Western Digital's AI Specialization: Global Operations Executive Sells $1 Million Stake

Gubbi Vidyadhara K., Western Digital’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Global Operations, disclosed on June 1 that he sold a portion of his common stock, generating roughly $1.38 million (about KRW 2.1 billion) in proceeds. During the same period, Chief Legal Officer Cynthia L. Tregillis and another senior executive also sold relatively small stakes worth several hundred million won under pre-arranged trading plans. At the same time, they settled routine compensation and tax-withholding obligations tied to RSU vesting.

Even after these transactions, each executive continues to hold approximately 80,000–100,000 shares of Western Digital, indicating they still maintain substantial economic exposure to the company.

Separately, Western Digital reported fiscal 2026 third-quarter revenue of $3.34 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.72—both exceeding market expectations—and has guided for continued revenue and profit growth in the fourth quarter. The company noted that its entire 2026 hard-disk drive production is effectively spoken for under long-term agreements with AI data-center customers, underscoring high-capacity storage for AI infrastructure as a core growth pillar.

Headquartered in San Jose, California, Western Digital is a global data-storage provider specializing in hard-disk drives and enterprise storage solutions. In 2025, the company spun off its flash-memory division into SanDisk to sharpen its focus on HDDs, and it is now accelerating its push into the AI infrastructure market with next-generation storage technologies optimized for AI and cloud workloads, alongside strategic additions to its board.