Do we like them?

Do we like Western Digital?

Makes hard disk drives and data storage for cloud and AI data centres; based in San Jose, California.

Our score: 5 out of 10. A solid, in-demand maker of storage with no major recent scandal, but we found little on its environmental or labour record, and it has a history of legal fights and settlements.

Western Digital makes hard drives and has done for decades. After it spun off its flash memory business, Irving Tan took over as CEO from David Goeckeler, according to Panabee's coverage of the appointment.

Right now it's riding the AI wave. Tan says its hard drive capacity is almost sold out for 2026, with quarterly revenue up 25% year on year to $3.02 billion. The board also approved another $4bn of share buybacks in February 2026.

On the legal side, the company's own 10-Q says it reached a $130 million global settlement with MRT in April 2025. Earlier, a 2021 class action over its WD Red NAS drives (accused of false advertising) led to a proposed $2.7 million settlement.

Overall it's a mixed picture. It's a good business with no huge recent scandal we found, but we didn't find strong evidence of standout good deeds either, so it lands in the middle.