NEW YORK, April 28, 2026, 17:04 (EDT)
- Seagate is projecting fourth-quarter revenue to hit $3.45 billion, topping the $3.16 billion figure Wall Street was expecting, according to LSEG.
- After the bell, shares jumped roughly 10%, snapping back from a 2.8% drop to $579.03 in the regular session.
- Investors are getting fresh insight into artificial-intelligence infrastructure spending, with demand now moving past chips and pushing into storage hardware.
Seagate Technology jumped after hours Tuesday, buoyed by a fiscal third-quarter beat and an upbeat forecast. The company pointed to robust demand for hard drives in AI data centers as the key driver.
The shift is significant: AI infrastructure doesn’t just hinge on chips. Firms working with AI require vast storage—handling data, outputs, logs—which sets up high-capacity hard-disk drive (HDD) suppliers for a larger role. HDDs, those spinning disks, deliver bulk data storage at a price point below much of the flash-based competition.
Seagate is looking for fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to hit $3.45 billion, give or take $100 million, with adjusted earnings projected at $5 per share, plus or minus 20 cents. LSEG data cited by Reuters shows analysts were modeling $3.16 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $3.97.
Seagate reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $3.11 billion for the period ending April 3, jumping from $2.16 billion in the prior year. GAAP earnings landed at $3.27 per share. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes specific costs and charges, earnings came in at $4.10 per share.
Results cleared the bar across the board. According to MT Newswires, which referenced FactSet, analysts were looking for adjusted earnings of $3.51 per share and $2.96 billion in revenue. Zacks’ poll showed the consensus at $3.50 a share with revenue pegged at $2.94 billion.
Seagate chair and CEO Dave Mosley said the group posted “record margin performance” and is stepping into a “new era of structural growth” as AI drives up data creation. Management flagged higher-capacity drives and increased areal density—fitting more data onto each disk surface—as key levers for better efficiency. Business Wire
Cash generation played its own role. Seagate reported operating cash flow of $1.1 billion, with free cash flow—what’s left after capex—coming in at $953 million. The company also paid down $641 million in debt and sent $191 million back to shareholders via dividends and buybacks.
The stock ended the regular session at $579.03, slipping 2.8% for the day. Post-earnings, shares jumped roughly 10% in after-hours action, Reuters and Seeking Alpha reported. That move tacked on to gains that Reuters noted had already doubled the stock so far this year, following a more than threefold surge in 2025.
The readout puts more pressure on Western Digital, Seagate’s key competitor in hard drives. Reuters reports both firms are battling for contracts with cloud providers, and ramping up capacity with demand for data-storage hardware on the upswing.
Still, it’s not a clear shot higher. Seagate’s outlook counts on just slight disruption from global tariffs and turmoil in the Middle East, but the company flagged that real-world outcomes might not line up with that. If AI demand fades more quickly, prices slip, or new capacity floods the market, margins could take a hit.
