Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Seagate reported December quarter revenue of $2.83 billion, up 7% sequentially and 22% year-over-year, setting new records for profitability metrics [15][24] - Non-GAAP gross margin increased to 42.2%, up 210 basis points sequentially, while non-GAAP operating margin expanded by 290 basis points to 31.9% [15][19] - Non-GAAP EPS was $3.11, reflecting a 19% increase quarter-over-quarter [15][20] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - The data center market accounted for 87% of shipment volume, with 165 exabytes shipped, up 4% sequentially and 31% year-over-year [16] - Average cloud nearline drive capacities rose to nearly 26 TB in the December quarter, indicating a shift towards higher capacity drives [17] - The edge IoT market contributed $601 million, supported by seasonal improvements in consumer products [17] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Demand for high-capacity nearline drives in global cloud data centers continued to grow, with nearline capacity fully allocated through calendar year 2026 [7][16] - Video applications are driving significant demand, with platforms like YouTube seeing 20 million video uploads daily, up from 2 million three years ago [8] - The strategic value of data is increasing, particularly with the rise of AI applications that require large volumes of historic data [9] Company Strategy and Development Direction - Seagate's HAMR technology roadmap is positioned to meet growing demand and improve total cost of ownership (TCO) for customers [12][14] - The company aims to maintain supply discipline while satisfying exabyte growth through advancements in areal density without increasing unit production volume [7][12] - Seagate is focused on expanding profitability through a higher capacity product mix, supported by strong demand from AI applications [13][24] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed confidence in the strong demand environment, particularly from global cloud customers, and expects data center demand to offset typical seasonality [22][23] - The company anticipates continued sequential improvement in revenue and profitability throughout calendar 2026 [24] - Management highlighted the importance of maintaining predictable supply and pricing strategies as they transition to higher capacity products [28][70] Other Important Information - Seagate generated over $600 million in free cash flow, the highest level in eight years, and retired $500 million in gross debt [15][21] - The company expects capital expenditures for fiscal year 2026 to remain within the target range of 4%-6% of revenue [21][102] - Cash and cash equivalents totaled just over $1 billion, with ample liquidity of $2.3 billion [21] Q&A Session Summary Question: Can you provide more detail on gross margins going forward? - Management indicated that pricing will be dictated by demand, with potential for flat to slightly up pricing as capacity increases [28][29] Question: How do you see the pricing dynamics evolving? - Management noted that strong demand is leading to better discussions with customers about future pricing, with expectations for flat to slightly up pricing [34][70] Question: What is the expected growth rate for exabyte shipments in 2026? - Management did not provide specific guidance for 2026 but indicated a mid-20% growth rate for nearline exabytes based on historical performance [58] Question: How is the transition to HAMR technology progressing? - Management reported successful qualification of major cloud service providers and expects to ramp up production of 4 TB per disk drives [47][91] Question: What portion of your LTAs has fixed pricing agreements? - Management confirmed that pricing and volume for 2026 are well defined, with ongoing discussions for 2027 [96][97]

Core Insights - Seagate Technology Holdings plc's revenue growth is primarily driven by the increasing demand for data centers, particularly from cloud service providers and enterprise customers supporting AI workloads and rising data volumes [1] Group 1: Financial Performance - In the first quarter of fiscal 2026, Seagate's data center revenue accounted for 80% of total revenue, reaching $2.1 billion, which is a 13% sequential increase and a 34% year-over-year increase [3][9] - For the fiscal second quarter, Seagate expects revenues of $2.7 billion (+/- $100 million), indicating a 16% year-over-year improvement at the midpoint [2] - The non-GAAP operating margin is projected to increase to approximately 30% at the midpoint of revenue guidance [2] Group 2: Product and Market Dynamics - Seagate shipped 159 exabytes to data center customers in the first quarter, up from 137 exabytes in the prior-year period, with a 26% increase in average nearline drive capacity contributing to overall growth [4][9] - The company is ramping up production of its high-capacity Mozaic products, with most major global cloud providers already qualified on Seagate's HAMR-based drives [5] - Long-term agreements with global data center customers provide strong visibility through 2027, supporting confidence in sustained demand [4] Group 3: Competitive Landscape - Western Digital Corporation's HDD business is also experiencing revenue growth, shipping 204 exabytes, up 23%, driven by demand for higher-capacity drives [6] - Pure Storage, Inc. is innovating in enterprise storage, raising its fiscal 2026 revenue outlook to $3.63-$3.64 billion, indicating a year-over-year growth of 14.5-14.9% [7] Group 4: Stock Performance and Valuation - Seagate's shares have gained 248.3% over the past year, outperforming the Zacks Computer Integrated Systems industry's growth of 97.6% [10] - The forward price/earnings ratio for Seagate's shares is currently at 24.26X, higher than the industry's 17.73X [11] - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Seagate's earnings for fiscal 2026 has been revised up by 2.18% to $11.26 over the past 60 days [12]

Core Insights - Seagate's shares increased by over 10% following a strong fiscal Q1 2026 earnings report, with revenue rising 21% year-on-year to $2.63 billion and adjusted EPS reaching $2.61, surpassing Wall Street expectations [1] Group 1: Operational Performance - Seagate delivered a record 182 exabytes of hard-drive capacity in the quarter ending October 3, 2025, with 159 exabytes from nearline drives, highlighting the importance of cloud exposure in revenue growth [3] - The average capacity per drive increased to 14.6 terabytes, reflecting a 26% year-on-year rise in nearline drive capacity, which supports AI and data-heavy workloads and contributes to margin expansion [4] - Seagate shipped over 1 million Mozaic HAMR drives during the September quarter, indicating a shift from proof-of-concept to commercial production [5] Group 2: Market Position and Future Outlook - Five major cloud service providers have approved Seagate's Mozaic 3+ HAMR platform, with additional qualifications expected to enhance supply visibility and support upgraded guidance [7] - Seagate's advancements in drive density, product qualification, and manufacturing capabilities suggest a pivotal moment, aligning technological progress with increasing AI-driven storage demand [8] - The current market enthusiasm for Seagate may indicate the beginning of a sustained structural uptrend, driven by next-generation HAMR drives and deeper cloud qualifications [9]

Core Insights - Western Digital Corporation (WDC) reported strong financial performance in Q4 fiscal 2025, with non-GAAP earnings of $1.66 per share, exceeding estimates by 12.2% and up from $1.44 in the prior year [1] - The company’s quarterly revenues reached $2.61 billion, a 30% increase year over year, driven by demand for high-capacity storage solutions [2] - For fiscal 2025, revenues surged 51% year over year to $9.5 billion, with significant growth in shipments of high-capacity drives [3] Financial Performance - WDC's Q4 revenues from the Cloud end market, which constitutes 90% of total revenues, increased by 36% year over year to $2.6 billion [5] - Non-GAAP gross margin improved to 41.3%, up 610 basis points year over year, attributed to a shift towards higher-capacity drives and effective cost control [6] - Non-GAAP operating income rose 147% year over year to $732 million, while operating expenses decreased by 16% to $345 million [9] Market Dynamics - The demand for high-capacity storage is being driven by cloud computing and generative AI, which require extensive and cost-effective storage solutions [2] - WDC shipped 190 exabytes of storage in Q4, marking a 32% increase year over year, with nearline drives and 26TB CMR and 32TB UltraSMR products seeing significant demand [3][8] Strategic Developments - On February 21, 2025, WDC split its HDD and Flash businesses into two separate public companies, with the new SanDisk focusing on Flash and AI growth [4] - The company repurchased $149 million in stock during the quarter and authorized up to $2 billion in buybacks, reflecting strong cash flow [11] Future Outlook - For Q1 fiscal 2026, WDC anticipates non-GAAP revenues of $2.7 billion, a 22% year-over-year increase, and non-GAAP earnings of $1.54 per share [12][13]

Core Insights - Seagate Technology Holdings plc reported strong fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results, with non-GAAP earnings of $2.59 per share, exceeding estimates by 5.3% and reflecting structural improvements and robust cloud-driven demand [1][8] - Non-GAAP revenues reached $2.44 billion, surpassing estimates by 1.6% and showing a 30% year-over-year increase, driven by massive data growth from hyperscale cloud customers and AI workloads [2][8] Financial Performance - Non-GAAP gross margin hit a record 37.9%, up 170 basis points quarter-over-quarter and 700 basis points year-over-year, supported by high-capacity nearline products and pricing strength [13] - Non-GAAP operating income rose to $640 million from $327 million a year ago, with an operating margin increase of 890 basis points year-over-year to 26.2% [14] Revenue Breakdown - Total HDD revenues, which account for 93.3% of total revenues, increased 32% year-over-year to $2.3 billion, driven by strong nearline cloud sales [11] - Mass capacity revenues surged 40% year-over-year to $2 billion, primarily due to increased nearline cloud demand [4][8] Shipment and Capacity - Seagate shipped 162.5 exabytes of HDD storage in the reported quarter, a 42% year-over-year increase, with average capacity per drive rising to 13 TB [6] - Nearline shipments to cloud and edge data centers made up the majority of mass capacity volume, with nearline drives accounting for 91% of total mass capacity exabytes shipped [5] Technology and Growth Drivers - The ongoing implementation and expansion of HAMR technology is a key driver for Seagate's growth, enhancing areal density and supporting next-generation storage solutions [3] - The company continues to benefit from a strong product mix and ongoing pricing improvements, which support non-GAAP hard drive gross margins above the company average [13] Cash Flow and Balance Sheet - As of June 27, 2025, cash and cash equivalents were $891 million, with long-term debt decreasing to $5 billion [15] - Cash flow from operations was $508 million, with free cash flow amounting to $425 million, indicating strong performance and expectations for higher free cash flow in the second half of 2025 [16] Future Outlook - Seagate's guidance for the first quarter of fiscal 2026 anticipates revenues of $2.5 billion (+/- $150 million), indicating a 15% year-over-year improvement [18] - Non-GAAP earnings are expected to be $2.3 per share (+/- 20 cents), with operating expenses projected around $290 million [19]