Applied Materials Inc. shares rose in the extended session Thursday after both earnings and outlook for the maker of semiconductor-manufacturing equipment topped Wall Street expectations.
Applied Materials
AMAT,
shares rose as much as 3% after hours, following a 0.5% decline to close the regular session at $137.59. Year to date, shares are up 41.3%, compared with a 36.1% gain on the PHLX Semiconductor Index
SOX,
a 13.8% rise on the S&P 500
SPX,
and a 27.2% gain on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
Applied Materials reported net income of $1.56 billion, or $1.85 a share, for the fiscal third quarter, compared with $1.61 billion, or $1.85 a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings, which excluded the effects of share-based compensation and other items, were $1.90 a share, compared with $1.94 a share in the year-ago period. Revenue declined to $6.43 billion from $6.52 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Analysts on average had been expecting adjusted earnings of $1.66 a share on revenue of $6.06 billion, according to FactSet, based on the company’s forecast of $1.56 to $1.92 a share on sales of $5.75 billion to $6.55 billion.
For the fourth quarter, Applied Materials had forecast adjusted earnings of $1.82 to $2.18 a share on sales of $6.11 billion to $6.91 billion. Analysts on average had been expecting adjusted earnings of $1.60 a share on revenue of $5.87 billion, according to FactSet.
“Over the past several years, we have focused our strategy and investments on key technologies to accelerate the Internet of Things and AI era, enabling us to consistently deliver strong results in 2023 and positioning Applied Materials for sustainable outperformance,” Gary Dickerson, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement.
