Quick Read
-
Marvell and Western Digital each plunged 28% in one week, their worst since 2001, even after both raised guidance.
-
Seagate and Sandisk fell about 28% each, showing investors dumped storage as a whole rather than singling out two names.
-
Western Digital looks sturdier than Marvell, with a simpler business, net cash and a 17% dividend raise, while Marvell carries Lumentum dilution risk.
-
Building a portfolio and living off one are two completely different skills, and almost nobody teaches the second. This problem is what The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income helps, and it is free today. Read more here. (Sponsor)
Marvell Technology( NASDAQ:MRVL ) and Western Digital( NASDAQ:WDC ) sell different hardware into the same AI data centers. Each lost about 28% in the week ended November 6, 2026.
It was the worst week for both. On a weekly closing-price basis, neither had fallen so much since the week ended September 21, 2001, when markets reopened after the 9/11 attacks. Both companies raised guidance in their latest earnings reports. What remains uncertain is whether the selloff changed AI demand or only the price investors will pay for it.
Both Stocks Held Up Better in 2008 and the Covid Crash
Western Digital's worst weeks in October 2008 and March 2020 were declines of 23.7% and 25.8%. Marvell's were 17.7% and 13.7%, so this week stands well outside either stock's crisis history.
Marvell closed Friday at $141.14, down 28.14% from $196.40, even after a 5.68% gain on Friday. Western Digital slipped 1.51% Friday to $263.60, down 28.00% from $366.11, and its market value fell below $100 billion.
Most of the damage came from the election results.
On November 5, the PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 12.25%, its worst day since March 2020. Marvell dropped 16.43% that day, and Western Digital lost 17.35%.
Democrats won both chambers of Congress after candidates in both parties ran against AI data centers, and LPL Financial strategist Adam Turnquist called the week an overreaction.
Now Available: The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income
Many successful investors eventually reach the same moment. The saving is done, the portfolio is built, and the question quietly changes from how much can I grow this to how much can I take out? Get that second question wrong and decades of good investing can come apart in a handful of years.
That is exactly what The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income helps answer. It covers what your retirement could actually cost, which income sources are worth using, and the withdrawal math that decides whether the money lasts. It is free today from Fisher Investments. Read More Here ›
Storage Fell as a Group While Marvell Added Merger Risk
Seagate Technology( NASDAQ:STX ) lost 28.49%, its worst week since January 2009. SanDisk( NASDAQ:SNDK ) fell 27.48%, its seventh straight weekly loss, which tells me investors sold storage as a category.
Marvell also faced deal risk. On November 2, it agreed to buy Lumentum( NASDAQ:LITE ). The all-stock deal had an implied enterprise value of $115 billion. Marvell holders will own about 67% of the combined company, and the stock fell 12.72% that day.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of calendar 2028, which leaves a long period of execution risk. Marvell did narrow its third-quarter revenue range to plus or minus 2%.
Why Western Digital Looks Sturdier After the Selloff
Western Digital looks like the sturdier of the two companies after the selloff. The stock sits 64.7% below its June 18 record close, compared with 55.4% for Marvell. That leaves Western Digital at a deeper discount with a simpler business.
Management guided fiscal second-quarter revenue to about $5.1 billion with gross margin of 60% to 61%.
It also cited "good visibility up to 2030, 2031" across its top seven customers. The company raised the dividend 17% and ended the quarter with net cash.
Marvell's results on December 1 could confirm that its custom silicon business is ramping. However, dilution from the Lumentum deal adds a risk Western Digital doesn't carry.
That case would weaken if anti-data-center policy becomes law or hyperscalers cut capital spending. October CPI, due November 10, is the next test for the whole group.
Released: The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income
(Sponsor) Most people spend their entire working lives focusing on one thing: growing a pile of money. Then they retire and discover the skill they actually need is close to the opposite. Turning that pile into steady income, year after year, through good markets and bad, without ever running out.
It may be the least discussed and most consequential transition in personal finance, and plenty of otherwise careful investors walk into it with no real plan. That is exactly what The Definitive Guide to Retirement Income helps answer. It is a free guide from Fisher Investments covering what your retirement will really cost, where the cash flow should come from, and how much you can safely withdraw each year. Learn more here. Learn More Here ›
Contact editorial@247wallst.com for any questions or corrections.
