NEW YORK, January 27, 2026, 16:39 EST
- Seagate beat profit and sales estimates, then raised its outlook for the current quarter beyond expectations
- The CEO pointed to strong data-center demand alongside the rollout of its heat-assisted recording drive platform.
- Storage shares held steady, eyeing Western Digital’s earnings report due later this week
Seagate Technology Holdings topped Wall Street’s fiscal second-quarter estimates Tuesday, posting adjusted earnings of $3.11 per share on $2.83 billion in revenue. The company projected current-quarter revenue near $2.90 billion and adjusted earnings around $3.40 per share—both figures beating expectations—as AI data center demand remained solid, Investing.com reported. Shares jumped about 3.8% to $371.76 in after-hours trading. 1
Cloud providers continue ramping up data centers to support AI workloads, driving demand beyond just chips to storage, networking, and power infrastructure. Hard drives still offer a cost-effective solution for massive data storage, with manufacturers pushing larger-capacity models to boost profitability.
Western Digital, the chief competitor to Seagate in hard drives, is set to release its earnings Thursday. Both companies have tracked broader trends in data-center spending. Shares of Western Digital climbed roughly 4.9%, reaching $252.66. 2
Seagate reported revenue of $2.825 billion for the quarter ending Jan. 2, up from $2.325 billion a year ago. GAAP net income surged to $593 million, compared to $336 million previously. CEO Dave Mosley noted the quarter “exceeded our expectations,” highlighting the growth of its Mozaic platform, which uses heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) to pack data more densely on disks. The company posted a GAAP gross margin of 41.6%, generated $607 million in free cash flow after capital expenditures, and paid down $500 million of exchangeable notes maturing in 2028. 3
Seagate’s board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.74 per share, according to a regulatory filing. The payout is set for April 8, to shareholders recorded by March 25. The company will hold a webcast at 5 p.m. Eastern to review its results and share its outlook. 4
Analysts monitored by Benzinga Pro had been forecasting earnings near $2.84 per share on revenue around $2.75 billion, up from $2.03 and $2.33 billion respectively a year ago. Seagate’s shares climbed 3.5% on Monday, ending the session at $358.29. 5
The rally is even making waves on TV. CNBC’s Jim Cramer singled out Seagate as one of the stocks facing “a shortage that can’t be met,” Insider Monkey reports. 6
Cramer said this week that Seagate needs a “massive beat and raise” just to “keep it running.” He grouped Sandisk, Seagate, and Western Digital as “shortage stocks,” but cautioned the narrative could flip once supply finally catches up. 7
The bar is set high for a stock that’s already climbed so much. A hiccup in the HAMR rollout or changes in cloud spending could challenge the belief that pricing power will hold steady.
Seagate’s call on Tuesday will draw attention for updates on the Mozaic rollout and the expected duration of supply constraints. Investors are especially focused on the tone, given the strong appetite for anything linked to AI data centers.
