Seagate Tanking Disk Drives & Storage (STX, WDC)

Investing

Published: July 15, 2008 4:27 pm

Seagate Technology (NYSE: STX) is seeing some pain after the storage device and disk drive maker said results were going to fall short of current Street estimates.

The company said income fell 70% to $160 million, or $0.32 EPS (was $0.44 non-GAAP), on a 5.6% gain in revenues to $2.9 billion. We had First Call estimates at $0.42 on $2.89 Billion in revenues. Shipments during the quarter grew 10% year over year to 43 million.

Seagate’s fiscal Q1 guidance was the scourge here with revenues expected to be $3.15 to $3.3 billion and non-GAAP EPS at $0.22 to $0.26. This is a huge disappointment to First Call’s estimates of $3.23 Billion and $0.58.

Shares closed up 1.3% at $17.30 in regular trading but shares are now down almost 8% at $15.92 in after-hours trading. With a prior range of $16.50 to $28.91, you can count that as a new 52-week low.

Its key competitor is Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC), who is expected to report earnings on July 24. Western Digital shares closed up 0.3% at $33.88 in regular trading and its shares were down over 4% at $32.39 in after-hours in sympathy.

Jon C. Ogg
July 15, 2008

Travel Cards Are Getting Too Good To Ignore

Credit card companies are pulling out all the stops, with the issuers are offering insane travel rewards and perks.

We’re talking huge sign-up bonuses, points on every purchase, and benefits like lounge access, travel credits, and free hotel nights. For travelers, these rewards can add up to thousands of dollars in flights, upgrades, and luxury experiences every year.

It’s like getting paid to travel — and it’s available to qualified borrowers who know where to look.

We’ve rounded up some of the best travel credit cards on the market. Click here to see the list. Don’t miss these offers — they won’t be this good forever.