Marvell and Western Digital Just Had Their Worst Week Since 2001

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.

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