HPQ vs. WDC: HP vs. Western Digital Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC) are both classified in the Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals sub-industry within the broader Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals industry, placing them in the closest GICS peer bucket.

Company profile comparison for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC)
Profile Item	HPQ	WDC
Name	HP Inc.	Western Digital Corp.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Information Technology	Information Technology
GICS Industry Group	Technology Hardware & Equipment	Technology Hardware & Equipment
GICS Industry	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
GICS Sub-Industry	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
Market Capitalization	25.66 billion USD	98.74 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	January 2, 1962	October 31, 1978
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

HPQ

WDC

GSPC

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	HPQ	WDC
Total Return (1Y)	15.35%	78.89%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	6.50%	106.11%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	1.86%	47.06%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

HPQ

WDC

GSPC

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Western Digital (WDC) carries a highly aggressive beta of 2.35, indicating much higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, whereas HP (HPQ) is closer to market-like at 1.18 — a noticeable difference in market-sensitivity profile.

Risk profile metrics for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	HPQ	WDC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	47.36%	83.20%
Beta (5Y)	1.18	2.35
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-51.23%	-64.64%
Avg. Volume (3M)	14.43M	8.01M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

HPQ and WDC are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	HPQ	WDC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.23	0.90
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.38	1.32

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Capital efficiency shows on one side only: Western Digital (WDC) earns 129.60% on shareholders’ equity, ranked against its industry; HP (HPQ) has no ROE this period.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

Max: 42.47%
Q3: 19.13%
Median: 11.00%
Q1: 1.63%
Min: -20.62%
HPQ: --

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

129.60%

WDC: 129.60%
Max: 42.47%
Q3: 19.13%
Median: 11.00%
Q1: 1.63%
Min: -20.62%

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): HPQ does not report ROE, so it has no value marker; WDC is benchmarked against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group.

Net Margin (TTM)

Western Digital (WDC) at 69.20% converts revenue to bottom-line profit above its industry’s benchmark range, while HP (HPQ) at 4.14% keeps roughly the typical share for its industry.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

4.14%

Max: 27.60%
Q3: 11.66%
HPQ: 4.14%
Median: 4.08%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -11.02%

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

69.20%

WDC: 69.20%
Max: 27.60%
Q3: 11.66%
Median: 4.08%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -11.02%

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their net margin against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Western Digital (WDC) at 47.68% turns sales into operating profit above its industry’s benchmark range, while HP (HPQ) at 5.40% operates around its industry’s norm.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

5.40%

Max: 36.27%
Q3: 18.36%
Median: 8.84%
HPQ: 5.40%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -21.39%

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

47.68%

WDC: 47.68%
Max: 36.27%
Q3: 18.36%
Median: 8.84%
Q1: 1.46%
Min: -21.39%

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	HPQ	WDC
ROE (TTM)	--	129.60%
ROA (TTM)	5.63%	25.88%
Net Margin (TTM)	4.14%	69.20%
Operating Margin (TTM)	5.40%	47.68%
Gross Margin (TTM)	19.66%	52.60%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Western Digital (WDC) at 35.70% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while HP (HPQ) at 3.24% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in revenue momentum.

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Western Digital (WDC) at 372.38% clears its industry range for EPS growth, a much stronger earnings trajectory than HP (HPQ) at -5.69%, which is closer to a typical peer reading.

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	HPQ	WDC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	3.24%	35.70%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-4.21%	27.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-5.69%	372.38%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	-4.58%	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Western Digital (WDC) at 1.43 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while HP (HPQ) at 0.79 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for HPQ.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.79

Max: 5.34
Q3: 3.02
Median: 1.95
Q1: 1.32
HPQ: 0.79
Min: 0.17

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.43

Max: 5.34
Q3: 3.02
Median: 1.95
WDC: 1.43
Q1: 1.32
Min: 0.17

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Only one side’s leverage can be read here: Western Digital (WDC) carries debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10 against its industry range, while HP (HPQ) reports no figure this period.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

Max: 1.76
Q3: 0.78
Median: 0.24
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.01
HPQ: --

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.10

Max: 1.76
Q3: 0.78
Median: 0.24
WDC: 0.10
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.01

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): HPQ does not report debt-to-equity ratio, so it has no value marker; WDC is benchmarked against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	HPQ	WDC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.79	1.43
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	--	0.10
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.33	-0.06

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Western Digital (WDC) at 0.21% pays an industry-typical yield; HP (HPQ) at 4.04% 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.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

4.04%

HPQ: 4.04%
Max: 0.73%
Q3: 0.31%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.21%

Max: 0.73%
Q3: 0.31%
WDC: 0.21%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Western Digital (WDC) at 1.93% keeps its payout in the industry’s typical band, while HP (HPQ) at 45.40% pays out more than any of its peers — the most stretched cover in its group.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

45.40%

HPQ: 45.40%
Max: 32.27%
Q3: 14.48%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.93%

Max: 32.27%
Q3: 14.48%
WDC: 1.93%
Median: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	HPQ	WDC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	4.04%	0.21%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	45.40%	1.93%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both HP (HPQ) at 10.86 and Western Digital (WDC) at 9.28 sit in the cheaper earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, with the market paying less for a dollar of trailing earnings than it pays for typical peers.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

10.86

Max: 69.48
Q3: 41.02
Median: 26.39
Q1: 19.36
HPQ: 10.86
Min: 6.07

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

9.28

Max: 69.48
Q3: 41.02
Median: 26.39
Q1: 19.36
WDC: 9.28
Min: 6.07

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

HP (HPQ) at 0.43 looks cheap on sales in the lower P/S ratio quartile, while Western Digital (WDC) at 6.82 looks rich in the upper quartile — a clear gap in price per dollar of revenue.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.43

Max: 11.30
Q3: 5.82
Median: 2.56
Q1: 1.05
HPQ: 0.43
Min: 0.00

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

6.82

Max: 11.30
WDC: 6.82
Q3: 5.82
Median: 2.56
Q1: 1.05
Min: 0.00

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

HP (HPQ) reports a negative P/B ratio of -279.02, meaning negative book equity — the multiple itself is not meaningful for valuation. Meanwhile Western Digital (WDC) reports 10.55, ranking against industry peers normally.

HPQ

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

-279.02

Max: 10.75
Q3: 5.52
Median: 3.17
Q1: 1.79
Min: 0.33
HPQ: -279.02

WDC

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

10.55

Max: 10.75
WDC: 10.55
Q3: 5.52
Median: 3.17
Q1: 1.79
Min: 0.33

HP (HPQ) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for HP (HPQ) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	HPQ	WDC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	10.86	9.28
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.43	6.82
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	-279.02	10.55
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	13.21%	2.76%