Insider Monkey’s analysis favors Micron over Western Digital, citing higher profitability and signed supply deals through decade’s end amid AI-driven demand. It says Micron’s low valuation reflects fears that memory profits will fade; pricing into 2027 is a key test.
Micron trades at about seven times expected earnings, compared with roughly 23 times for Western Digital. Micron converted close to two-thirds of about $90 billion in revenue into operating profit over the past 12 months; Western Digital converted a little over one-third of roughly $13 billion in its latest fiscal year. Western Digital’s reported profit was about twice its operating profit, lifted by gains the article says will not recur.
Micron’s agreements run through the end of the decade, with customers placing deposits to reserve capacity. Western Digital said on its August earnings call that one large customer had signed through 2029 and that it was negotiating deals for 2029–31. Its revenue now comes overwhelmingly from cloud customers, exposing it to a handful of hyperscalers’ annual spending decisions; the article says hard-drive makers have shown little appetite for a capacity war.
