Semiconductor equipment vendor Applied Materials late Thursday easily beat Wall Street's targets for its fiscal first quarter and guided higher than estimates for the current period. AMAT stock surged in extended trading.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company earned an adjusted $2.13 a share on sales of $6.71 billion in the quarter ended Jan. 28. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of $1.90 a share on sales of $6.48 billion. On a year-over-year basis, Applied Materials earnings rose 5% while sales dipped a fraction.
For the current quarter, Applied Materials forecast adjusted earnings of $1.97 a share on sales of $6.5 billion. That's based on the midpoint of its guidance. Analysts had been looking for earnings of $1.80 a share on sales of $6.34 billion. In the year-earlier period, its adjusted earnings were $2 a share on sales of $6.63 billion.
"Applied Materials delivered strong results in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 and has outperformed our markets for the fifth consecutive year," Chief Executive Gary Dickerson said in a news release.
He added, "Our leadership positions at key semiconductor inflections support continued outperformance as customers ramp next-generation chip technologies critical to AI (artificial intelligence) and IoT (Internet of Things) over the next several years."
AMAT Stock Jumps After Report
In after-hours trading on the stock market today, AMAT stock jumped more than 10% to 207.90. During the regular session Thursday, AMAT stock rose 0.8% to close at 187.66.
On Nov. 10, AMAT stock broke out of a double-bottom base at a buy point of 148.40, according to IBD MarketSmith charts. In intraday trading on Thursday, AMAT stock notched a regular-session record high of 189.47.
AMAT stock is on the IBD Tech Leaders list.
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