Seagate Earnings Beat Expectations. Why Its Stock Is Falling.

Expectations for the disk-drive shaper had ratcheted higher heading into the quarter, driven by a operation of higher IT spending, maturation successful unreality computing, and the adoption of high-capacity disk drives by cryptocurrency miners—and the results presumably didn’t conscionable the susurration numbers.

For the quarter, Seagate posted gross of $3 billion, up 20% from the year-ago play and up of the Street statement astatine $2.95 billion. Non-GAAP profits were $2 a share, topping the Street statement astatine $1.84. Under mostly accepted accounting principles, the institution earned $2.07 a share, up from 64 cents. 

Revenue topped the $3 cardinal level for the archetypal clip successful six years—and non-GAAP profits were the highest successful 9 years. Non-GAAP gross borderline expanded to 29.6%, from 27.3% a twelvemonth ago, portion non-GAAP operating borderline jumped to 18.1%, from 14.8% a twelvemonth ago.

“Demand for information is rapidly accelerating successful the unreality and astatine the edge, driving secular maturation for wide capableness information storage,” Seagate CEO Dave Mosley said successful a statement. “Seagate’s industry-leading merchandise portfolio for wide information infrastructure places the institution successful an outstanding presumption to capitalize connected robust request trends, make coagulated and expanding escaped currency travel and execute our semipermanent fiscal objectives.”

For the September quarter, Seagate is projecting gross of $3.1 billion, springiness oregon instrumentality $150 million, with non-GAAP profits of $2.20 a share, springiness oregon instrumentality 15 cents; erstwhile Street statement was $2.94 cardinal and $1.85 a share. The institution said connected a league telephone with analysts Wednesday greeting that it expects fiscal 2022 gross maturation successful the precocious azygous digits oregon better.

Seagate bought backmost 2.6 cardinal shares successful the June quarter, expanding the full fig purchased for the afloat twelvemonth to 33.6 cardinal and reducing stock number by astir 13%.

Write to Eric J. Savitz astatine eric.savitz@barrons.com