分拆后，西部数据（Western Digital）面向云与AI数据湖的高容量硬盘，借助HAMR提升容量与利润率，有望将增长延续数年；2026财年第四季度营收同比增长约44%至38亿美元，超出预期，自由现金流强劲并有回购。
逐段跳播
是的，我想在这个领域提一只不同的股票，但它在谈到存储热潮时也是一个非常重要的参与者，那就是Western Digital。所以，如果你不熟悉这家公司，你知道它不像“Nvidia”那样家喻户晓；他们制造硬盘。
那些本质上是旋转磁盘存储驱动器，如你所知，它们仍然是存储海量数据最便宜的方式。
Yes, well, I wanted to bring up a different stock in this field, but one that is also a very important player when we talk about the memory boom , and that is Western Digital .
So, if you're not familiar with this company, you know it's not as well-known a name as "Nvidia"; they make hard drives. Those are essentially rotating magnetic storage drives that remain, as you know, the cheapest way to store huge amounts of data.
所以，在这次分拆之后——那是另一个视频的故事——Western Digital成为了一家只专注于硬盘业务的公司。如今，其约90%的营收来自向云和大型计算领域的企业销售高容量硬盘。
因此，他们主要是直接向全球最大的云和数据中心运营商销售存储设备。我们这里说的是Amazon、Microsoft和Alphabet这样的客户。其余业务来自向机构和传统服务器制造商的原始设备制造商销售，但这部分业务正在萎缩。
它仍然是一个有利可图的零售渠道，但比Western Digital在云和数据中心所专注的那部分要小得多。
So, after this split, which is the story of another video, Western Digital became a company specializing only in hard drive business. Today , approximately 90% of its revenue comes from selling high-capacity hard drives to businesses in the cloud and large-scale computing sector.
Therefore, they primarily sell storage devices directly to the world’s largest cloud and data center operators. We are talking here about clients such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Alphabet .
The rest of its business comes from sales to institutions and original equipment manufacturers for traditional server makers, but this part of the business is dwindling. It remains a profitable retail channel, but it is much smaller than the part Western Digital focuses on in the cloud and data centers.
现在，我觉得真正有意思的是，回到我提到的那次分拆——分拆出去的公司变成了“SanDisk”——Western Digital当时本质上是在同一个屋檐下经营两项完全不同的业务。一边是闪存业务，它往往表现得像波动剧烈的大宗商品周期；另一边是硬盘业务，历史上变化更慢、更可预测。
因此，把两者分开确实让Western Digital能够专注于驱动盈利和增长的核心业务。
Now, what I find really interesting , going back to that split I mentioned for the company that became " SanDisk," was that Western Digital was essentially trying to run two completely different businesses under one roof.
There was the flash memory side, which tended to behave like a volatile commodity cycle , and then there were the hard drives, which were historically slower-moving and more predictable.
Therefore, separating that really enabled Western Digital to focus on the core part of the business that drives profitability and growth.
这在当下尤其相关。事实上，我们仍处于构建人工智能的早期阶段，但我们看到的那波最初的兴趣很大一部分确实流向了计算，比如图形处理器和加速芯片，就是让Micron和Nvidia登上头条的那类东西。
然而，训练和运行AI模型也会产生海量数据，这些数据必须存储在某个地方。信不信由你，硬盘仍然是大规模存储其中大部分数据最具成本效益的方式。因此，Western Digital把这称为“AI数据湖”机会。
它正在推动公司真正的转型。这家公司以前只是一个硬件制造商，现在真正在向AI基础设施战略靠拢。
This is particularly relevant at the present time. In fact, we are still in the early stages of building artificial intelligence, but much of that initial wave of interest we saw really went towards computing, such as graphics processing units and acceleration chips, the kind of thing that has Micron and Nvidia making headlines.
However, training and running AI models also generates huge amounts of data that must be stored somewhere. Believe it or not, hard drives remain the most cost-effective way to store most of them on a large scale.
Thus, Western Digital calls this an " AI data lake " opportunity. It is driving a real transformation of the company . This is a company that was previously just a hardware manufacturer, and is now really leaning towards an AI infrastructure strategy.
所以，看到这项业务如何转型真的很有意思。所有AI活动、训练数据、模型检查点和记录，最终都应该落到比高端内存更便宜、更持久的地方。这正是硬盘一直擅长的那种对成本敏感的存储。
So, it was really interesting to see how the business had transformed. All AI activity, training data, model checkpoints, and records should end up in a cheaper and more permanent place than premium memory.
This is precisely the type of cost-sensitive storage that hard drives have always excelled at .
现在，为了给这个增长故事补充一些数字：Western Digital 在8月初公布了第四季度和2026财年的业绩。该财年最后一个季度，营收达到38亿美元，同比增长约44%。这是一个强劲的表现，超出了分析师的预期。
上一季度的营收同比增长45%。他们拥有强劲的自由现金流，正在实施一项非常有力的资本回馈计划，已经分配了利润。他们一直在回购股票，尤其是在今年2月出售了在分拆公司 SanDisk 的最后持股之后。
Now , to put some numbers into this growth story, Western Digital announced its fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2026 results in early August. For the last quarter of that fiscal year, revenues amounted to $3.8 billion .
That was an increase of about 44% year-on-year. It was a strong performance above analysts' estimates. Revenue for the previous quarter grew by 45% year-on-year. They have a strong free cash flow.
They were implementing a very strong capital repatriation program. They have already redistributed the profits. They have been buying back shares, especially after they sold their final stake in the spin-off SanDisk in February of this year.
这是一项非常有趣的业务，它正处于一场技术变革之中，我认为这场变革可能使其增长轨迹延续多年。这条增长路径的关键组成部分之一是一种叫做热辅助磁记录（HAMR）的技术。这是一种新的硬盘技术，利用激光对磁盘表面进行短时间加热。
这意味着什么？本质上，它可以让每块硬盘实现高得多的数据密度。这将使他们能够销售这些更高容量的硬盘，并获得更大的利润率。当然，除此之外，云和对存储容量的超大规模需求丝毫没有放缓的迹象。
随着人工智能模型以及为其提供数据的数据管道持续增长，这一点尤其明显。所以，我认为这是 Western Digital 将从中受益的另一个方面。
It's a really interesting business, and it's in the midst of a technological transformation that I think could extend its growth trajectory for years . One of the key components of this growth pathway is something called heat-assisted magnetic recording, or HAMR .
This is a new hard drive technology that uses a laser to heat the surface of the disk for a short period of time . What does this mean? Essentially, it allows for a much higher data density per drive.
This will allow them to sell these higher-capacity engines and achieve larger profit margins. And of course , beyond that, the cloud and ultra-wide demand for storage capacity shows no sign of slowing down.
This is particularly evident as artificial intelligence models and the data pipelines that feed them continue to grow. So, this is another way I think Western Digital will benefit from.
所以，如果你在关注这项业务，请记住，这家公司过去以制造高度周期性的商品化设备而闻名。它依靠自己作为人工智能基础设施参与者的地位。这是一家资产负债表非常强劲的企业，而且比几年前专注得多。
So, if you're looking at this business, remember that this is a company that was known as a maker of highly cyclical commodity devices. It relies on its position as a player in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
It is a business with a very strong balance sheet and is much more focused than it was just a few years ago .
是的，我认为今天这三家公司的重要之处在于 Micron、Western Digital 和 Lam Research。如你所知，它们都受益于同一个趋势，也就是人工智能领域的扩张。
Yes, and I think the important thing about these three companies today is Micron, Western Digital, and Lam Research. As you know, they all benefit from the same trend, which is the expansion in the field of artificial intelligence.
我们认为，这是三个颇具吸引力的增长故事的例子，但我们希望在评论区听到你的看法。
We believe these are examples of three compelling growth stories , but we would like to hear your opinions in the comments.