LITE vs. WDC: Lumentum vs. Western Digital Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Lumentum (LITE) 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

Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC) both fall under the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group, but LITE is classified in Communications Equipment while WDC is classified in Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals.

Company profile comparison for Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC)
Profile Item	LITE	WDC
Name	Lumentum Holdings 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	Communications Equipment	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
GICS Sub-Industry	Communications Equipment	Technology Hardware, Storage & Peripherals
Market Capitalization	48.84 billion USD	98.74 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	Nasdaq
Listing Date	July 23, 2015	October 31, 1978
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

LITE

WDC

GSPC

Lumentum (LITE) 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 Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	LITE	WDC
Total Return (1Y)	150.31%	78.89%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	147.76%	106.11%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	45.47%	47.06%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

LITE

WDC

GSPC

Lumentum (LITE) 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 Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	LITE	WDC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	101.27%	83.20%
Beta (5Y)	1.73	2.35
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-66.48%	-64.64%
Avg. Volume (3M)	5.27M	8.01M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

LITE 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 Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	LITE	WDC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.44	0.90
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	2.14	1.32

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Lumentum (LITE) reports a negative ROE of -245.79%; negative ROE can reflect losses or negative shareholders’ equity, so it is harder to read as capital efficiency. Meanwhile Western Digital (WDC) reports 129.60%, ranking against industry peers normally.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

-245.79%

Max: 42.47%
Q3: 19.13%
Median: 11.00%
Q1: 1.63%
Min: -20.62%
LITE: -245.79%

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%

Lumentum (LITE) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their ROE against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Lumentum (LITE) reports a negative net margin of -175.78%, usually indicating a net loss over the period. Meanwhile Western Digital (WDC) reports 69.20%, ranking against industry peers normally.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

-175.78%

Max: 27.60%
Q3: 11.66%
Median: 4.08%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -11.02%
LITE: -175.78%

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%

Lumentum (LITE) 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% shows unusually strong operating efficiency — above its industry’s operating margin range — and Lumentum (LITE) at 27.95% also operates in the top quartile.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

27.95%

Max: 36.27%
LITE: 27.95%
Q3: 18.36%
Median: 8.84%
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%

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

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	LITE	WDC
ROE (TTM)	-245.79%	129.60%
ROA (TTM)	9.19%	25.88%
Net Margin (TTM)	-175.78%	69.20%
Operating Margin (TTM)	27.95%	47.68%
Gross Margin (TTM)	47.98%	52.60%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both companies are growing quickly, but Lumentum (LITE) at 83.22% is the standout with revenue growth above its industry range; Western Digital (WDC) at 35.70% also sits in the top quartile.

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

EPS Growth

Western Digital (WDC) at 372.38% sits above its peer range for EPS growth; Lumentum (LITE) at -25,224.32% sits below its range, putting their earnings trajectories at opposite ends.

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

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	LITE	WDC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	83.22%	35.70%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	19.48%	27.35%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-25,224.32%	372.38%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	--

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both Lumentum (LITE) at 1.61 and Western Digital (WDC) at 1.43 carry current ratio within their industries’ typical mid-ranges, suggesting balanced short-term liquidity relative to peers.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

1.61

Max: 5.34
Q3: 3.02
Median: 1.95
LITE: 1.61
Q1: 1.32
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

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

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Lumentum (LITE) at 0.31 and Western Digital (WDC) at 0.10 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.31

Max: 1.76
Q3: 0.78
LITE: 0.31
Median: 0.24
Q1: 0.04
Min: 0.01

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

Lumentum (LITE) vs. Western Digital (WDC): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	LITE	WDC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.61	1.43
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.31	0.10
Net Debt / EBITDA	-0.48	-0.06

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Lumentum (LITE) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Western Digital (WDC) reports a yield of 0.21%, ranking against industry peers normally.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 0.73%
Q3: 0.31%
LITE: 0.00%
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%

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

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Lumentum (LITE) pays no dividend (payout 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Western Digital (WDC) reports a payout of 1.93%, ranking against industry peers normally.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

0.00%

Max: 32.27%
Q3: 14.48%
LITE: 0.00%
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%

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

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	LITE	WDC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	0.21%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	0.00%	1.93%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

An earnings multiple is available for just one side: Western Digital (WDC) trades at 9.28 times trailing earnings, ranked against its peers, while Lumentum (LITE) has no P/E ratio this period.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

Max: 69.48
Q3: 41.02
Median: 26.39
Q1: 19.36
Min: 6.07
LITE: --

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

Lumentum (LITE) vs. Western Digital (WDC): LITE does not report P/E ratio, so it has no value marker; WDC is benchmarked against the Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on sales: Western Digital (WDC) at 6.82 sits in the upper P/S ratio quartile, and Lumentum (LITE) at 13.05 prices even higher, above its industry range.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

13.05

LITE: 13.05
Max: 11.30
Q3: 5.82
Median: 2.56
Q1: 1.05
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

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both Lumentum (LITE) at 10.67 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.

LITE

Technology Hardware & Equipment industry group

10.67

Max: 10.75
LITE: 10.67
Q3: 5.52
Median: 3.17
Q1: 1.79
Min: 0.33

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

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Lumentum (LITE) and Western Digital (WDC)
Metric	LITE	WDC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	--	9.28
P/S Ratio (TTM)	13.05	6.82
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	10.67	10.55
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	0.29%	2.76%