Applied Materials Q4 earnings in line with estimates, stock drops on weaker outlook

Applied Materials (AMAT) reported fourth quarter 2018 earnings after the market closed today. The company posted EPS of $0.97, meeting the analysts’ views. Revenues of $4.01 billion slightly exceeded the Street’s targets. GAAP EPS stood at $0.89 compared to $0.91 in the prior year quarter. Shares of the semiconductor company dropped about 5% during the extended-hours session.

Applied Materials had projected that sales would be in the range of $3.85 billion to $4.15 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.92 to $1.00 for the fourth quarter.

In fiscal 2018, the company’s sales grew 19% to $17.25 billion. GAAP EPS was $3.23 and non-GAAP EPS was $4.45. For the fiscal year 2018, the company targeted net sales to be in the range of $17.1 billion to $17.4 billion and adjusted EPS in the range of $4.41 to $4.49.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2019, Applied expects sales to be in the range of $3.56 billion to $3.86 billion and non-GAAP EPS is expected to be in the range of $0.75 to $0.83. The midpoint of the revenue and the non-GAAP EPS outlook represents a decline of about 12% and 25%, respectively.

“While near-term market headwinds remain, overall industry spending remains robust, and we are focused on positioning Applied Materials for the long term, expanding our role in the A.I.-Big Data era and winning the major technology inflections ahead,” said CEO Gary Dickerson.

Semiconductor giant Nvidia (NVDA) also reported its quarterly results today after the bell. While the company beat earnings estimates, it missed on the revenue estimates. Nvidia stock plunged more than 10% post the earnings announcement.

Applied Materials stock slips on weak outlook

Reflecting the recent weakness in the semiconductor sector, the Santa Clara, California-based company’s stock has been bleeding in the past one year period. Shares of Applied, which were up 4.29% at $35.02 during today’s regular trading session, have dropped 31% and 37% in the year-to-date and past 52-weeks period, respectively. The stock hit a 52-week low ($30.53) on October 29.

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