Quantum Corporation (NasdaqGM:QMCO) Q3 2026 Earnings call February 17, 2026 05:00 PM ET Company ParticipantsHugues Meyrath - President and CEOTara Ilges - VP, Corporate Affairs and Corporate SecretaryWilliam White - CFOConference Call ParticipantsEric Martinuzzi - Senior Research Analyst and COONehal Chokshi - Managing Director and Senior Research AnalystOperatorLadies and gentlemen, greetings and welcome to the Quantum Corporation Q3 fiscal 2026 financial results conference call. At this time, all particip ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for Q3 fiscal 2026 was $74.6 million, an increase from $62.7 million in the prior quarter and $68.7 million in the same quarter last year [23] - GAAP gross margin for Q3 was 38.8%, up from 37.6% in the prior quarter but down from 40.6% in the same quarter last year [25] - GAAP net loss for Q3 was $27.8 million, or a loss of $2.03 per share, compared to a net loss of $46.5 million in the previous quarter and $75.3 million in the same quarter last year [30] - Non-GAAP loss for Q3 was $4.9 million, or a loss of $0.36 per share, an improvement from a loss of $7.1 million in the prior quarter and $7.8 million in the same quarter last year [32] - Adjusted EBITDA for Q3 improved to $2.9 million from $0.5 million in the prior quarter and $0.8 million in the same quarter last year [33] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Tape sales doubled quarter-over-quarter, driven by demand for cost-effective storage solutions [15] - The services business has been in contraction, but there are indications it may flatten out as execution improves [44] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported a strong backlog of over $20 million, significantly above the historical run rate of $8 million to $10 million [24] - Pricing for critical components has doubled or tripled recently, affecting the entire industry [10] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on strengthening its financial foundation through restructuring initiatives and reducing term debt by approximately 50% [7] - Quantum is positioning itself to leverage its expertise in tape storage as demand for cost-effective data solutions increases [13] - The sales model in North America has been realigned to mirror successful strategies used in EMEA, enhancing focus and execution [20] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed caution regarding Q4 forecasts due to supply chain challenges, emphasizing that the uncertainty lies in fulfillment and shipping rather than demand [12][36] - The company is optimistic about long-term margins returning to the 40% range once supply chain issues stabilize [60] Other Important Information - The company has appointed a new CFO, William White, who is expected to contribute to the financial strategy and operations [22] Q&A Session Summary Question: What is behind the contraction in primary storage systems? - Management noted that the year started slowly, but there has been strength across all product lines in Q3, indicating confidence in primary storage [42] Question: Is the elevated backlog driven more by demand or component availability? - Management confirmed that demand is strong, and while there are component shortages, the backlog is growing faster than anticipated [43] Question: Can the services business potentially flatten out? - Management indicated that execution issues and discounting practices have affected services, but improvements are expected [44] Question: What should be expected for gross margins in Q4? - Management stated that the current environment makes it difficult to guide margins, but maintaining Q3 levels would be a good achievement [46][47] Question: Where is the demand for tape sales coming from? - Management highlighted that demand is strong across the board, particularly as customers migrate back from the cloud to on-premise storage solutions [52]

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for Q3 2026 was $74.6 million, an increase from $62.7 million in the prior quarter and $68.7 million in the same quarter last year [14] - GAAP gross margin improved to 38.8% from 37.6% in the prior quarter but decreased from 40.6% in Q3 2025 [16] - GAAP net loss narrowed to $27.8 million, or a loss of $2.03 per share, compared to a net loss of $46.5 million in the previous quarter and $75.3 million in the year-ago quarter [19] - Non-GAAP loss for the quarter was $4.9 million, or a loss of $0.36 per share, an improvement from a loss of $7.1 million in the prior quarter [20] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Tape sales doubled quarter-over-quarter, driven by demand for cost-effective storage solutions [10] - The services business has been in contraction but showed signs of stabilization, with management indicating potential flattening of contraction [30] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - The company reported a strong backlog of over $20 million, significantly above the historical run rate of $8 million to $10 million, indicating robust demand [15] - Component availability issues are impacting the entire industry, with prices for critical components doubling or tripling recently [6] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on strengthening its balance sheet and has successfully reduced term debt by approximately 50% through a debt exchange [5] - Quantum is positioning itself to leverage its Scalar tape libraries and ActiveScale storage solutions to meet the growing demand for data storage amid rising costs of flash and disk [9] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expressed caution regarding Q4 forecasts due to supply chain challenges, emphasizing that the uncertainty lies in fulfillment and shipping rather than demand [7][22] - The company is optimistic about long-term margins returning to the 40% range once supply chain issues stabilize [47] Other Important Information - The company has undergone restructuring initiatives that have lowered its cost structure and improved operational efficiencies [21] - The newly appointed CFO, Will White, is expected to contribute to the company's financial strategy and operations [13] Q&A Session Summary Question: Insights on primary storage systems performance - Management noted a slow start to the year but observed strength across all product lines in Q3, indicating confidence in primary storage recovery [28] Question: Backlog composition and drivers - The elevated backlog is driven by strong demand, although there are some component shortages; management expects the backlog to remain healthy [29] Question: Services business contraction - Management indicated that execution issues and discounting practices have affected service performance, but improvements are anticipated [31] Question: Gross margin expectations for Q4 - Management acknowledged the challenges posed by rising component prices and indicated that maintaining Q3 margins would be a good achievement [34] Question: Demand for tape sales - Demand for tape is strong across various sectors, with customers migrating data back from the cloud to on-premise solutions due to storage constraints [38] Question: Multimillion-dollar deals in backlog - The multimillion-dollar deals are primarily with hyperscalers, reflecting increased order sizes and a combination of products [41]

Key Takeaways Seagate reported record Q2 revenues of $2.83B, up 22% year over year.STX shipped 190 exabytes, with data center revenues rising 28% year over year.Seagate sees Q3 revenues of about $2.9B and margin near 30% at midpoint.Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX) reported record financial performance for the fiscal second quarter of 2026, supported by strong demand in data center markets and continued progress in its technology roadmap. In the second quarter, the company’s revenues reached $2.83 bill ...

CAMARILLO, Calif., Feb. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Qualstar Corporation (OTC: QBAK), a trusted provider of scalable tape storage solutions, and ATTO Technology, Inc., a global leader in high-performance storage connectivity, today announced the successful testing and certification of ATTO XstreamCORE 8100T Intelligent Bridge with Qualstar’s complete Q-Series family of tape libraries, from the Q8 through the new Q1000+. This qualification enables organizations to integrate high-capacity LTO tape storage—su ...

Core Viewpoint - Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) is experiencing significant upward revisions in price targets from major financial institutions, indicating strong growth potential and improved profitability forecasts. Group 1: Price Target Increases - Cantor Fitzgerald raised its price target on Western Digital from $325 to $420 while maintaining an Overweight rating after the company's Innovation Day event [1] - Goldman Sachs increased its price target from $220 to $250, keeping a Neutral rating, and confirmed that the HAMR product rollout is on track for the first half of 2027 [3] Group 2: Financial Projections - Cantor Fitzgerald noted that Western Digital's expected growth and profitability are significantly better than previously projected, forecasting earnings per share for calendar year 2028 to range between $19 and $32 [2] - Goldman Sachs raised its 2026-2028 non-GAAP earnings per share estimates for Western Digital by an average of 22% following the company's updated long-term guidance [4] Group 3: Product Developments - Western Digital announced that an additional customer has entered the qualification stage for its HAMR solutions, indicating progress in its product development pipeline [4]

The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven infrastructure buildout is driving significant demand for memory and storage solutions, supporting companies like Western Digital (WDC). Western Digital focuses on manufacturing high-capacity hard disk drives, a critical component for storing the vast datasets required by AI workloads. From cloud service providers to hyperscale data centers, customers are racing to secure more storage to keep pace with AI adoption. This surge in demand has tightened supply, lifted p ...

The Singapore-based Seagate Technology Holdings plc (STX) builds the backbone of the digital economy. With a market cap of approximately $92.9 billion, the company designs and manufactures hard disk drives, solid-state drives, hybrid drives, and storage subsystems. It also delivers scalable edge-to-cloud platforms that power data centers, cloud providers, enterprises, and equipment manufacturers worldwide. Over the past 52 weeks, Seagate’s shares have surged 319.8%, significantly outperforming the S&P 50 ...

Core Insights - The S&P 500 has had a slow start this year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a record 50,000, driven by investments in undervalued tech stocks, particularly in the SaaS sector and AI opportunities [1] Group 1: Ciena - Ciena is a leader in networking and connectivity, with products essential for streaming, e-commerce, and cloud services, and is increasingly in demand for AI infrastructure [4] - The company's data center business is growing rapidly, with expectations to double last year's sales by 2025 [4] - Ciena's addressable market was $600 billion last year, projected to grow to $1 trillion by 2028 [6] - The stock gained 176% last year, indicating strong growth potential [7] Group 2: Sandisk - Sandisk has seen a remarkable increase of 1,440% since becoming a standalone public company, driven by new deals with data center clients [8] - Revenue increased by 31% sequentially and 61% year over year in the second quarter of fiscal 2026 [8] - The company specializes in NAND flash memory, which is in high demand for AI hyperscalers and data centers, with data center revenue up 64% sequentially [10] - Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose to $6.20 in the second quarter, up from $1.23 last year [10] - The stock is considered reasonably priced at 15 times trailing-12-month sales [11] Group 3: ServiceNow - ServiceNow has been significantly affected by the market sell-off, down 50% over the past year, but continues to grow rapidly [12] - The company is a leader in workflow software, serving 8,800 clients, and is enhancing its services through partnerships with AI companies [13] - The stock trades at a P/E ratio of 29, suggesting potential for expansion in 2026 [14]

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Western Digital Corporation (Nasdaq: WDC) today announced management participation in the following upcoming investor conference: Event: Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 7:45 a.m. PT / 10:45 a.m. ET The management presentation will be available as a live webcast, accessible through WD's Investor Relations website at investor.wdc.com. An archived replay will be accessible through the website shortly afte. ...