (VZ) and Walt Disney (DIS).

The energy sector will be prominent with 57 oil and gas firms releasing

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Western Digital Corporation (...

I titled my blog post about today's employment data Eye of the Storm Has Passed. For someone who has been bearish, this might come across as surprisingly bullish, but it's just not that simple.

The economy is clearly showing a relative improvement. Take a look at the data we've seen over the past week or so. The ISM manufacturing index is at its highest level since last October. April's job loss estimate was the lowest in 7 months. Cisco System's (CSCO) CEO, John Chambers, said customers are "seeing some stabilization". MGM Mirage's (MGM) CEO, Jim Murren, observed a "sequential increases in occupancy levels" at his properties.

However, the economy is still going downhill. Manufacturing continues to contract and the unemployment rate is at its highest level since 1983. It's just that the pace of economic deterioration is slowing. A positive sign, but still a long way from

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