Seagate Technology's Stock Plunges After Profit And Sales Miss, CEO Change

Shares of Seagate Technology PLC plummeted 17% in premarket trade Tuesday toward an eight month low, after the data storage products maker reported fiscal fourth-quarter results that were well below expectations and announced a leadership transition. Net profit for the quarter to June 30 rose to $114 million, or 38 cents a share, from $70 million, or 23 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 65 cents, missing the FactSet consensus of 98 cents. Revenue fell to $2.41 billion from $2.65 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $2.56 billion. "Although the near-term dynamics of technology shifts present demand variations for the storage industry from time to time, we continue to see growing storage demand in the long-run driven by the proliferation of data growth from new technologies, emerging industries, and growing businesses," said Chief Executive Steve Luczo. Separately, the company said Luczo will transition to executive chairman on Oct. 1, and will be replaced as CEO by Dave Mosley, currently Seagate's chief operating officer. The stock has plunged 21% over the past three months through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 3.4%.