NetApp raises annual profit, revenue forecast on strong data storage demand

NetApp

21/11/2024 21:44

Nov 21 (Reuters) - NetApp  NTAP.O  raised its profit and
revenue forecast for fiscal 2025 on Thursday, banking on strong
demand for data storage services as clients upgrade their cloud
infrastructure, sending the company's shares up around 4% in
extended trading.
    Demand for high-capacity data storage has been surging as
enterprises incorporate artificial intelligence into their cloud
platforms to process large amounts of data, benefiting companies
such as NetApp.
    The company now expects its 2025 adjusted earnings per share
to be between $7.20 and $7.40, compared with its prior range of
$7 to $7.20.
    It also raised its annual revenue forecast to between $6.54
billion and $6.74 billion, from $6.48 billion to $6.68 billion
expected earlier.
    NetApp's data storage is embedded in some of the world's
biggest clouds, including Amazon Web Services  AMZN.O ,
Microsoft Azure  MSFT.O  and Google Cloud  GOOGL.O .
    The company's revenue for the second quarter came in at
$1.66 billion, beating analysts' estimate of $1.65 billion,
according to data compiled by LSEG.
    It reported net income per share of $1.42, compared with
$1.10 a year ago.
    The company's performance was driven by a record-breaking
quarter in all-flash storage and strong performance in cloud
storage services, said CEO George Kurian.
    Shares of NetApp have risen more than 40% so far this year,
outperforming the S&P 500  .SPX  index, in part helped by its
announcement of a share buyback in May.
    Company executives have also been aggressively pursuing
acquisitions to grow and enhance its product portfolio.

 (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi
Majumdar)
 ((Zaheer.Kachwala@thomsonreuters.com))