Seagate Technology Holdings (NYSE: STX) is the largest manufacturer of hard drives with $9.81 billion in sales in 2009.^[1] The company produces drives for use in desktops, mobile applications, enterprise, and consumer electronics, and mainly sells components to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). In 2006, Seagate acquired competitor Maxtor, which had 12% market share at the time, for a stock transaction valued at $2 billion. This merger expanded Seagate's market presence, in particular its retail channel, which now includes the popular line of OneTouch external hard drives. However, profitability may be affected in the short term before redundant costs are being eliminated.

Seagate is the undisputed market leader in terms of sales with a market share of 35%. However, it faces intense competition from rival Western Digital (WDC) and "captive" manufacturers Hitachi, Samsung, Toshiba, and Fujitsu. Captive competitors bundle hard drive sales with other products, so they are able to sell drives at break-even profit or, sometimes, even lower. In addition, advances in solid state devices (SSDs) containing flash memory threatens Seagate's revenue, because SSDs have many advantages over traditional hard drives, especially in mobile applications.

(Read more at Wikinvest )