Better Buy: Seagate Technology vs. Western Digital

Since I last caught up with Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX) and Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) at the end of April, Seagate stock has gained about 11.3% and Western Digital is up 19.7%. Year-to-date, Seagate's stock price is up 39.3% and Western Digital has gains of 65.3%.

It's worth reviewing the two, though, because a lot has changed for digital memory stocks in 2019. The cyclical demand slump that started the second half of 2018 is persisting, but share prices have been rallying in a big way on an anticipated rebound. It's all hype at this point, but the two companies are optimistic -- and one might have more reason to be so over the long term.

Seagate recently wrapped up its 2019 fiscal year. And though its hard disk drive (HDD) business struggled along with the rest of the digital memory industry, its product kept it insulated from the worst of the downturn so far. To wit, though revenue was down 7% for the 12 months ended June 28, 2019, adjusted net income was still solidly in the black ($1.38 billion, good for a net profit margin of 13%), and earnings per share were only down 13% from the year prior.  

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Source Fool.com