Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials saw its shares fall Thursday despite the company topping expectations for its fiscal first quarter. AMAT stock dipped after it missed estimates with its guidance.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company late Wednesday said it earned an adjusted $1.89 a share on sales of $6.27 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 30. Wall Street had expected earnings of $1.86 a share on sales of $6.19 billion, according to FactSet. On a year-over-year basis, Applied Materials earnings rose 36% as sales increased 21%.
For the current quarter, Applied Materials forecast adjusted earnings of $1.90 a share on sales of $6.35 billion. That's based on the midpoint of its outlook. Wall Street had predicted earnings per share of $1.94 on sales of $6.37 billion. Applied Materials blamed "ongoing supply-chain challenges" for the soft guidance.
The company's outlook would translate to year-over-year growth of 17% in earnings and 14% in sales for its fiscal second quarter.
AMAT Stock Dips After Report
On the stock market today, AMAT stock fell 3.2% to close at 136.47. During the regular session Wednesday, AMAT stock increased 0.8% to 140.96.
"While the supply environment remains challenging, Applied Materials is doing everything we can to deliver for our customers and we recorded our highest-ever quarterly revenues," Chief Executive Gary Dickerson said in a news release.
He added, "Our outlook for 2022 and beyond is very positive as long-term secular trends drive our markets structurally higher and Applied's broad technology portfolio puts us in a great position to capture a larger portion of our served markets."
AMAT stock ranks 10th out of 31 stocks in IBD's semiconductor equipment industry group, according to IBD Stock Checkup. It has an IBD Composite Rating of 94 out of 99.
The semiconductor equipment group ranks No. 29 out of 197 industry groups that IBD tracks. Growth stock investors should focus on the leading stocks in the top 40 industry groups, based on IBD trading guidelines.
Another chip gear stock reporting quarterly results late Wednesday was Veeco Instruments. The Plainview, N.Y.-based company delivered a beat-and-raise report. But Veeco stock fell 7.1% to close at 27.18 on Thursday.
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