Western Digital Corporation ( WDC ) shares are trading higher Wednesday, moving in sympathy with Seagate Technology Holdings PLC ( STX )‘s , which posted strong first-quarter earnings.

WDC shares are powering higher on strong volume. Get the complete analysis here.

What To Know: Seagate ( STX ) reported adjusted earnings per share of $2.61, topping the consensus estimate of $2.37. Revenue came in at $2.63 billion, also exceeding expectations of $2.54 billion, according to Benzinga Pro.

The company highlighted record gross margins of 39.4% on a GAAP basis and 40.1% on a non-GAAP basis. Seagate ( STX ) generated $532 million in cash flow from operations and $427 million in free cash flow during the quarter.

The data storage firm also increased its quarterly dividend by about 3% to 74 cents per share and returned $182 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases in the quarter.

CEO Dave Mosley said Seagate's ( STX ) results reflect strong execution and growing demand for its high-capacity storage products, particularly its Mozaic HAMR line, which is now qualified with five of the world's largest cloud customers.

Western Digital ( WDC ) stock is trading higher as investors view Seagate's ( STX ) strong quarterly performance as a positive sign for demand trends across the data storage industry.

Western Digital ( WDC ) is expected to report first-quarter earnings on Thursday after the market closes. Analysts are looking for earnings per share of $1.58 and revenue of $2.73 billion, according to Benzinga Pro estimates.

WDC Price Action: At the time of writing, Western Digital ( WDC ) stock is trading 14.87% higher at $143.58, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

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