Toshiba plans to invest roughly $380 million to expand its Philippine HDD operations, aiming to nearly double production capacity by fiscal 2027 and push toward higher-capacity drives, including 65TB-class products around 2030 and 100TB models later.

The expansion will add manufacturing lines, boost automation in cleanrooms, and improve drive inspection to raise yields, while reducing new-hire needs by about 40%.

New production lines are expected to enable drives with up to 40% more capacity per unit, targeting mass production of 65TB-class drives by 2030, followed by 100TB-class drives.

News of the expansion triggered premarket declines in Seagate Technology and Western Digital shares, down around 10% and 6.7% respectively.

Seagate and Western Digital shares fell, with STX down roughly 12% and WDC about 11 on Friday after the announcement.

Analysts largely maintained positive ratings on STX and WDC, arguing the price impact will be temporary and AI-driven demand should support pricing power.

The HDD landscape features major players like Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, IBM, HPE, Dell, NetApp, Samsung, and others, with supply chains influenced by rare earth materials and components.

Market impact may materialize around 2028 as capacity ramps and qualifications proceed, with near-term dynamics unlikely to change quickly due to existing long-term shipments and pricing deals between Seagate and Western Digital.

WDC’s technical view shows near-term support around $396.57–$397.19, with resistance and targets at higher levels up to $524 in a rally, while a break below $378–$380 or $366–$367 could worsen downside.

Key market segments include Enterprise Data Centers, Cloud/Hyperscale Storage, Consumer Electronics/PCS, Backup/Archival, and Surveillance/Video Analytics, each with distinct growth drivers.

Magnetic disks will remains essential for cold data and archival storage due to cost advantages, even as SSDs gain ground in performance tiers.

Some analysts suggest Toshiba’s expansion may address a domestic HDD shortage in Japan rather than aggressively expanding global market share against Seagate and Western Digital.