Western Digital (WDC) news that moved the stock

What happened

Seagate Technology reported record fiscal first-quarter results after Tuesday's close, but shares fell 5.7% to $630 in after-hours trading after rising 3.7% in the regular session. Adjusted earnings were $7.68 per share, up from $2.61 a year ago and above Wall Street's $7.45 consensus, while revenue rose 61% year over year to $4.23 billion, beating the $4.15 billion consensus. Guidance also topped estimates: Seagate expects second-quarter adjusted earnings of $9.20 per share (plus or minus 20 cents) on revenue of about $4.8 billion, versus consensus of $8.66 per share and $4.5 billion. Capital spending of $211 million was within the company's 4-6% of revenue target range but above the $202 million analysts expected.

What happened

Western Digital reported fiscal first-quarter results ahead of estimates: earnings climbed 160% to $4.64 per share (FactSet consensus $4.11) and sales jumped 55% to $4.38 billion (consensus $4.14 billion). The company guided December-quarter revenue to $5.1 billion, well above the $4.57 billion analyst consensus. CFO Kris Sennesael cited 'robust exabyte growth and improved pricing,' with WD shipping 248 exabytes during the September quarter, up 22% year over year. Despite the beat-and-raise, WDC stock sank more than 5% after hours, extending a pullback of more than 50% from June highs.

What happened

South Korean AI cloud and data-center company Elice plunged 32% on its Seoul trading debut Tuesday — the worst debut for a sizable company in years — reigniting doubts about the sustainability of the AI spending boom. The KOSPI fell 3.7% to close at its lowest level in more than six months, with memory giants SK Hynix and Samsung leading the decline. The weakness crossed into U.S. trading: Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.4% (S&P 500 futures flat, Dow futures up 0.2%), and chip stocks including Micron, Marvell, and SanDisk each fell more than 2% in U.S. premarket trading. Separately, WTI crude jumped more than 3% and Brent topped $111 a barrel — up 13% in October — on lingering Middle East supply risks.

What happened

South Korea's KOSPI plunged about 3.5% to ~5,563 at Tuesday's open, extending semiconductor losses and trimming its 2026 gains to around 31%, down sharply from nearly 116% at its record closing high in June. Memory chipmaker SK Hynix fell 4.07% and Samsung Electronics shed 1.03%. The Nikkei 225 declined ~1.2% (SoftBank -4.46%, Tokyo Electron -1.45%, Renesas -1.49%), the Hang Seng fell ~0.9%, and Euro Stoxx 50 futures pointed ~0.7% lower. U.S. futures were calm: S&P 500 futures up ~0.2% near 7,746, Nasdaq 100 futures flat near 29,730.

What happened

Bloomberg reported Tuesday that Seagate Technology and Japan's Toshiba have entered a bidding contest to acquire TDK Corp's business that produces magnetic heads for hard-disk drives. The deal news hit an already-weak memory sector: Seagate shares sank about 9% and Western Digital fell roughly 6.5-7% as investors weighed the cost of a bidding war and broader fears that memory prices may be peaking.