“Lam delivered solid results in the December quarter, and concluded the 2018 calendar year with record revenue and earnings per share performance,” said CEO Tim Archer, who replaced Martin Antice as CEO on December 5, 2018.
Like the September 2018 quarter, Japan topped the geographic revenue distribution for the December 2018 quarter. However, China dropped to the fourth position with 14% in the recently ended quarter compared to the second position with 25% of total revenue coming from it in the September 2018 quarter.
For the March 2019 quarter, Lam expects EPS to be $3.21, plus or minus 20 cents on a GAAP basis and $3.40, plus or minus 20 cents on a non-GAAP basis. Revenue for the fiscal third quarter is estimated to be $2.4 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
While cautioning on the near-term market trends, the company also expressed its confidence in the longer term citing the growth in the installed-based business and the company’s focus on Deposition and Etch technology.
The company also announced that its Board of Directors approved a $5 billion share repurchase authorization. During the second quarter of 2019, Lam had paid $168 million as dividends to its stockholders.
Lam Research’s peer Texas Instruments (TXN) also reported its quarterly earnings after the bell on Wednesday. The company topped profit estimates, while it missed on revenue predictions and reported weaker-than-expected outlook. TI shares were trading up about 2% during the extended trading hours.
Shares of Lam Research opened at $140.67 on Thursday morning and closed at $139.33, down 0.4%. The stock had lost 35% in the past 12 months period. It’s worth noting that the stock plunged to a yearly low ($122.64) about a month back.