Seagate Stock and Western Digital Tumble as Investors Worry AI Shortage Will Ease

Live updates

1. 2h ago

   Seagate and Western Digital Plunge on Toshiba AI Storage Plans

   Seagate Technology and Western Digital shares suffered steep declines following reports that rival Toshiba plans to double its hard disk drive manufacturing capacity for artificial intelligence data centers. Seagate shares dropped between 11% and 13%, while Western Digital fell between 7% and 12% in the wake of the news. Investors panicked that increased competition from Toshiba would ease the severe AI storage shortage and pressure pricing power. Analysts suggested the market reaction was overdone, noting that nearline drive contracts for major players extend deep into 2027.

   Why it matters

   Hard disk drives have experienced devastating shortages driven by surging demands from artificial intelligence data centers, pushing storage highfliers to massive market gains. Toshiba plans to double manufacturing capacity by fiscal 2027 and has outlined long-term roadmaps for 65TB and 100TB drives. This sudden shift threatens the duopoly held by Seagate and Western Digital in high-capacity enterprise storage.

   What is confirmed

   • Seagate and Western Digital stocks tumbled following reports of Toshiba's expansion plans.
   • Toshiba plans to double its hard disk drive production capacity for AI data centers in fiscal 2027.
   • Seagate shares fell between 11% and 13% while Western Digital dropped between 7% and 12%.

   Still unconfirmed

   • Toshiba has 65TB and 100TB drives on its roadmap for 2030 and beyond.

   What to watch next

   • Official announcements from Toshiba detailing its capital expenditure and production timeline for the HDD expansion
   • Whether Seagate and Western Digital alter their pricing or contract terms for nearline drives extending into 2027
   Sources used for this update (19)

   1. Barron's — Seagate Stock and Western Digital Tumble as Investors Worry AI Shortage Will Ease
   2. Yahoo Finance — Seagate, Western Digital stocks sink as rival Toshiba's expansion plans hit storage highfliers
   3. Nikkei Asia — Toshiba to double hard disk drive supply to fill AI chip memory gap
   4. Tom's Hardware — Toshiba to double HDD production capacity amid devastating shortages — 65TB, 100TB drives on the roadmap for 2030 and beyond
   5. Seeking Alpha — Seagate, Western Digital plunge amid report that Toshiba aims to boost hard disk drive supply (STX:NASDAQ)
   6. MarketWatch — Why Western Digital and Seagate are seeing big stock drops today
   7. Yahoo Finance — STX, WDC Stocks Sink On Toshiba’s Reported Plan To Double AI Hard-Disk Capacity: Analysts Call The Drop Overdone
   8. Investor's Business Daily — Western Digital, Seagate Stock Slide On AI Hard-Drive Competition Report
   9. The Motley Fool — Why Western Digital Stock Just Crashed
   10. forbes.com — Toshiba Will Double HDD Manufacturing Capacity By 2027
   11. Yahoo Finance — Seagate Sinks 12%, Western Digital Down 10% as Toshiba Plans to Double Hard Disk Output
   12. Barchart.com — Why Toshiba's Expansion Plans Just Sent Western Digital Stock Lower
   confidence 95%