Stock Markets January 27, 2026

Seagate Sees Q3 Revenue and Earnings Above Street Estimates as AI-Driven Storage Demand Strengthens

Company cites large-scale AI deployments and enterprises' growing data needs as drivers for elevated disk demand

By Maya Rios STX
Seagate Sees Q3 Revenue and Earnings Above Street Estimates as AI-Driven Storage Demand Strengthens
STX

Seagate Technology projected third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings per share above analysts' forecasts, attributing the upside to robust demand for capacity storage as corporations expand artificial intelligence infrastructure. The company reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results and noted that AI-related data growth is increasing requirements for exabyte-scale, cost-efficient storage.

Key Points

  • Seagate forecast third-quarter revenue of $2.90 billion, plus or minus $100 million, above the LSEG consensus of $2.77 billion.
  • The company projected third-quarter adjusted EPS of $3.40, plus or minus $0.20, versus analysts' expectation of $2.96.
  • Second-quarter results beat estimates: $2.83 billion in revenue and $3.11 adjusted EPS, outperforming $2.73 billion and $2.81 estimates respectively. Sectors impacted include enterprise storage, data center infrastructure, and tech hardware suppliers.

Jan 27 - Seagate Technology said it expects third-quarter revenue and adjusted profit to top Wall Street forecasts, a result the company attributes to accelerating demand for its data storage devices as enterprises expand artificial intelligence initiatives.

Seagate provided a third-quarter revenue outlook of $2.90 billion, plus or minus $100 million. That compares with consensus estimates of $2.77 billion compiled by LSEG. For adjusted earnings, the company projected $3.40 per share, plus or minus $0.20, versus analysts' expectations of $2.96 per share.

The firm pointed to a wave of investment by technology companies into data centers and supporting infrastructure to train and operate large language models. Those models consume and generate massive datasets, and Seagate says its hard disk drives are among the hardware products used to house that information.

"As AI applications amplify the creation and economic value of data, modern data centers increasingly need storage solutions that combine performance and cost-efficiency at exabyte-scale," Seagate CEO Dave Mosley said.

The company also highlighted that industry analysts see a structural demand tailwind. Earlier this month, Morningstar analysts said they expect the hard disk drive industry to grow at a "low-teens average rate over the next several years, as prices fall but the amount of storage shipped increases."

For the second quarter, Seagate reported revenue of $2.83 billion, ahead of estimates of $2.73 billion. Adjusted earnings in the quarter were $3.11 per share, compared with expectations for $2.81 per share.

In after-hours trading the company's shares were down about 1%. The stock had climbed 6% in the week leading up to the earnings release after rising more than threefold in 2025 amid investor enthusiasm around AI infrastructure.


Analyst and market tools referenced

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Overall, Seagate's guidance and recent quarterly results reflect stronger demand for bulk storage capacity as enterprises increase spending on AI-related data infrastructure. The company is positioning its hard disk drives as a cost-effective option for data centers operating at very large scale.

Risks

  • Market reaction can be volatile - shares were down around 1% in extended trading despite the beat and guidance, reflecting short-term market sensitivity in the technology and hardware sectors.
  • Industry growth projections depend on continued investment in AI-related data center capacity - if enterprise spending on training and running large language models slows, demand for bulk storage could be affected, impacting storage hardware and data center markets.
  • Price declines in hard disk drives could continue even as shipment volumes rise, which may pressure revenue per unit for hardware suppliers in the storage sector.

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