Western Digital Increases Stock Buyback Plan by $4 Billion as AI Drives Growth in Storage Chip Sales

　　Western Digital announced on Tuesday that, driven by surging demand for storage chips used in artificial intelligence servers, its board of directors has approved an additional $4 billion share repurchase authorization.

　　The company's stock rose about 5% in pre-market trading, with a year-to-date increase of 57%. Last year, its share price more than doubled.

　　A global shortage of storage chips has intensified competition between AI companies and consumer electronics firms for limited supply, driving up product prices and extending delivery times, while chip manufacturers are still struggling to ramp up production capacity.

　　As of this Monday, the data storage company still had about $484 million remaining under a $2 billion repurchase authorization approved in May last year.

　　Last week, the company released a financial forecast, projecting that both third-quarter revenue and profit would exceed Wall Street expectations, mainly supported by sales of its hard drives and flash storage products for AI servers.

Editor: Li Zhaofu