NetApp beats quarterly estimates on robust data storage demand

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(Reuters) -NetApp beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue on Tuesday, helped by strong demand for its data storage services and all-flash storage products used in artificial intelligence applications.

The company’s shares rose 3% in extended trading after it also raised its annual profit forecast.

NetApp has benefited from a surge in demand for high-capacity data storage, as businesses build out infrastructure to support demanding AI workloads that require rapid access to vast amounts of data.

The company’s all-flash array business has been a key growth driver, helping NetApp capture a share of the growing AI infrastructure market. The unit’s revenue grew 9% year-over-year to $1 billion in the second quarter ended October 24.

NetApp provides hardware and software to manage data across on-premise data centers and public cloud environments.

Revenue for the quarter was $1.71 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.69 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

NetApp earned $2.05 per share on an adjusted basis for the quarter, compared with estimates of $1.89 apiece.

It raised its annual adjusted profit per share forecast to be between $7.75 and $8.05, compared to a prior view of $7.60 to $7.90.

For the third quarter, NetApp expects revenue between $1.62 billion and $1.77 billion, compared with the analysts’ average estimate of $1.71 billion.

(Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Vijay Kishore)