The storage solution provider, Seagate Technology Public Limited Company (STX – Analyst Report) is mainly known as one of the largest manufacturers of hard disk drives (HDD) which caters to the needs of individual and small businesses. However, for the past few years the company is focusing on the larger enterprise segment, where technology upgrades and cloud-related investments are on the rise. Moreover, Seagate's cloud-based applications have generated ample customer interest.
However, increased investment in new and innovative products, sluggish macroeconomic conditions and a flattish price environment, and severe competition from other players in the space has made this sector a very tough one to be in for the short term. Due to this, investors are eagerly awaiting STX's earnings report in order to set the record straight and to give some guidance on where this company is heading.
This is especially true given the recent earnings estimate revisions for STX as the consensus estimate has been going slightly lower. However, STX does have somewhat decent history when it comes to recent earnings reports as the stock has beaten estimates once, meets twice and misses once in the last four quarters, making for an average surprise of approximately 1.62%.
Currently, STX has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell), but that could definitely change following the company's earnings report which was just released. We have highlighted some of the key stats from this just-revealed announcement below:
Earnings: STX beat on earnings. Our consensus called for EPS of 65 cents, and the company reported EPS of 77 cents (these figures take out stock option expenses).
Revenue: Revenues missed. Seagate posted revenues of $2.927 billion, compared to our consensus estimate of $3.061 billion.
Key Stats: During the quarter, STX shipped (HDD only) 52 million units compared with 49.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Average selling price for the quarter stood at $60.0, flat on a year over year basis. However, prices were down from $62 in the previous-quarter.
