Seagate leads memory sell-off as CEO says it would 'take too long' to build new factories

2026-05-18 | original

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Why This Matters

Seagate's decision to sell off memory assets and its CEO's comments highlight the industry's challenges in scaling manufacturing capacity quickly to meet the surging demand driven by AI advancements. This shift could impact supply availability and pricing for memory chips, affecting both consumers and tech companies relying on these components. The move underscores the importance of strategic planning in semiconductor manufacturing amidst rapid technological growth.

Key Takeaways

Seagate is selling off memory assets to focus on other areas.
Building new factories is seen as too slow to meet current demand.
The industry faces supply constraints amid AI-driven growth.

Shares of memory chip maker Seagate slipped more than 8% Monday, leading a group-wide sell-off after comments from CEO Dave Mosley raised concerns that it won't be able to meet the soaring demand fueled by the artificial intelligence buildout.

Mosley was asked at a JPMorgan conference on Monday what it would take to add unit or floor capacity to produce more chips in Seagate's factories.

"If we took the teams off and started building new factories or bringing up new machines, that would just take too long. You would end up with more capacity, but then you'd slow the rate of growth on that technology," Mosely said.

Micron shares were down 5%, with both SanDisk and Western Digital Corporation trading roughly 7% lower.

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