Key Takeaways Western Digital invested in Qolab to develop nanofabrication to improve qubit performance and scalability.WDC partnership supports U.S. tech leadership, boosting domestic nanofabrication and semiconductor research.The Qolab investment won't affect near-term results but positions Western Digital for quantum-led growth.Western Digital Corporation’s (WDC) strategic investment in Qolab is poised to enhance its long-term growth potential by giving the company early exposure to emerging quantum comp ...

Core Insights - The AI data storage market is rapidly expanding, with a projected CAGR of 17.2%, reaching $774 billion by 2032 from $255.3 billion in 2025 [2] - Seagate Technology (STX) and Micron Technology (MU) are positioned to benefit from the increasing demand for high-capacity drives and advanced memory for AI infrastructure [3][8] - Both companies are currently rated as Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy), but MU appears more attractive from a valuation perspective [24] Seagate Technology (STX) - Seagate's product roadmap focuses on enterprise, exabyte-scale storage solutions, enhancing value for customers and shareholders [4] - The company shipped over 1 million Mozaic drives in the September quarter and is advancing towards 5TB-per-disk technology by early 2028 [5] - Seagate's business transformation and strong product portfolio position it for long-term growth, with expectations of continued demand from global cloud providers [6] - The company has reduced debt by $684 million in fiscal 2025 while maintaining capital returns, reflecting a disciplined approach to capital allocation [7] - Challenges include foreign exchange volatility, intense competition, and elevated debt levels, which may restrict growth [9] Micron Technology (MU) - Micron is benefiting from strong AI-driven memory demand, with its data center business accounting for 56% of total revenue in fiscal 2025 [10][11] - The company expects data center server demand to rise by around 10% in 2025, driven by enterprise workloads and AI [12] - Micron has demonstrated solid cash-flow generation, reducing total debt by $900 million in the last reported quarter [13] - However, the company faces competition in the memory market, which could pressure pricing and profitability [15] Price Performance and Valuation - Over the past six months, MU has gained 133%, outperforming STX and the Zacks Computer-Integrated Systems industry's growth of 123.8% and 59.9% respectively [16] - MU's shares trade at a price/earnings ratio of 13.16X forward earnings, lower than STX's 21.79X [17] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MU's earnings for fiscal 2026 has been revised up by 5.9% to $17.17, while STX's estimate has increased by 7.9% to $11.26 [18][22]

Core Insights - Seagate Technology Holdings plc has implemented structural changes to enhance profitability and cash generation for fiscal 2026, focusing on its Data Center and Edge IoT markets [1][2] Financial Performance - In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, data center revenue accounted for 80% of Seagate's total revenue of $2.1 billion, reflecting a 13% sequential increase and a 34% year-over-year growth [2][8] - The Edge IoT segment contributed 20% of revenue at $515 million, with expectations for seasonal improvement in the December quarter [2] - Seagate forecasts fiscal second quarter revenue of $2.7 billion (+/- $100 million), indicating approximately 16% year-over-year growth at the midpoint [4][8] Market Demand and Strategy - Demand from global cloud customers remains robust, with expectations that cloud growth will continue to outpace enterprise demand [3] - The transition of AI from training to large-scale inferencing is driving increased requirements for high-capacity storage solutions [3] - Seagate is accelerating the qualification of its high-capacity Mozaic portfolio to meet the growing demand amid tight supply [3] Competitive Landscape - Western Digital Corporation is also benefiting from strong AI and cloud computing demand, focusing on higher-capacity nearline products and progressing on HAMR development [5] - Pure Storage, Inc. is innovating in enterprise storage solutions tailored for modern workloads, including AI and cloud-native environments [6] Stock Performance and Valuation - Seagate's shares have increased by 159.4% over the past year, outperforming the Zacks Computer Integrated Systems industry's growth of 58.8% [7] - The forward price/earnings ratio for Seagate is 22.76X, slightly lower than the industry's 23.07X [9] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Seagate's earnings for fiscal 2026 has been revised up by 6.37% to $11.02 over the past 60 days [10]

Company Performance - Seagate Technology's stock (NASDAQ: STX) has surged by 13% over the last five trading days, increasing its market capitalization by approximately $6.1 billion to about $48 billion [2] - The year-to-date gain for Seagate is 160%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's 13% return [2][3] - In fiscal year 2025, Seagate's revenue grew by 39% to $9.1 billion, and adjusted earnings per share increased by over 400% year-over-year to $8.10 [3] Industry Position - Seagate specializes in data storage technology and solutions, providing products such as hard disk drives, solid-state drives, and advanced storage interfaces [5] - The company plays a crucial role in the AI ecosystem by offering high-capacity, low-latency storage solutions essential for AI workloads and cloud computing [5] - Seagate is developing products optimized for AI, including HAMR-based Mozaic drives designed to handle large datasets required for AI training and inference [5][7] Market Trends - There is an unprecedented demand for high-capacity storage solutions driven by the explosive growth of AI, cloud computing, and data center infrastructure [7] - Seagate's technological leadership, particularly with its new HAMR-based Mozaic drives, provides a competitive edge over rivals like Western Digital [7]

Core Insights - Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) has experienced a remarkable 60% year-to-date increase, significantly outperforming the S&P 500's 4% rise, driven by structural improvements and strong market dynamics, particularly in advanced technologies like HAMR [2] - The company has seen a resurgence in the data-storage market, largely due to heightened demand from generative AI applications [2] Financial Performance - Seagate's revenue fell sharply from $11.66 billion in FY2022 to $6.55 billion in FY2024, marking a 44% decline due to weak demand in consumer PCs, Covid-related disruptions, component shortages, and inflationary pressures [3] - However, in the first nine months of FY2025, revenue surged 42% year-over-year to $6.7 billion, driven by strong demand from data-center and cloud customers [3] Market Positioning - Despite the rise of SSDs, HDDs remain essential for large-scale storage due to their cost-effectiveness, leading Seagate to focus on enterprise-grade, high-capacity HDDs while reducing lower-capacity consumer drives [4] - The company has opted to procure NAND from partners like Kioxia, allowing it to concentrate on cost-effective bulk storage solutions [4] Valuation Metrics - Seagate's price-to-sales (P/S) ratio has increased from 1.2x in FY2022 to 3.2x currently, indicating a substantial rise in valuation multiples [5] - The P/S multiple has risen 176% from 1.16x in FY2022 to 2.30x in FY2024, and currently stands at around 3.20x [6] Growth Drivers - The demand for AI-driven storage solutions and the adoption of HAMR technology are significantly boosting high-capacity nearline HDD sales [11] - Seagate reported strong Q3 results with adjusted earnings of $1.90 per share and quarterly revenue of $2.16 billion, reflecting a 31% year-over-year increase [11] - A $5 billion share repurchase initiative has been introduced, indicating confidence in enhancing earnings per share [11] - Operating margins have expanded to 20% in the first three quarters of FY2025, compared to only 3% during the same period last year [11]

Q2FY25 Financial Performance - Revenue reached $2.33 billion [6], a 7% increase QoQ and a significant 50% increase YoY [8, 15] - Non-GAAP gross margin was 35.5% [6], up approximately 220 bps sequentially, marking the seventh consecutive quarter of expansion [8] - Non-GAAP operating margin improved to 23.1% [6], a sequential increase of approximately 270 bps [8] - Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $2.03 [6], at the high end of the guidance range [8] - Adjusted EBITDA increased sequentially by 19% to $591 million [8] - Free cash flow improved significantly to $150 million [8], a substantial increase from $27 million in the previous quarter [8] HDD Capacity and Technology - Total HDD capacity shipped reached 151.8 EB [7, 18] - Average capacity per drive increased to 11.6 TB [7, 18], a 9% increase QoQ [7] - Mass Capacity revenue grew for the sixth consecutive quarter, representing 93% of total HDD exabytes [13] - Nearline revenue nearly doubled year-on-year [13] Q3FY25 Guidance - Revenue is projected to be $2.10 billion ± $150 million [21] - Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share are expected to be $1.70 ± $0.20 [21]