Western Digital Reports Better Than Expected Q2 Results, Q3 Guidance

on Tuesday after market close reported its second quarter results. The company earned $2.26 per share, topping the $2.10 per share analysts were expecting. Revenue of $3.9 billion was also higher than the $3.84 billion analysts expected. Net income for the quarter rose to $460 million from $430 million in the same quarter. During the quarter, Western Digital repurchased 3.2 million shares for a total of $309 million. The company also announced on November 4 a $0.40 per share dividend, which was paid on January 15. "The diversified nature of our business and solid execution by our HGST and WD® subsidiaries are enabling us to consistently deliver strong financial performance,” said Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer in a statement. “Also, I am encouraged by the market's response to our strategic growth initiatives, which we believe position the company to thrive in the evolving data storage ecosystem." During the company's post earnings conference call, management guided its third quarter earnings per share estimates to a range of $1.90 to $2.00 (versus expectations of $1.99) on estimated sales of $3.6 billion to $3.7 billion (versus expectations of $3.73 billion).