Billionaire Paul Singer’s Top 12 Long-Term Stock Picks

4. Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)

Elliott Management’s Stake Value: $153.65 Million

Elliott Management First Major Purchase: 2022

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 66

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) is a tech company that makes and sells data storage devices. It turns out to be one of the long-term stock picks of billionaire Paul Singer. The stock is up by 28.39% for the year.

Robust demand for storage solutions from cloud customers and the artificial intelligence race are increasingly strengthening the company’s long-term prospects. The future can only be bright because hard disk drives account for 90% of data storage in public clouds. Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) enjoyed a 153% increase in cloud segment revenue in its fiscal first quarter of 2025. The growth came as the company experienced high demand and shipments for its HDDs and SSDs to data center customers.

The company’s competitive edge in the data storage business also stems from the growing demand for its UltraSMR technology. The technology is growing in popularity owing to its reliability and capacity compared to other storage solutions. In addition, Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) is in the process of spinning off its Flash business. The strategic move should allow the company to focus on its fast-growing hard disk drive business. The spinoff is also expected to provide clearer visibility into operations and enhance shareholder value.

Parnassus Mid Cap Fund stated the following regarding Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in its Q2 2024 investor letter:

“We re-initiated a position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC), a manufacturer of memory semiconductor chips and hard disk drives, as we believe earnings expectations are far too low. Semiconductors have been another of our most-alpha-generative industries, thanks to the industry’s secular tailwinds and our in-house expertise. Western Digital stands to benefit from the rapid growth of memory-hungry AI applications. The valuation for Western Digital was low relative to its peers, giving us a way to participate in AI at a reasonable valuation.”