Toshiba Plans $380M HDD Expansion, Sending Seagate and Western Digital Down Over 10%

Toshiba plans to invest about $380 million to expand its Philippines plant, roughly doubling data-center HDD capacity by fiscal 2027, triggering a sharp selloff in rivals. Seagate (STX) fell 10.21% and Western Digital (WDC) dropped 10% on October 2, 2026. The roughly 60 billion yen investment is Toshiba's first major HDD outlay in about five years, targeting AI and cloud storage demand. Toshiba said its Philippine subsidiary aims to nearly double annual capacity measured in storage volume by the year ending March 2028, versus fiscal 2025 — not unit output. Its Laguna Technopark line has begun producing nearline drives and completed initial shipments. Analysts cautioned expansion depends on upstream component supply, including glass media, and timelines. Mizuho's Jordan Klein said added supply could strengthen cloud buyers' leverage but any contract impact may not surface until 2028. Evercore ISI's Amit Daryanani said STX and WDC supply is largely contracted through 2027 and mostly allocated for 2028.