GLW vs. WDC: Corning vs. Western Digital Stock Comparison

Company Profile

Corning (GLW) and Western Digital (WDC) both fall under the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group, but GLW is classified in Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components while WDC is classified in Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals.

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

Trailing Returns

Calendar-Year Returns

Performance Metrics

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

Return Distribution

Risk Metrics

Western Digital (WDC) carries a highly aggressive beta of 2.35, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, whereas Corning (GLW) is closer to market-like at 1.25 — a noticeable difference in market-sensitivity profile.

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Profitability

Western Digital (WDC) at 129.60% clears its industry range for ROE, a sharper capital-efficiency signal than Corning (GLW) at 17.88%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

Western Digital (WDC) at 69.20% keeps the most of each sales dollar — above its industry’s net margin range — and Corning (GLW) at 12.13% also retains a top-quartile share.

Western Digital (WDC) at 47.68% shows unusually strong operating efficiency — above its industry’s operating margin range — and Corning (GLW) at 18.95% also operates in the top quartile.

Profitability Metrics

Growth

Western Digital (WDC) at 35.70% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Corning (GLW) at 19.14% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for WDC.

Both Corning (GLW) at 215.52% and Western Digital (WDC) at 372.38% grew per-share earnings faster than their entire industry benchmark ranges for EPS growth — a strong showing on both sides, though a depressed base year can exaggerate the percentage, so the level of earnings matters too.

Growth Metrics

Financial Strength

Both Corning (GLW) at 1.72 and Western Digital (WDC) at 1.43 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

Both Corning (GLW) at 0.64 and Western Digital (WDC) at 0.10 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

Financial Strength Metrics

Dividends

Western Digital (WDC) at 0.21% pays an industry-typical yield; Corning (GLW) at 1.08% is above its entire peer range — the higher number, but one that calls for a look at payout sustainability before treating it as an advantage.

Western Digital (WDC) at 1.93% keeps its payout in the industry’s typical band, while Corning (GLW) at 45.34% pays out more than any of its peers — the most stretched cover in its group.

Dividend Metrics

Valuation

Western Digital (WDC) at 9.28 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Corning (GLW) at 42.97 sits in the richer quartile — a clear split in what investors pay for each dollar of trailing earnings.

Corning (GLW) at 5.16 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Western Digital (WDC) at 6.82 sits in the pricier quartile — WDC costs more per dollar of sales.

Both Corning (GLW) at 7.03 and Western Digital (WDC) at 10.55 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

Valuation Metrics