Seagate Drops 4% After Q2 Earnings Miss

Seagate STX is down more than four percent in after-hours trading after the company reported its second quarter results. The data storage firm reported a Q2 EPS of $1.32 versus the Street estimate of $1.38. Earnings per share were down four percent from the year-ago quarter. Revenue arrived at $3.53 billion versus the Street estimate of $3.56 billion. Sales were down four percent year-over-year. "Seagate's results in the December quarter reflect discipline in managing the profitability of our business and strong operational execution," Steve Luczo, Seagate's chairman and CEO, said in a company release. "We continue to strategically invest in our product portfolio and enhance our vertically integrated manufacturing capabilities to effectively capitalize on the cloud, mobile and open source storage trends that are being fueled by data growth. Our cash flow was very strong this quarter, and combined with the execution of our capital allocation strategy, we are on track to meet our goal of returning 70% of our operating cash flow to shareholders this fiscal year." Today's earnings miss is not a good sign for Seagate, but the company was recently upgraded by Morgan Stanley. Year-to-date, Seagate was up more than five percent at market close on Friday, January 24. The stock has risen more than 56 percent over the last 12 months. Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.