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Factors to Note Ahead of Seagate's (STX) Q3 Earnings Release

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Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX - Free Report) is scheduled to report third-quarter fiscal 2024 earnings on Apr 23.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the earnings is pegged at 25 cents per share. STX reported a loss of 28 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. The consensus estimate for revenues is pegged at $1.65 billion, suggesting a decline of 11.6% from a year ago.

Management anticipates third-quarter fiscal 2024 revenues to be $1.65 billion (+/- $150 million). Non-GAAP earnings are expected to be 25 cents per share (+/- 20 cents).

STX’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in two of the last four quarters and missed twice. The average earnings surprise is 9%.

Factors Setting the Tone for Q3

Weakness in global macroeconomic conditions, especially a relatively sluggish recovery in China, remains a major concern. IT budget spending is expected to remain somewhat muted amid a volatile macro backdrop.

The VIA market is anticipated to reflect seasonal patterns in 2024, with the March quarter being the low point, noted management. Revenues from the legacy market are forecast to decline in the current quarter on a sequential basis owing to lower consumer demand in the after-holiday season.

However, management expects incremental improvements in mass capacity demand from cloud and enterprise clients to more than offset the seasonal downtick in demand in both the VIA and legacy markets for the fiscal third quarter.

Mass capacity demand improvement is likely to have been cushioned by higher nearline cloud demand. Nearline cloud revenues are likely to gain from improving sales to cloud customers across the United States and steadying enterprise demand. Improving demand for SSD products is driving the non-HDD segment’s revenue growth.

Secular trends and innovations in driving up aerial density are likely to spur mass capacity storage demand. Also, the company is likely to have benefited from an uptake of 24TB PMR / 28TB SMR drives, which began shipping in December 2023.

Our estimate for revenues from the HDD segment is pegged at $1,443.4 million, indicating a decline of 10% from a year ago. The estimate for the non-HDD (which includes enterprise data solutions, cloud systems and solid-state drives) segment is pegged at $183 million, implying a decrease of 28.5% from the prior-year levels.

What the Zacks Model Unveils

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for Seagate this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat.

Seagate has an Earnings ESP of +8.00% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are some other stocks you may consider, as our model shows that these, too, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings this season.

Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.26% and presently carries a Zacks Rank #2. META is slated to release quarterly numbers on Apr 24. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for META’s to-be-reported quarter’s EPS and revenues is pegged at $4.31 and $36.22 billion, respectively. Shares of META have gained 129.1% in the past year.

IMAX Corporation (IMAX - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +56.00% and currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. IMAX is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Apr 25.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IMAX’s to-be-reported quarter’s EPS and revenues is pegged at 8 cents and $75.8 million, respectively. Shares of IMAX have lost 17.9% in the past year.

Lam Research Corporation (LRCX - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +0.26% and a Zacks Rank #3. LRCX is set to report quarterly figures on Apr 24.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LRCX’s to-be-reported quarter’s EPS and revenues is pegged at $7.23 and $3.7 billion, respectively. Shares of LRCX have surged 85.8% in the past year.

Stay on top of upcoming earnings announcements with the Zacks Earnings Calendar.

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