
Hard disk drive (HDD) maker Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) has been in truly rarefied air when it comes to stock market performance. In 2025, the tech stock put up a total return of over 280%, ranking as the S&P 500’s third-best-performing stock of the year. Shares have not looked back whatsoever in 2026, rising well over 150%, a top-five performance among S&P 500 stocks so far.
Western Digital’s success comes as the firm is seeing rabid demand for its storage devices from artificial intelligence (AI) customers.