Proactive Investors - Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) shares fell as much as 7% in Thursday’s after-hours session even as the semiconductor maker’s fourth quarter 2023 financial results exceeded Wall Street expectations and the company issued an upbeat forecast.
Applied Material saw its 4Q adjusted earnings per share (EPS) increase 4% year over year to $2.12, topping the $1.99 analyst consensus forecast.
The company also generated revenue for the period of $6.72 billion, which was flat year over year but better than the $6.52 billion consensus estimate.
"Applied Materials delivered record revenue, earnings and cash flow in fiscal 2023 and is outgrowing the wafer fabrication equipment market for the fifth year in a row," CEO Gary Dickerson said in a statement.
Looking ahead, the company sees its 1Q 2024 EPS coming in between $1.72 to $2.08 on revenue of $6.07 billion to $6.87 billion.
Analysts were expecting EPS of $1.69 and revenue of $5.86 billion.
Meanwhile, just before the close of trading on Thursday Reuters reported that Applied Materials is under US criminal investigation for potentially evading export restrictions on China's top chipmaker SMIC, citing three people familiar with the matter.