Looking back on semiconductor manufacturing stocks' Q1 earnings, we examine this quarter's best and worst performers, including Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and its peers.
The semiconductor industry is driven by demand for advanced electronic products like smartphones, PCs, servers, and data storage. The need for technologies like artificial intelligence, 5G networks, and smart cars is also creating the next wave of growth for the industry. Keeping up with this dynamism requires new tools that can design, fabricate, and test chips at ever smaller sizes and more complex architectures, creating a dire need for semiconductor capital manufacturing equipment.
The 14 semiconductor manufacturing stocks we track reported a mixed Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 1.3%. while next quarter's revenue guidance was in line with consensus. Stocks, especially growth stocks where cash flows further in the future are more important to the story, had a good end of 2023. But the beginning of 2024 has seen more volatile stock performance due to mixed inflation data, but semiconductor manufacturing stocks have performed well, with the share prices up 12.4% on average since the previous earnings results.
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Founded in 1967 as the first company to develop tools for other businesses in the semiconductor industry, Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) is the largest provider of semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment.
Applied Materials reported revenues of $6.65 billion, flat year on year, topping analysts' expectations by 1.7%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with a solid beat of analysts' EPS estimates.
“Applied Materials continues to deliver strong performance in 2024, with fiscal second quarter revenue and earnings towards the high end of our guided range,” said Gary Dickerson, President and CEO.
The stock is up 10.8% since the results and currently trades at $237.35.
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Best Q1: Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Founded in 1980 by David Lam, who pioneered semiconductor etching technology, Lam Research (NASDAQ:LCRX) is one of the leading providers of the wafer fabrication equipment used to make semiconductors.
Lam Research reported revenues of $3.79 billion, down 2% year on year, outperforming analysts' expectations by 1.7%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in its gross margin and an impressive beat of analysts' EPS estimates.
The stock is up 19.7% since the results and currently trades at $1,058.69.
Slowest Q1: Kulicke and Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC) Headquartered in Singapore, Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is a provider of production equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices
Kulicke and Soffa reported revenues of $172.1 million, down 0.5% year on year, falling short of analysts' expectations by 1.2%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.
The stock is up 3.9% since the results and currently trades at $46.
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Formed by the 1997 merger of the two leading semiconductor yield management companies, KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is the leading supplier of equipment used to measure and inspect semiconductor chips.
KLA Corporation reported revenues of $2.36 billion, down 3% year on year, surpassing analysts' expectations by 1.7%. It was a good quarter for the company, with a solid beat of analysts' EPS estimates and optimistic revenue guidance for the next quarter.
The stock is up 22.6% since the results and currently trades at $827.01.
Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Headquartered in Israel, Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) is a provider of quality control systems used in semiconductor manufacturing.
Nova reported revenues of $141.8 million, up 7.3% year on year, surpassing analysts' expectations by 3.7%. It was a strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' EPS estimates and optimistic revenue guidance for the next quarter.
Nova pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The stock is up 28.4% since the results and currently trades at $232.85.
