World.Alpha-News.org ➤ The news of the world is here

On Tuesday, Seagate Technology projected third-quarter revenue below analysts' expectations due to sluggish sales of their storage devices used in personal computers. This trend is attributed to the PC market's slow recovery despite the integration of on-device AI features and the anticipated Windows 11 refresh cycle following one of the market's worst slumps in decades.

Seagate anticipates third-quarter revenue of $2.10 billion, plus or minus $150 million, below analysts' average forecast of $2.19 billion as compiled by LSEG. Although global PC shipments increased by about 1% to 245.3 million units in 2024, signaling the second consecutive year of shipment volumes below 250 million, according to Gartner.

For the third quarter, Seagate expects an adjusted profit of $1.70 per share, plus or minus 20 cents, surpassing the estimated $1.69. The subdued outlook also dims hopes for a normalization in memory device inventory levels after a supply surplus in recent years led cloud providers to reduce orders to deplete existing stocks.

Analysts suggest that in 2025, the escalating investments by cloud providers in infrastructure to facilitate generative AI development may help propel Seagate's sales. The company, known for supplying disk drives crucial for storing large volumes of data, reported revenue of $2.33 billion for the second quarter ending Dec. 27, aligning closely with estimates of $2.32 billion.