WD and Seagate confirm: Hard drives sold out for 2026
heise.de
February 17, 2026
3 min read
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56/100
Summary
Western Digital and Seagate have confirmed that they have sold out their production quotas for hard drives for 2026. The demand from hyperscalers is driving up prices for SSDs as well.
Key Takeaways
- Western Digital and Seagate have confirmed that they are sold out of hard drives for 2026, primarily due to demand from hyperscalers for AI data centers.
- Seagate's nearline hard drive capacity is fully allocated through 2026, and they expect to begin accepting new orders for the first half of 2027 soon.
- Prices for HDDs have increased by 20 to 50 percent in German retail since mid-2025, and the shortage of HDDs is also causing SSD prices to rise significantly.
- Western Digital's revenue increased by 25 percent in Q4 2025 compared to the previous year, driven by higher prices and increased demand.
Community Sentiment
Positives
- The shortage may force developers to optimize their applications, leading to more efficient use of resources and smaller binaries, which could benefit the industry long-term.
- Once manufacturing capacity increases, we may see lower prices for hard drives, especially if there's a shift in the market dynamics due to an AI crash.
Concerns
- The dominance of hyperscalers over the supply chain raises concerns that personal computing could become a luxury, limiting access for average users.
- The ongoing hardware shortages, including hard drives, GPUs, and RAM, indicate a troubling trend that could impact future computing capabilities.
