Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) has announced the delay of its much-anticipated 30-terabyte (TB) hard drive, which utilizes Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) technology. The launch, initially planned for late 2023, is now rescheduled for early 2024. Each of these advanced drives will consist of ten 3-terabyte platters, marking a significant phase in the company's storage expansion strategy.
Beyond this, Seagate has ambitious plans for the near future. The company is also working on a potential 32TB model and aims to develop a 40TB hard drive within the next two years. The long-term goal is to reach an impressive 50TB capacity by 2026.
Despite the growing preference for Solid State Drives (SSDs) among gamers due to their speed and performance, Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) like those produced by Seagate continue to be favored in data centers for storing large volumes of data. This preference is largely due to HDDs' superior capacity and cost-effectiveness, with these drives providing mass storage solutions at less than one-fifth the cost per bit compared to NAND flash solutions.
This development signifies a considerable leap from Seagate's previous milestone of 16 terabytes in 2018, potentially more than tripling that capacity within the next few years.
While Seagate advances its HDD technology, other industry players are also making strides. Companies like Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) and Toshiba (OTC:TOSYY) are driving advancements in hard disk storage, while Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) recently announced a plan to introduce a staggering 300TB SSD by 2026.
InvestingPro Insights
InvestingPro's real-time data and insights provide a deeper understanding of Seagate Technology's market position and financial health.
InvestingPro data shows Seagate Technology's market cap stands at 14.84B USD, reflecting its significant size within the Technology Hardware, Storage and peripherals industry. The company's P/E ratio is -19.94, indicating it has been unprofitable over the last twelve months. Furthermore, the company's revenue for the last twelve months as of Q1 2024 is 6803M USD, having experienced a decline of 35.71%.
InvestingPro Tips highlights Seagate's high shareholder yield and its commendable track record of maintaining dividend payments for 13 consecutive years, a factor that might be attractive to income-focused investors. However, the company has been facing a declining trend in earnings per share, which investors need to take into account.
It's worth noting that InvestingPro offers a wealth of additional tips and insights for investors. In the case of Seagate, there are 10 more tips available, providing a comprehensive view of the company's financial performance and market trends.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.