Western Digital CEO Maintains Over $200 Million Stake Despite Selling Company Shares Worth Billions

On February 2, Western Digital Corporation (WDC) CEO Irving Tan sold 24,900 shares of the company’s common stock on the open market under a pre-established Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, generating approximately $6.2 million (about KRW 8 billion) in proceeds. His direct holdings decreased from 648,486 shares to 623,586 shares, but at the transaction price his stake still carries a value of roughly $150 million to $165 million (around KRW 200 billion to KRW 220 billion). Earlier, on January 20 and 21, the company’s Chief Legal Officer settled vested stock awards by withholding shares for tax obligations and executing a small sale.

Meanwhile, in its fiscal 2026 second-quarter results announced on January 29, Western Digital reported revenue of $3.02 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $2.13, beating market expectations. On February 3, the board approved an aggressive shareholder return plan by authorizing an additional $4 billion (approximately KRW 5 trillion) share repurchase.

After spinning off its flash business into SanDisk in 2025, Western Digital restructured to focus on HDD-based storage infrastructure. Leveraging growing demand for high-capacity storage in cloud and AI data centers, the company has been recognized as a leading data storage provider, with significant improvements in revenue and profitability.