Data Storage Company Seagate's Q1 Earnings Miss Estimates With Pressured Margins; May Report Loss In Q2

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC STX reported Q1 revenues of $1.454 billion, missing the analyst consensus of $1.530 billion. Revenues slumped 28.6% Y/Y.

The company reported adjusted EPS loss of $(0.22), missing the analyst consensus of $(0.19) loss.

The company's Q1 adjusted gross margin contracted to 19.8% from 24.5% in the year-ago period.

The quarterly operating margin contracted to 2.8% from 9.0% on an adjusted basis.

During the fiscal first quarter, the company generated $127 million in cash flow from operations and $57 million in free cash flow. 

"With indications that demand fundamentals in certain markets are starting to improve, including a modest uptick in U.S. cloud, Seagate is well positioned to enhance profitability and capture attractive long-term opportunities for Mass Capacity storage," said Dave Mosley, Seagate's chief executive officer.

Seagate declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.70 per share, payable on January 9, 2024, to shareholders of record on December 21, 2023.

Outlook: For Q2, the company sees revenue of $1.55 billion, plus or minus $150 million (Estimate: $1.61 billion).

STX expects an adjusted EPS loss of $(0.10), plus or minus $0.20 (Estimate: $(0.01)). 

Price Action: STX shares are trading lower by 0.98% to $66.44 on the last check Thursday.