Toshiba is planning to invest about 60 billion yen — roughly $380 million — in its Philippines facilities to double hard-disk-drive production capacity by fiscal 2027, Japan's Nikkei Asia reported on Friday, a move aimed at capturing surging storage demand driven by artificial intelligence. The report, which Toshiba has not confirmed, rattled investors in rival drive makers and sent Seagate and Western Digital shares tumbling on October 2.
According to the Nikkei reporting, Toshiba wants to lift its share of HDD storage capacity from just over 10 per cent today to 30 per cent over the medium term, with new production lines offering up to 40 per cent more storage per drive. It would be the company's first major HDD investment in about five years.
Automation push
The Philippines facility would also automate inspection and clean-room processes, which Nikkei said could cut the additional staffing normally needed for such an expansion by about 40 per cent. Toshiba's reported roadmap includes 65-terabyte-class drives by 2030 and 100-terabyte-class products further out. A July TrendForce report estimated that Western Digital and Seagate each hold more than 40 per cent of the global HDD market, compared with about 17 per cent for Toshiba.
Market reaction
Seagate closed down 14.6 per cent and Western Digital fell 13.5 per cent on October 2, according to Startup Fortune; Asianet Newsable reported intraday levels of about 15 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. Seagate, Western Digital and Toshiba did not immediately respond to requests for comment, per AskTraders.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley, Rosenblatt and Citi largely called the selloff overdone, keeping positive ratings on both stocks and arguing that Toshiba's added capacity would not close the supply gap through 2028.
Sources: WDC, STX Stocks Slide Up To 10% — What's The Toshiba Connection? — Asianet Newsable (citing Nikkei Asia); Toshiba's $380 Million Hard Drive Bet Wipes Billions Off Seagate and Western Digital — Startup Fortune, Oct 2, 2026
According to the Nikkei reporting, Toshiba wants to lift its share of HDD storage capacity from just over 10 per cent today to 30 per cent over the medium term, with new production lines offering up to 40 per cent more storage per drive. It would be the company's first major HDD investment in about five years.
Automation push
The Philippines facility would also automate inspection and clean-room processes, which Nikkei said could cut the additional staffing normally needed for such an expansion by about 40 per cent. Toshiba's reported roadmap includes 65-terabyte-class drives by 2030 and 100-terabyte-class products further out. A July TrendForce report estimated that Western Digital and Seagate each hold more than 40 per cent of the global HDD market, compared with about 17 per cent for Toshiba.
Market reaction
Seagate closed down 14.6 per cent and Western Digital fell 13.5 per cent on October 2, according to Startup Fortune; Asianet Newsable reported intraday levels of about 15 per cent and 10 per cent respectively. Seagate, Western Digital and Toshiba did not immediately respond to requests for comment, per AskTraders.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley, Rosenblatt and Citi largely called the selloff overdone, keeping positive ratings on both stocks and arguing that Toshiba's added capacity would not close the supply gap through 2028.
Sources: WDC, STX Stocks Slide Up To 10% — What's The Toshiba Connection? — Asianet Newsable (citing Nikkei Asia); Toshiba's $380 Million Hard Drive Bet Wipes Billions Off Seagate and Western Digital — Startup Fortune, Oct 2, 2026