Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ: STX) today reported financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. "Our fourth quarter and fiscal 2023 performance reflected the uneven pace of economic recovery in China, cloud inventory digestion, and cautious enterprise spending amid the uncertain macroeconomic environment. The proactive actions we've taken to lower costs, manage production output, reduce debt and drive operational leverage have underpinned resilient performance and solid cash generation, while continuing to advance our revolutionary HAMR technology," said Dave Mosley, Seagate's chief executive officer.

"Through our actions, Seagate is now leaner, our balance sheet healthier, and our product roadmap even stronger, positioning the company to weather the near-term business environment, deliver financial leverage, and capture attractive long-term opportunities for Mass Capacity storage."The Company generated $218 million in cash flow from operations and $168 million in free cash flow during the fiscal fourth quarter 2023. For fiscal year 2023, the Company generated $942 million in cash flow from operations and $626 million in free cash flow. During the fiscal fourth quarter, the Company paid cash dividends of $145 million. For the full year, the Company returned $990 million of capital to shareholders, through the payment of cash dividends of $582 million and in the fiscal first quarter 2023 used $408 million to repurchase 5.4 million ordinary shares. In light of the macroeconomic environment, the Company paused stock repurchases for the reminder of the fiscal year. Additionally, the Company strengthened its balance sheet position by reducing its overall debt by approximately $800 million through debt exchange, retirement and restructuring since fiscal first quarter 2023. As of the end of the fiscal year, cash and cash equivalents totaled $786 million, and there were 207 million ordinary shares issued and outstanding.

For a detailed reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results, see accompanying financial tables.

Seagate has issued a Supplemental Financial Information document, which is available on Seagate's Investor Relations website at investors.seagate.com.

Quarterly Cash Dividend
The Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.70 per share, which will be payable on October 10, 2023 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 26, 2023. The payment of any future quarterly dividends will be at the discretion of the Board and will be dependent upon Seagate's financial position, results of operations, available cash, cash flow, capital requirements and other factors deemed relevant by the Board.

Business Outlook
The business outlook for the fiscal first quarter 2024 is based on our current assumptions and expectations; actual results may differ materially, as a result of, among other things, the important factors discussed in the Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements section of this release.

The Company is providing the following guidance for its fiscal first quarter 2024:

• Revenue of $1.55 billion, plus or minus $150 million
• Non-GAAP (loss) per share of $(0.16), plus or minus $0.20
• Guidance regarding non-GAAP (loss) per share excludes known pre-tax charges related to estimated share-based compensation expenses of $0.15 per share.

We have not reconciled our non-GAAP (loss) per share guidance for fiscal first quarter 2024 to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, other than estimated share-based compensation expenses, because material items that may impact these measures are out of our control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted, including, but not limited to, accelerated depreciation, impairment and other charges related to cost saving efforts, net (gain) loss recognized from early redemption of debt, purchase order cancellation fees, strategic investment losses (gains) or impairment charges, income tax adjustments on these measures, and other charges or benefits that may arise. The amounts of these measures are not currently available but may be material to future results. A reconciliation of the non-GAAP (loss) per share guidance for fiscal first quarter 2024 to the corresponding GAAP measures is not available without unreasonable effort. A reconciliation of our historical non-GAAP financial measures to their nearest GAAP equivalent is contained in this release.