# How Western Digital (WDC) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/wdc
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on WDC alone. It places WDC (Western Digital Corporation) against 10 popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where WDC stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: WDC's full trading record, from October 1986 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** WDC has gone against the market, falling 25.2% over the past 3 months while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%. WDC is 51.2% below its high, bear-market territory, while the S&P 500 sits 1.3% below a record.
- **Stock or market?:** The weakness is WDC's own: it fell 25.2% over the past 3 months while the computer hardware ETF VGT (Vanguard Information Technology ETF) rose 6.3%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, WDC rose 200% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (1,030% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** WDC turned $10,000 into $101,000 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. WDC's 10-year return of 911% puts it ahead of 94% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, WDC has typically fallen 2.2 times as far as the S&P 500. In the 2022 bear market, WDC fell harder than most of its computer hardware peers, including DELL (Dell Technologies), IBM and HPE.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, WDC has a correlation of 0.56 over 5 years, more closely than 84% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** STX (Seagate Technology) earned more than WDC with less volatility over the past 5 years: 57.4% a year at 48.7% volatility, against 53.7% a year at 53.5%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** LITE (Lumentum, communications equipment) was ahead of WDC in most short and long periods.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only six of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than WDC with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them STX (Seagate Technology), FIX (Comfort Systems USA) and ATI.

## How much would $10,000 in WDC have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in WDC over the past 29 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of WDC over the same span and WDC's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in WDC at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $188,175 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the six other investments on the chart ended ahead of WDC, and AAPL finished highest, at $20,534,853.

## WDC at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the stock, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- WDC is still 51.2% below its all-time high.
- WDC's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 96.2%, from August 1997 to September 2001. It took about 12 years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, WDC's best was 2009, when it returned 286%, and its worst was 1999, when it lost 72.2%. It lost money in 12 of those years.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Computer Hardware)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $136B
- Volatility (5 years): 53.5%; Sharpe ratio: 1.07
- Worst decline ever: −96.2%, from August 20, 1997 to September 27, 2001; back at its high by April 10, 2013

| Period | WDC total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −18.7% |
| 3 months | −25.2% |
| 6 months | −2.6% |
| year to date | +94.3% |
| 1 year | +200% |
| 3 years | +1,030% |
| 5 years | +759% |
| 10 years | +911% |

## WDC against the whole market

Where WDC ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does WDC rank among all stocks?

This section ranks WDC on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every stock worth at least $300 million with enough history.

- WDC's 3-year return ranks in the top 1% of the 3,017 stocks worth at least $300 million with 3 years of history.

| Measure | WDC | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +200% | 34 of 3,287 (top 2%) |
| 3-year return | +1,030% | 24 of 3,017 (top 1%) |
| 5-year return | +759% | 33 of 2,893 (top 2%) |
| 10-year return | +911% | 128 of 2,202 (top 6%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 53.5% | 2,062 of 2,893 (top 72%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 1.07 | 62 of 2,893 (top 3%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −70.5% | 1,307 of 2,187 (top 60%) |

### What has beaten WDC on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- Six stocks worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than WDC over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half WDC's swings, FIX has the best return for its risk: 77.0% a year at 46.7% volatility, 13% less than WDC's 53.5%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.46 against 1.07 for WDC.
- Among WDC's popular alternatives, STX is in the region. STX earned 57.4% a year against 53.7% a year for WDC, at 48.7% volatility, 9% less than WDC's 53.5%.

### Is there a better investment than WDC?

The table below lists investments that beat WDC over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes.

- Among WDC's popular alternatives, STX earned more than WDC with less volatility over the past 5 years: 57.4% a year at 48.7% volatility, against 53.7% a year at 53.5%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, LITE (communications equipment) was ahead of WDC in most short and long periods.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only six of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than WDC with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them STX, FIX and ATI.

The 6 strongest of 6 investments that beat WDC over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with WDC | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WDC: Western Digital Corporation (this page) |  | +53.7% | 53.5% | 1.07 | −70.5% | +911% |  |  |
| [FIX](https://easycompare.io/research/fix): Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | Engineering & Construction | +77.0% | 46.7% | 1.46 | −49.7% | +5,305% | 0.53 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [STX](https://easycompare.io/research/stx): Seagate Technology Holdings plc | Computer Hardware | +57.4% | 48.7% | 1.18 | −57.0% | +2,698% | 0.86 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| INSW: International Seaways, Inc. | Oil & Gas | +56.5% | 40.5% | 1.31 | −57.4% | — | 0.12 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| ATI: ATI Inc. | Metals & Mining | +61.8% | 42.9% | 1.34 | −82.4% | +929% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| CRS: Carpenter Technology Corporation | Metals & Mining | +63.9% | 46.5% | 1.30 | −74.7% | +1,021% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| VIST: Vista Energy, S.A.B. de C.V. | Exploration & Production | +59.1% | 50.7% | 1.17 | −81.2% | — | -0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## WDC against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against WDC, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do WDC's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Only NVDA and STX were both more rewarding and calmer than WDC over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, WDC returned 53.8% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (53.5% against 17.1%).

### Has WDC consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares WDC with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Four of the ten popular alternatives, led by MU, DELL and STX, outperformed WDC in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- MU outperformed WDC in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- MU, STX and NVDA earned more for the risk they took than WDC (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of WDC | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WDC: Western Digital Corporation (this page) | +200% | +1,030% | +759% | +911% |  |  | 1.07 |
| [MU](https://easycompare.io/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | +334% | +1,246% | +1,244% | +5,243% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.20 |
| [DELL](https://easycompare.io/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | +217% | +636% | +800% | +3,701% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 1.08 |
| [STX](https://easycompare.io/research/stx): Seagate Technology Holdings plc | +217% | +975% | +866% | +2,698% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 1.18 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | +18.8% | +425% | +884% | +13,019% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 1.14 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | +3.8% | +66.6% | +80.3% | +946% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| [NTAP](https://easycompare.io/research/ntap): NetApp, Inc. | +81.9% | +198% | +159% | +691% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | +150% | +296% | +315% | +483% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.89 |
| [SNDK](https://easycompare.io/research/sndk): Sandisk Corporation | +822% | — | — | — | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +21.3% | +110% | +53.8% | +548% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| [IBM](https://easycompare.io/research/ibm): International Business Machines Corporation | −12.5% | +93.5% | +116% | +151% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.66 |

### How did WDC do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1997, along with where WDC ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- WDC finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, DELL came out ahead of WDC most often, in seven of the nine years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, WDC finished in the top quarter in eight of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in eight. In 2025, it ranked 1 of 10.

| Year | WDC | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +284% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +13.9% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +66.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −51.6% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +17.7% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −10.9% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +77.1% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −51.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +19.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +17.5% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How WDC has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were WDC's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all four of WDC's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: WDC fell 96.2% from August 1997 to September 2001, while the S&P 500 rose 14.2%.
- The slowest recovery came after WDC fell 96.2% from August 1997 to September 2001; it did not regain that peak until April 2013, 12 years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −96.2% | August 20, 1997 | September 27, 2001 | April 10, 2013 | +14.2% | dot-com bust |
| −93.8% | May 12, 1987 | December 12, 1991 | August 2, 1996 | — |  |
| −70.5% | March 16, 2018 | March 18, 2020 | July 31, 2025 | −9.5% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −67.7% | December 22, 2014 | May 13, 2016 | March 16, 2018 | +1.3% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −55.5% | June 18, 2026 | October 16, 2026 | not yet | +2.5% |  |

### How did WDC do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far WDC, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- WDC fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when WDC fell 53.0% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, MSFT held up best, falling less than WDC in eight of the ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | WDC fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −76.5% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −75.2% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.1% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −35.4% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −53.0% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.0% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −41.8% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −58.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −52.4% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −6.8% | −3.4% |

### How closely does WDC move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Six of the nine popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than WDC's 1.05, led by DELL, STX and MU.
- DELL took just 43% of the S&P 500's losses, against 163% for WDC, while still keeping 154% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, WDC captured 171% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 163% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.87. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WDC: Western Digital Corporation (this page) | 171% | 163% | 1.87 |
| [MU](https://easycompare.io/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | 204% | 114% | 1.75 |
| [DELL](https://easycompare.io/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | 154% | 43.0% | 1.13 |
| [STX](https://easycompare.io/research/stx): Seagate Technology Holdings plc | 169% | 88.0% | 1.58 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 248% | 140% | 1.83 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| [NTAP](https://easycompare.io/research/ntap): NetApp, Inc. | 147% | 147% | 1.38 |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | 116% | 102% | 1.31 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| [IBM](https://easycompare.io/research/ibm): International Business Machines Corporation | 89.0% | 121% | 0.95 |

### What diversifies WDC?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in WDC into MPC would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+60.7% for WDC alone, +62.4% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of WDC over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.39 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- CAH made money in eight of the 12 calendar years in which WDC lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with WDC | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in WDC's 12 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.34 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 12 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.39 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 12 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.32 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 12 |
| FJUN: FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - June | 0.46 | +65.4% | 10.6% | 1.01 | 0 of 12 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.27 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 1 of 12 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.15 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 12 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.08 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 6 of 12 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | 0.46 | +76.6% | 13.7% | 0.90 | 3 of 12 |

## Common questions

### What was WDC's worst drawdown?

WDC's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 96.2%, from August 1997 to September 2001. It took about 12 years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were WDC's best and worst years?

Over 29 full calendar years, WDC's best year was 2009, when it returned 286%. Its worst was 1999, with a return of -72.2%.

### Is there a better investment than WDC?

Among WDC's popular alternatives, STX earned more than WDC with less volatility over the past 5 years: 57.4% a year at 48.7% volatility, against 53.7% a year at 53.5%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, LITE (communications equipment) was ahead of WDC in most short and long periods.

### Is WDC more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. WDC's volatility over the past 5 years was 53.5%, 3.1 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, WDC's return lands within 53.5% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is WDC's Sharpe ratio?

WDC's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 1.07, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so WDC earned more for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is WDC with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, WDC's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.56 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They often move together: some diversification next to an index fund, but not a cushion. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against WDC instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a WDC holding.

### What are the best alternatives to WDC?

Of the ten popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed WDC in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: MU, DELL and STX.

### Did WDC outperform the S&P 500?

WDC finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +284%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did WDC do in stock market crashes?

WDC fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in none of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in eight. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when WDC fell 53.0% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies WDC?

These had a low correlation with WDC over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.34), DXJ (correlation 0.39) and EMLP (correlation 0.32); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.14), MCK (correlation 0.07) and MPC (correlation 0.14). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Micron Technology (MU) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/mu)
- [Dell Technologies (DELL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/dell)
- [Seagate Technology (STX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/stx)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
- [NetApp (NTAP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ntap)
- [Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe)
- [Sandisk (SNDK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/sndk)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)
- [International Business Machines (IBM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ibm)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/wdc
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against WDC live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=WDC&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research