Western Digital CFO resigns ahead of company split

Western Digital CFO Wissam Jabre is resigning effective February 28, after the company splits into separate disk drive and SSD businesses. He was slated to become the CFO of the disk drive business following the split. 

The company says Jabre is resigning “to pursue other opportunities” and it is looking for a new CFO.

Western Digital issued an 8K SEC filing saying it expected revenues for its current, second fiscal 2025 quarter to be around $4.3 billion, the midpoint of its guidance and 42 percent more than last year’s Q2. It will formally announce its Q2 2025 results on January 29. Due to a “more challenging pricing environment in the Company’s flash business,” the company stated that non-GAAP diluted earnings per share would be “at the lower end of the previously issued guidance range of $1.75 to $2.05 per share.”

Wissam Jabre, Western Digital
Wissam Jabre

Wedbush analysts Matt Bryson and Antoine Legault said: “It should be well understood that the NAND environment deteriorated in CQ4, particularly in WD’s case with the company having already publicly warned investors of this fact. WDC’s ability to still hit the midpoint of its revenue guidance as well as to keep to its initially guided range for HDDs if anything in our view talks to the continued strength in the company’s hard drive business (which we believe offset some of the weakness in NAND).”

The analysts say Jabre’s departure does not signal any concerns with the HDD business. “We believe WD’s HDD business is in a strong position through 2025 given current areal density leadership (with risk rather potentially becoming apparent next year as HAMR ramps), and no sign of demand cracks, a setup which should provide the HDD operation with stability regardless of executive leadership.”

A Morgan Stanley comment stated: “The CFO transition is a surprise at this stage of the business separation, but we still see the HDD business on solid footing.”

Jabre joined Western Digital in February 2022, coming from being CFO at Dialog Semiconductor for five and a half years, and a corporate finance VP at AMD before that. He joined MKS Instruments’ board last November, and that company supplies measuring instruments and allied products to industries including semiconductor manufacturing, life sciences, industrial technologies, and research. He has a semiconductor heritage.

The “pursue other opportunities” phrase suggests Jabre is going to join another business, presumably as CFO. He could be returning to his semiconductor industry roots. Intel might be seeking a new CFO as incumbent David Zinsner is also serving as co-CEO with Michelle Johnston Holthaus, the CEO of Intel Products.

Several other semiconductor companies need new CFOs, including Lattice Semiconductor and Cirrus Logic.