State of @Sia__Foundation Q2Key Update: Sia activates groundbreaking v2 hard fork, introducing Utreexo for lightning-fast node syncing and rebranding as "World's Safest Cloud Storage."QoQ Metrics 📊• Network revenue ⬆️ 79.9%• Daily network revenue ⬆️ 78%Read the full report: https://t.co/FflzBAC86P ...

Core Insights - The Zacks Computer-Storage Devices industry faces challenges from escalating trade tensions, macroeconomic turbulence, and intense competition, but benefits from trends like digital transformation, edge computing, and AI workload proliferation [1][2][6] Industry Overview - The industry includes companies that design, develop, manufacture, and market HDDs and SSDs for various devices, with some offering software-defined all-flash solutions and high-performance memory subsystems [3] Trends Influencing Growth - AI is driving demand for high-speed, high-capacity storage solutions, necessitating a shift towards NVMe-based SSDs and object storage for unstructured data [4] - Cloud storage technologies are evolving, with a focus on virtualization and edge computing to manage increasing data complexity and scale [5] Macro Conditions - Trade tensions and inflation are significant concerns, potentially affecting global IT spending, which is projected to reach $5.43 trillion in 2025, a 7.9% increase from 2024 [6] - PC shipments increased by 4.4% year-over-year in Q2 2025, but are expected to plateau in the latter half of the year due to vendor inventory adjustments [7][8] Industry Performance - The Zacks Computer-Storage Devices industry has outperformed the S&P 500 with a 22.7% increase over the past year, compared to the S&P 500's 17.8% gain, but lags behind the broader sector's 28.3% growth [11] Valuation Metrics - The industry is currently trading at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 21.15X, below the S&P 500's 23.32X and the sector's 28.93X [14] Company Highlights - **Netlist (NLST)**: Experienced a 44% sequential revenue increase to $41.7 million, driven by DDR5 demand, and is pursuing legal actions against Samsung and Micron for patent infringements [20][21] - **Pure Storage (PSTG)**: Expanded its Flash portfolio and reported strong demand for its products, with a Zacks Rank of 3 and a 71.6% stock gain over the past year [25][27] - **NetApp (NTAP)**: Benefiting from demand for all-flash arrays and cloud storage solutions, with Keystone storage-as-a-service revenues growing 80% year-over-year [32][33]

Core Insights - Western Digital Corporation (WDC) has achieved a significant turnaround in profitability, with non-GAAP gross margin increasing from 28.7% in fiscal 2024 to 39.4% in fiscal 2025, and operating income rising 578% to $2,326 million from $343 million [1][7] - The recovery is attributed to cyclical cloud demand, cost control, and strategic decisions such as spinning off the SanDisk flash business, enhancing margins and cash flow [1][7] - The company anticipates continued revenue growth, projecting non-GAAP revenues of $2.7 billion, a 22% increase year over year, and non-GAAP earnings of $1.54 for the next quarter [4][7] Financial Performance - In the fiscal fourth quarter, WDC reported a non-GAAP gross margin of 41.3%, up 610 basis points year over year, exceeding guidance [3] - Non-GAAP operating expenses decreased by 16% year over year to $345 million, while non-GAAP operating income rose 147% year over year to $732 million [3] - The company shipped 190 exabytes in the fourth quarter, a 32% year-over-year increase, driven by demand for nearline drives and high-capacity products [2] Market Position and Technology - WDC maintains a strong position in the global HDD market, with its ePMR and UltraSMR technologies offering reliability and low total cost of ownership [2] - The company is advancing next-generation HAMR drives, expected to qualify in 2027, and anticipates continued demand for high-capacity drives [2] - The competitive landscape includes major players like Seagate, Pure Storage, and others, with pricing pressure being a persistent concern [5] Competitive Analysis - Seagate reported a 32% year-over-year increase in HDD revenues, with a non-GAAP gross margin of 37.9% [6] - Pure Storage, focusing on all-flash storage solutions, expects a revenue increase of 10.6% year over year for the fiscal second quarter [8] Stock Performance and Valuation - WDC shares have gained 26.1% over the past year, outperforming the Zacks Computer-Storage Devices industry, which fell by 7.1% [9] - The forward price/earnings ratio for WDC is 12.89X, lower than the industry average of 17.86X [10] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WDC's earnings for fiscal 2026 has been revised up 14% to $6.50 [11]

Core Insights - NetApp, Inc. is set to release its first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings on August 27, with expected non-GAAP earnings per share between $1.48 and $1.58, slightly down from the previous year [1][10] - Anticipated net sales are projected to range from $1.455 billion to $1.605 billion, reflecting a minor decline of 0.1% from the prior year [2][10] Financial Performance - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is currently at $1.54 per share, indicating a 1.3% decrease year-over-year [1][2] - The company has a history of beating estimates, achieving an average earnings surprise of 3.2% over the last four quarters [2] Growth Drivers - Increasing momentum in the all-flash portfolio and growth in cloud storage services are expected to support NetApp's performance [3] - The company has gained nearly 3 percentage points in all-flash market share and 1 percentage point in block storage in 2024 [4] - All-flash systems and public cloud services now account for over two-thirds of revenue, up from less than half five years ago [4] Segment Performance - The all-flash array annualized revenue run rate increased by 14% year-over-year to a record $4.1 billion [5] - The Public Cloud segment revenue is projected to reach $173 million, an 8.9% increase year-over-year, with first-party and marketplace storage services growing by 44% [7][10] Market Trends - The enterprise AI market is driving customers to modernize their data infrastructure, which is expected to enhance long-term growth prospects for NetApp [6] - Strong partnerships with hyperscalers like Amazon and Microsoft position NetApp favorably in the cloud infrastructure market [7] Outlook - Despite positive growth trends, the global macroeconomic environment remains uncertain, with anticipated customer spending caution and challenges in the U.S. Public Sector and EMEA [8]

Industry Overview - The Zacks Computer-Storage Devices industry is expected to experience robust growth due to factors such as digital transformation, edge computing, AI workloads, and enterprise cloud adoption [1] - The increasing demand for secure storage solutions driven by rising cyberattacks will further enhance the need for sophisticated data storage [1] - Major players in the industry include Western Digital Corporation (WDC), NetApp, Inc. (NTAP), and Teradata Corporation (TDC) [1] Trends Impacting the Industry - The rapid proliferation of AI is reshaping the tech landscape, leading to increased demand for high-speed, high-capacity, and low-latency storage solutions [3] - Traditional storage architectures are being replaced by NVMe-based SSDs and software-defined storage to meet the data throughput required by AI applications [3] - Cloud storage technologies are evolving, with companies leveraging AI and machine learning to optimize storage solutions and manage increasing data complexity [4] Market Conditions - Worldwide IT spending is projected to reach $5.61 trillion in 2025, reflecting a 9.8% increase from 2024, with the Devices segment expected to grow by 10.4% [5] - Despite positive IT spending forecasts, escalating trade tensions and macroeconomic uncertainties pose challenges to the industry [5] - The Zacks Computer-Storage Devices industry has underperformed the S&P 500, declining 32.4% over the past year compared to the S&P 500's gain of 9.7% [10] Company Highlights - **Western Digital (WDC)**: Focused on cloud end-markets, WDC is addressing supply chain challenges and expects strong data center demand to drive sales. The company has secured long-term deals through mid-2026 [17][18] - **Teradata (TDC)**: TDC's innovations in AI and hybrid cloud are gaining traction, with partnerships with major cloud service providers enhancing its offerings. The company has launched the Enterprise Vector Store to support AI applications [21][22] - **NetApp (NTAP)**: NTAP is experiencing increased demand for its all-flash arrays and expects to capture more market share. The company reported five-fold year-over-year growth in its AI business for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2025 [27][29]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Q1 revenue slightly exceeded forecasts, totaling $625 million, a 1% year-over-year decline [20] - Total ARR was $2.552 billion, down 20 basis points year-over-year, flat on a constant currency basis [21] - Net income for Q1 was $207 million, up 5% year-over-year, with diluted EPS of $0.70, a 21% increase from the previous year [24] - Gross margin was 82.9%, down 170 basis points year-over-year, while operating margin was 41.7%, exceeding guidance [23] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - The FormSwift business faced a 70 basis point headwind to revenue, contributing to the overall decline [20] - The document workflow business, DocsZen, delivered solid double-digit growth year-over-year, while Sign faced competitive challenges [15] - The core FSS business saw improved performance among self-serve teams despite reduced investment levels [12] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company exited Q1 with 18.16 million paying users, a sequential decline of approximately 60,000 users [21] - Average revenue per paying user (ARPU) decreased to $139.26 from $140.06 in the prior quarter [21] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focused on scaling Dash and simplifying its core FSS business, with significant updates to Dash enhancing search capabilities across various media formats [6][7] - Strategic investments are being made to improve the user experience and drive higher operating efficiency, with a goal of increasing operating margins and free cash flow [19][32] - The company plans to introduce a self-serve version of Dash to unlock potential within its self-serve customer base [58] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management acknowledged a fluid macroeconomic landscape but expressed confidence in the subscription business and broad customer diversification [17][29] - The company expects paying users to decline by approximately 1.5% or 300,000 users throughout the year, with FormSwift representing about half of this decline [30] - Despite facing uncertainties, management remains optimistic about the potential of Dash and its ability to navigate current market conditions [32] Other Important Information - The company repurchased approximately 18 million shares, spending about $500 million, with $870 million remaining under the share repurchase authorization [27] - The company raised its full-year guidance for reported revenue by $10 million, now expecting $2.475 billion to $2.490 billion [28] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is supporting better user levels? - Management noted progress in the core business, particularly in the Teams segment, with improved onboarding and reduced friction leading to a 50% year-over-year increase in desktop activations [35][36] Question: Any changes in the view on Dash's monetization potential? - Management remains excited about Dash's recent product release and its ability to support various media formats, with positive customer feedback on new features [40][41] Question: Feedback from early adopters of Dash? - Early adopters appreciate the AI search capabilities and the ability to organize and share content across platforms, which is unique to Dash [47][48] Question: Insights on the consumer side of the business? - Management has not observed significant changes in consumer trends despite general macroeconomic concerns, with individual subscribers often using Dropbox for work-related purposes [51][52] Question: Sustainability of R&D spending? - Management indicated that the current R&D spending level is largely sustainable, with a focus on optimizing the core business while investing in higher growth opportunities like Dash [55][56] Question: Upcoming major integrations for Dash? - The company is focused on building a self-serve version of Dash to facilitate easier onboarding for existing and new customers, which is expected to accelerate growth [58][59]

Core Insights - NetApp, Inc. has partnered with Alphabet Inc. to enhance Google Cloud NetApp Volumes, a fully managed file storage service, significantly improving performance and reducing complexity for cloud storage workloads, particularly in AI, EDA, and large content repositories [1][2][3] Group 1: Partnership and Product Enhancements - The collaboration between NetApp and Google Cloud showcases the integration of NetApp's intelligent data infrastructure with Google Cloud's scalable AI and storage ecosystem, leading to a 13.08% increase in NTAP's shares following the announcement [2][3] - New features include integration with Google Cloud's Vertex AI platform, allowing customers to access data in NetApp Volumes directly within Vertex AI, facilitating faster development of custom AI agents and applications [5] - Google Cloud NetApp Volumes now supports large capacity volumes starting at 15TiB, scaling up to 1PiB with throughput of up to 30 GiB/s, which simplifies the movement of large datasets to the cloud [6] Group 2: Flexibility and Scalability - The introduction of Flex Service Level improvements allows customers to independently scale capacity, throughput, and IOPS, enabling tailored storage solutions that meet specific workload requirements [7] - Upcoming support for Google Cloud's Assured Workloads will help organizations maintain compliance with regional standards while ensuring data residency and access control [8] Group 3: Market Demand and Growth - NetApp is experiencing increased demand for its all-flash arrays and cloud storage solutions, with over 100 deals focused on AI and modernizing data lakes secured in the fiscal third quarter [9][10] - The company is actively developing generative AI solutions and has previously collaborated with Google Cloud to enhance AI-ready infrastructure for the public sector and regulated industries [11] Group 4: Financial Performance and Challenges - Despite the positive developments, NetApp faces challenges such as foreign exchange pressures, the impact of the Spot divestiture, and competition, which may affect revenue growth in the near term [12] - NTAP's stock has seen an 18% decline over the past year, contrasting with the broader industry's decline of 44.9% [13]

Industry Overview - The Zacks Computer - Networking industry is experiencing growth driven by increased focus on cloud computing, network security, big data, and cloud storage, particularly with the rise of AI technology [1] - Companies are capitalizing on the multi-billion-dollar AI infrastructure opportunity, with the accelerated deployment of 5G enhancing the demand for robust networking infrastructure [1][4] - The industry is characterized by a diverse range of products, including wireless, Ethernet, and powerline solutions, catering to the evolving needs of consumers and businesses [2] Trends Influencing the Industry - Innovation in networking technologies is opening new business avenues, driven by the proliferation of smart home devices and the increasing adoption of cloud computing [3] - The rapid deployment of 5G technology is expected to boost growth prospects, necessitating substantial investments in infrastructure upgrades [4] - The upcoming Wi-Fi 7 upgrade cycle is anticipated to drive demand for advanced networking products, addressing issues related to Wi-Fi spectrum shortages [5] Economic Conditions - Global macroeconomic weakness and volatile supply-chain dynamics pose challenges for the industry, potentially affecting spending and business visibility [6] Industry Performance - The Zacks Computer - Networking industry ranks 25, placing it in the top 10% of over 246 Zacks industries, indicating bright near-term prospects [7][8] - The industry has outperformed the S&P 500 Composite and the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector, gaining 28% over the past year compared to the sector's 12.4% and the S&P 500's 15.6% [9] Valuation Metrics - The industry is currently trading at a forward 12-month price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 20.12X, which is below the S&P 500's 21.53X and the sector's 24.41X [11] Company Highlights - **Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO)**: Benefiting from strong demand for AI infrastructure solutions, with orders exceeding $700 million in the first half of fiscal 2025, and a growth rate of over 40% in orders [14][16] - **NETGEAR, Inc. (NTGR)**: Experienced a 14.9% revenue increase in the NFB segment, driven by strong demand for ProAV managed switch products, and a successful destocking plan leading to improved revenue predictability [19][20] - **RADCOM Ltd. (RDCM)**: Reported record revenues of $16.3 million, a 16.1% year-over-year increase, and provided revenue guidance for 2025 expecting growth between 12% and 15% [24][25]