BREAKING: Futures Rise On Trump Comments, Earnings Seagate Technology (STX) stock jumped Wednesday after the hard-disk drive maker reported fiscal first- quarter earnings above estimates. The hardware firm is poised to add to a rally that has seen shares soar more than 160% this year, as investors bet on AI and a booming data-center market to boost hard-drive sales. Fremont, Calif.-based Seagate earned an adjusted $2.61 per share for the September-ended quarter, up 65% from a year earlier. That topped the $ ...

Core Insights - Seagate Technology's stock surged 19.3% following a strong quarterly report, with sales and earnings exceeding expectations [1][3][8] Financial Performance - Seagate reported non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.61 on sales of $2.63 billion for fiscal Q1, surpassing analyst estimates by $0.21 per share and sales forecasts by $80 million [3][4] - Revenue increased approximately 21% year over year, while adjusted earnings surged roughly 65% compared to the prior-year period [4] Future Guidance - For fiscal Q2, Seagate targets sales between $2.6 billion and $2.8 billion, with a midpoint that exceeds the average analyst estimate of $2.67 billion [5] - Adjusted earnings per share are projected to be between $2.55 and $2.95, with a midpoint target of $2.75, also above Wall Street's target of $2.67 [5] Dividend Announcement - Seagate announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.72 to $0.74 per share, representing a 2.8% increase [6] - The company's forward yield stands at 1.1%, supported by strong cash-flow growth that may lead to further dividend increases [6]

Core Insights - Seagate Technology Holdings (NASDAQ: STX) experienced a stock price surge of approximately 40% from a publication price of $186 on September 4, indicating strong performance over a two-month period [1] Company Performance - The significant increase in Seagate's stock price reflects broader market trends and investor sentiment [1] Analyst Background - The analysis is conducted by a senior derivatives expert with over 10 years of experience in asset management, focusing on equity analysis, macroeconomics, and risk-managed portfolio construction [1] - The expert has a background in both institutional and private client asset management, emphasizing multi-asset strategies with a focus on equities and derivatives [1] Investment Philosophy - The goal of the analysis is to share insights and foster discussions among investors, promoting accessible and empowering long-term investing [1]

Core Viewpoint - The storage sector in the U.S. stock market has experienced significant gains, with companies like Seagate Technology, Western Digital, SanDisk, and Micron Technology seeing substantial increases in their stock prices over the past two months, driven by a dramatic rise in memory prices [1][2][3]. Group 1: Stock Performance - Seagate Technology's stock rose by 17.2%, with a cumulative increase of 54.41% over the past two months [1][2]. - Western Digital's stock increased by over 12%, with a cumulative rise of 72.37% [1][2]. - SanDisk's stock surged by over 10%, with an impressive cumulative increase of 283% [1][2]. - Micron Technology's stock rose nearly 3%, with a cumulative increase of 89.13% [1][2]. Group 2: Price Trends - Memory prices have seen a dramatic increase, with reports indicating that memory module prices in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, have doubled within a month [2][3]. - TrendForce data shows that DRAM prices surged by 171.8% year-over-year in Q3 2025, while gold prices increased by only 115% during the same period [3][4]. - Specific DRAM products, such as DDR5 and DDR4, saw price increases of 20.59% and 11.11% respectively in mid-October, with month-over-month increases of 58.73% and 43% [3][4]. Group 3: Supply and Demand Dynamics - The surge in prices is attributed to a structural imbalance in supply caused by the shift in production capacity towards high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips due to the AI boom [4][5]. - Major manufacturers are reallocating production from standard DRAM to HBM, which is expected to dominate the market, with HBM revenue projected to nearly double by 2025 [4][5]. - The competition in the low-end DRAM market has prompted leading manufacturers like Samsung and SK Hynix to pivot towards higher-margin products, further constraining the supply of DDR4 memory [4][5]. Group 4: Market Reactions - Many distributors began stockpiling memory products earlier in the year, leading to reduced market supply and exacerbating price increases [5][6]. - The rising costs of memory chips are putting pressure on consumer electronics and server manufacturers, who are starting to pass these costs onto consumers [6][7]. - Companies like Raspberry Pi and Xiaomi have publicly acknowledged the impact of rising memory costs on their pricing strategies [6][7].

The maker of data storage equipment tops quarterly earnings expectations and forecasts another strong quarter. ...

Market Overview - The three major U.S. stock indices opened higher, with the Dow Jones up 0.57% at 47,997.97 points, the Nasdaq up 0.53% at 23,953.34 points, and the S&P 500 up 0.21% at 6,905.22 points [1] Semiconductor Sector - The storage chip sector saw significant gains, with Seagate Technology rising over 18%, Western Digital increasing over 13%, and Micron Technology up nearly 4% [3][4] Energy Equipment and Services Sector - The energy equipment and services sector experienced multiple stock increases, highlighted by ProPetro Holding surging over 35%, and Liberty Energy and OMS Energy both rising over 10% [5][6] - ProPetro Holding's stock reached 9.925, reflecting a 35.96% increase, while Liberty Energy's stock was at 18.900, showing a 10.85% rise [5][6]

Core Insights - Seagate Technology Holdings plc reported first-quarter fiscal 2026 non-GAAP earnings of $2.61 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 10.6% and surpassing management's guidance of $2.3 per share [1] - Non-GAAP revenues reached $2.63 billion, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.9% and increasing 21% year over year, driven by rising demand for high-capacity hard drives, particularly from global cloud service providers [2] Financial Performance - The data center segment accounted for 80% of total revenue, amounting to $2.1 billion, reflecting a 13% sequential increase and 34% year-over-year growth, with strong demand from global cloud customers [6] - Non-GAAP gross margin reached a record 40.1%, increasing by approximately 220 basis points quarter over quarter and 680 basis points year over year, attributed to the adoption of high-capacity nearline products [12] - Non-GAAP income from operations totaled $763 million, up from $442 million a year ago, with an operating margin increase of 860 basis points year over year to 29% [13] Product and Market Developments - Seagate ramped up shipments of its Mozaic HAMR products, now qualified by five major cloud providers, with over 1 million units shipped during the September quarter [3] - The company shipped 182 exabytes of HDD storage in the reported quarter, a 32% year-over-year increase, with 159 exabytes delivered to data center customers, marking a 39% year-over-year growth [10][11] Shareholder Returns and Future Outlook - Management announced a nearly 3% increase in its quarterly dividend to 74 cents, with shares up 7% in pre-market trading [4] - For the fiscal second quarter, Seagate expects revenues of $2.7 billion (+/- $100 million), indicating a 16% year-over-year improvement, and non-GAAP earnings are projected at $2.75 per share (+/- 20 cents) [17]

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) is 16.5% higher to trade at $260, after the computer hardware company reported adjusted fiscal first-quarter earnings of $2.61 on $2.63 billion in revenue, both of which topped analyst estimates. The company also hiked its Q2 forecast, citing a profitable cycle and tight supply chain. Seven analysts have hiked their price targets in response, including Mizuho and Wedbush to $290.The report has sector peers Western Digital (WDC) and SanDisk (SNDK) both confidently ...

Core Viewpoint - The storage sector in the US stock market experienced significant gains, driven by strong earnings reports from key companies, indicating a positive outlook for the industry amid rising storage chip prices and anticipated growth due to artificial intelligence trends [1] Company Summaries - Seagate Technology (STX.US) reported Q1 revenue of $2.63 billion for fiscal year 2026, a 21% year-over-year increase, surpassing market expectations of $2.55 billion; non-GAAP EPS was $2.61, up 65% year-over-year, exceeding expectations by $0.21 [1] - Western Digital (WDC.US) saw its stock rise over 11%, while SanDisk (SNDK.US) increased by over 9%, reflecting positive market sentiment following Seagate's earnings report [1] - Micron Technology (MU.US) and Rambus (RMBS.US) also experienced stock price increases of over 3%, indicating a broader positive trend in the storage sector [1] Industry Insights - The revenue guidance for Seagate's Q2 of fiscal year 2026 is projected at $2.7 billion, representing a 25% year-over-year growth, with an expected EPS of $2.75 and an operating margin of approximately 30%, suggesting continued sequential growth momentum [1] - Global storage chip prices have been on the rise for the past six months, contributing to a favorable market environment for storage companies [1] - According to Morgan Stanley's research, the storage chip industry is expected to enter a "super cycle" driven by the ongoing artificial intelligence boom, indicating strong future demand [1]

Core Viewpoint - The U.S. storage sector is experiencing significant gains, driven by strong earnings reports from major companies like Seagate Technology and Western Digital, alongside a bullish outlook for the storage chip industry due to rising prices and anticipated demand from artificial intelligence [1] Company Summaries - Seagate Technology reported Q1 revenue of $2.63 billion for fiscal year 2026, a 21% year-over-year increase, surpassing market expectations of $2.55 billion [1] - Seagate's non-GAAP earnings per share reached $2.61, reflecting a 65% year-over-year growth, exceeding expectations by $0.21 [1] - For Q2 of fiscal year 2026, Seagate provided revenue guidance of $2.7 billion, indicating a 25% year-over-year increase, with earnings per share projected at $2.75 and an operating margin of approximately 30% [1] - Western Digital's stock rose over 11%, while SanDisk and Micron Technology also saw significant gains, indicating a positive market response to the storage sector's performance [1] Industry Insights - The global storage chip prices have been on the rise for the past six months, contributing to the overall positive sentiment in the storage sector [1] - According to Morgan Stanley's research, the storage chip industry is expected to enter a "super cycle" driven by the ongoing artificial intelligence boom [1]