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Question-and-Answer SessionNow Gianluca, just start off with a very high-level industry question. The industry has done a great job of structurally improving itself over the last 18 months or so in terms of higher utilization, big recovery in terms of pricing and so on. So maybe just give us your high-level view of what are the key elements of what's driven that improvement in the industry situation from a supply demand perspective recently.Gianluca RomanoExecutive VP & CFO Okay. And before we start, let me ...

Seagate Conference Call Summary Company Overview - **Company**: Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NasdaqGS: STX) - **Event**: Communicopia and Tech Conference - **Date**: September 08, 2025 Industry Insights - The storage industry has seen significant structural improvements over the past 18 months, characterized by higher utilization and recovery in pricing [4][5] - The transition from on-premises data to cloud storage during the COVID pandemic led to increased cloud consumption, followed by a down cycle that began approximately two years ago [5] - Seagate has shifted to a build-to-order model, enhancing visibility and predictability in production and pricing discussions with customers [6][7] Key Financial Metrics - Seagate has more than doubled its gross margin and consistently increased revenue since the beginning of calendar 2025 [8] - The company expects to see higher revenue and profitability in upcoming quarters, supported by improved customer relationships and pricing strategies [8][39] Pricing Strategy - Customers are increasingly willing to accept higher prices, particularly in the cloud segment, where demand exceeds supply [10] - The pricing strategy remains consistent, focusing on a per-exabyte basis rather than per drive [10] Capacity and Utilization - Seagate's current exabyte capacity is fully utilized, with a focus on encouraging customers to purchase higher-capacity drives to optimize total cost of ownership (TCO) [9] - The company is promoting the transition from lower-capacity drives to higher-capacity options, which benefits both Seagate and its customers [9] Technology and Product Development - Seagate is advancing its HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) technology, which is expected to significantly improve cost per terabyte and gross margins [18][29] - The qualification process for HAMR technology has progressed smoothly with multiple cloud customers, indicating strong future demand [21][24] Market Segments - The cloud segment is the primary driver of revenue, while the legacy market is expected to continue declining due to the shift towards NAND technology [34][35] - The nearline segment is growing as customers seek higher-capacity drives for simplified cloud solutions [31][32] Financial Outlook - Seagate aims to maintain gross margins and improve profitability through a better product mix and cost reductions associated with higher-capacity drives [38][39] - The company has successfully reduced operational expenses and aims for OpEx to be around 10% of revenue [42][43] - Seagate is targeting a gross debt level between $4 billion and $5 billion, with no immediate maturity concerns [44] Free Cash Flow - The company has generated substantial free cash flow, which is expected to align closely with net income moving forward [45] M&A Strategy - Seagate is primarily focused on R&D and sees limited opportunities for significant acquisitions in the currently consolidated industry [46] Conclusion - Seagate is positioned for continued growth in the storage industry, leveraging its technological advancements and strategic pricing to enhance profitability and market share [39][46]

Core Insights - The article emphasizes the importance of understanding macro trends and their influence on asset prices and investor behavior [1] - It highlights the significance of central bank policies in the EU and US, sector rotation, and sentiment dynamics in constructing actionable investment strategies [1] Company and Industry Analysis - The focus is on equity analysis and research, with a specialization in derivatives and risk-managed portfolio construction [1] - The article suggests that investing should be accessible and empowering, aiming to build confidence in long-term investing among readers [1]

Albert Anthony is the pen name of a Croatian-American business author who is a media contributor on investor platform Seeking Alpha, where he has over +1K followers, & also writes for platforms like Investing dot com and is launching a book on Amazon in 2025 called Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): A Fundamental Analysis.The author comes from a non-traditional financial background having been an analyst in the IT sector for several Fortune 500 companies in the US, as well as the technical support team ...

Core Insights - The discussion features Seagate's CFO, Gianluca Romano, who highlights the company's recent achievements and future expectations regarding their HAMR product qualification process [2]. Group 1: Company Developments - Seagate has achieved a new qualification for its HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) product, with four major cloud customers now qualified, three of which are based in the U.S. and one outside the U.S. [2] - The company is progressing rapidly through the qualification process and anticipates completing the qualification for all top seven cloud customers by next June [2].

Seagate (STX) 2025 Conference September 03, 2025 10:50 AM ET Company ParticipantsAsiya Merchant - Technology Equity ResearchGianluca Romano - Executive VP & CFOAsiya MerchantGood morning, everyone. See a few familiar faces here. So I'm Assia Merchant. I work for Citi Research. I cover the tech hardware, tech supply chain stocks.Really happy to have Seagate CFO here, John Luca. We this is an open fireside chat, so we do have a, you know, set of questions. However, if investors do have questions, I'll allow s ...

Investment Rating - The report maintains a constructive outlook on shares of Amphenol Corp (APH), Dell Technologies (DELL), Corning Inc (GLW), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and the memory/disk drive sector including Seagate Technology (STX), Western Digital Corp (WDC), and SanDisk Corp (SNDK) [4]. Core Insights - The upcoming Citi's 33rd annual Global Technology Conference will feature over 240 technology companies, focusing on updates regarding customer and enterprise demand dynamics, as well as supply chain conditions [1]. - Key investor questions include the impact of Generative AI on infrastructure spending, enterprise spending intentions, consumer spending trends, margin impacts from rising component costs, and capital allocation strategies [2][3]. Company Summaries - **Amphenol Corp (APH)**: Current price at $109.36 with a market cap of $133.52 billion. The target price is set at $125.00 with an expected share price return of 14.3% [7]. - **CDW Corp (CDW)**: Current price at $167.00 with a market cap of $21.89 billion. The target price is $200.00 with an expected share price return of 19.8% [7]. - **Corning Inc (GLW)**: Current price at $65.77 with a market cap of $56.34 billion. The target price is $72.00 with an expected share price return of 9.5% [7]. - **Dell Technologies (DELL)**: Current price at $130.84 with a market cap of $88.50 billion. The target price is $160.00 with an expected share price return of 22.3% [7]. - **Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)**: Current price at $22.45 with a market cap of $29.46 billion. The target price is $25.00 with an expected share price return of 11.4% [7]. - **SanDisk Corp (SNDK)**: Current price at $46.37 with a market cap of $6.76 billion. The target price is $57.00 with an expected share price return of 22.9% [7]. - **Seagate Technology (STX)**: Current price at $159.19 with a market cap of $33.86 billion. The target price is $167.00 with an expected share price return of 4.9% [7]. - **Western Digital Corp (WDC)**: Current price at $76.97 with a market cap of $26.70 billion. The target price is $88.00 with an expected share price return of 14.3% [7].

Core Insights - Seagate Technology is experiencing significant demand growth driven by cloud, AI, and edge computing, with nearline hard drives being essential for hyperscale cloud storage [1][2] - The company's build-to-order contracts provide revenue visibility into mid-2026, ensuring predictable supply for cloud service providers [1] - Seagate's mass-capacity revenues increased by 40% year-over-year to $2 billion in Q4, with nearline drives making up 91% of mass-capacity exabytes shipped [2][9] Revenue and Profitability - The adoption of Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) technology and the Mozaic 3+ platform is expected to enhance storage economics and profitability [3] - Seagate's Q4 non-GAAP gross margin reached 37.9%, a 170 basis point sequential increase and nearly 700 basis points year-over-year, driven by high-capacity nearline drives and pricing discipline [5][9] - Non-GAAP operating income nearly doubled to $640 million, resulting in an operating margin increase to 26.2% [5] Future Outlook - For Q1 of fiscal 2026, Seagate anticipates revenues of approximately $2.5 billion, reflecting a 15% year-over-year growth at the midpoint, with non-GAAP earnings projected at $2.30 per share [6] - Management expects continued gross margin expansion into the mid-to-high 20% range of revenues [6] Competitive Landscape - Seagate faces competition from HDD and SSD manufacturers like Western Digital and Pure Storage, which are also capitalizing on rising cloud demand [7][8] - Western Digital reported a non-GAAP gross margin of 41.3% in Q4, while Pure Storage's non-GAAP gross margin was 70.9% in Q1 of fiscal 2025 [8][10] Market Performance - Seagate's shares have increased by 66.4% over the past year, outperforming the Zacks Computer Integrated Systems industry's growth of 20.2% [11] - The forward price/earnings ratio for Seagate is 17.01X, lower than the industry's 19.97X [12] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Seagate's earnings for fiscal 2026 has been revised up by 4.2% to $10.30 [13]

The company has outperformed its competitors in the storage space, like Western Digital Corporation ((WDC), Pure Storage ((PSTG), and NetApp, Inc. ((NTAP). WDC has gained 27.3%, while PSTG and NTAP have declined 5% and 6.1% during the same time frame. Western Digital is a diversified storage company with a broader portfolio that includes both traditional HDDs and NAND-based SSDs. NetApp provides enterprise storage as well as data management software and hardware products and services. It assists enterprises ...