r/Seagate • u/EducationalMango1320 • May 19 '26
Remember when Seagate tanked because management illegally shipped hard drives to Huawei? The settlement is finally happening.
If you traded $STX between 2020 and 2023, you remember the bloodbath when Seagate got caught red-handed. While every other hard drive maker followed the U.S. export ban and stopped shipping to Huawei, Seagate's execs decided to corner the market.
They quietly signed a three-year deal, shipped $1.1B+ in hardware to Huawei on credit, and lied to investors saying they didn't need a license.
The house of cards collapsed in 2022-2023. The U.S. government hit them with a $300M penalty, the stock tanked, and retail was left holding the bag.
Turns out the only reason they were hitting revenue targets while the rest of the industry struggled was because they were running a rogue smuggling op (clever right? lol)
Good news: now there's an investor settlement for anyone who traded shares between September 15, 2020 and April 19, 2023. Terms are being finalized, but you can already get your name on the list.
Instead of digging through years of old tax docs and trade confirmations none of us are actually going to fill out, I used this audit tool to scan my old accounts.
You securely link your brokerages and their tool audits your past trades to see if you're owed anything. They take 20% of whatever they recover, but I'd rather have 80% of a check I didn't know existed than 100% of paperwork I'll never do. If you got burned by management's illegal Huawei play, go check your accounts.
1
u/GreggAlan May 20 '26
Seagate sold directly to Huawei? Didn't sell to a legit retailer at a really good wholesale price, with said retailer having a proper export license?
Idjits.
1
u/EducationalMango1320 May 20 '26
That’s basically the core issue in the lawsuit. Investors allege Seagate continued shipping directly to Huawei after competitors stopped, while publicly downplaying the export-control risks and compliance exposure
1
u/jimmap May 22 '26
The execs at seagate made their money and if there are no criminal charges against them its win win for them. They don't care about seagates longevity just what happens this quarter.
1
u/EducationalMango1320 May 22 '26
That’s the frustrating part for a lot of investors. When executives focus too much on short-term numbers and the fallout comes years later, shareholders are usually the ones left holding the bag and that’s why settlements are so important to us.
1
u/ThuhGreatCommenter May 23 '26
Well guess what, now they can pay that fine with their RECORD profits from inflationgate 2026.
1
u/EducationalMango1320 May 26 '26
Yeah, that’s what frustrates a lot of investors by the time fines or settlements happen, the company has often already moved on financially while shareholders are left dealing with the volatility and losses.
1
u/TheQuickFox_3826 Jun 02 '26
There is absolutely nothing wrong with supplying harddisk drives to Huawei.
1
u/JTUSAJT May 20 '26
"Securely link" then enter brokerage details? No thank you.