Jan 27 (Reuters) - Seagate Technology forecast third-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, benefiting from strong demand for its data storage devices as enterprises scale up their use of artificial intelligence. Tech firms are investing hundreds of billions of dollars into data centers and related infrastructure to train and run large language models. This surge in demand is benefiting hardware suppliers such as Seagate, whose hard disk drives are used to store the vast quantities of data these models require. "As AI applications amplify the creation and economic value of data, modern data centers increasingly need storage solutions that combine performance and cost-efficiency at exabyte-scale," Seagate CEO Dave Mosley said. Earlier this month, Morningstar analysts said in a note that they expect the hard disk drive industry to grow at a "low-teens average rate over the next several years, as prices fall but the amount of storage shipped increases." Shares of the company were down around 1% in extended trading. The company's stock rose 6% last week in the run-up to earnings after more than tripling in 2025 due to investor optimism around AI-related infrastructure. Seagate forecast third-quarter revenue of $2.90 billion, plus or minus $100 million, compared with estimates of $2.77 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG. It forecast third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $3.40, plus or minus 20 cents, while analysts expect a profit of $2.96 per share. Revenue for the second quarter came in at $2.83 billion, beating estimates of $2.73 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company earned $3.11 per share, compared with estimates of a $2.81 per share profit. (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo) (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)
