Seagate's earnings last night set the computer memory sector on fire this morning.
Seagate was supposed to earn $3.48 per share (pro forma). It beat that number by $0.62.
Fresh off a $20-a-share drop Tuesday, shares of Micron (NASDAQ: MU) bounced back strongly Wednesday morning -- and investors can thank Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) for the bump. Seagate blew past analyst forecasts last night, reporting $4.10 per share in non-GAAP earnings instead of $3.48. Sales of $3.1 billion likewise beat expectations for less than $3 billion.
Investors are exuberant, and they're buying all the computer memory stocks they can find this morning.
Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »
Image source: Getty Images.
Strange as it sounds to say it, Micron stock got beat up yesterday after The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI is spending too much money on artificial intelligence chips and the high-bandwidth memory to support them. But today, the better story is becoming clearer: "too much" spending on memory is just right for companies that sell memory -- like Micron and Seagate.
In last night's report, Seagate reported 44% year-over-year sales growth, a 12-percentage-point increase in operating profit margin to 32.1%, and GAAP earnings per share more than doubled to $3.27. Even better news for Seagate (and Micron), it turns out the market for memory is so strong right now that Seagate was able to raise its guidance:
Instead of the less than $4 a share Wall Street thought it would earn this year, Seagate now expects to earn $5 a share.
Seagate CEO Dave Mosley says we're entering "a new era of structural growth as AI applications amplify data creation and support sustained storage demand." That sounds like great news for Seagate, and for Micron stock as well.
And the best reason of all to buy Micron? Seagate stock costs more than 32x forward earnings right now.
Micron still costs less than 9x.
Before you buy stock in Micron Technology, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Micron Technology wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $497,606!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,306,846!*
Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 985% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 200% for the S&P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.
See the 10 stocks »
*Stock Advisor returns as of April 29, 2026.
Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Micron Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.