What Happened?
Shares of semiconductor machinery manufacturer Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) fell 11.7% in the morning session after the company issued disappointing financial guidance for the upcoming third quarter, which overshadowed its better-than-expected second-quarter results. The semiconductor equipment supplier reported second-quarter revenue of $7.30 billion and adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.48, beating analysts' estimates.
However, the company's outlook for the third quarter pointed to a slowdown. Applied Materials projected revenue of $6.7 billion at the midpoint, well below the $7.30 billion analysts had forecasted. The adjusted EPS guidance was also weak, with a midpoint of $2.11, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38. This weaker-than-expected forecast for the upcoming quarter signaled potential challenges ahead, causing investors to sell off the stock despite the strong performance in the reported quarter.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Applied Materials’s shares are quite volatile and have had 15 moves greater than 5% over the last year. But moves this big are rare even for Applied Materials and indicate this news significantly impacted the market’s perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 15 days ago when the stock dropped 6% on the news that a series of divergent earnings reports highlighted a clear split in the semiconductor industry, with investors rewarding companies exposed to the AI boom while punishing those tied to slowing consumer electronics and manufacturing equipment markets.
The market was clearly distinguishing between winners and losers during the earnings season. Companies with strong exposure to the artificial intelligence boom saw their stocks surge on optimistic forecasts. In contrast, firms exposed to the smartphone market, like Qualcomm and Skyworks Solutions, fell on signs of weakness in consumer electronics. The semiconductor equipment segment, including Lam Research and Applied Materials, also faced headwinds amid concerns of a potential slowdown, following cautious outlooks from industry leaders. This trend highlights a broader investor sentiment that is selective, favoring AI-centric growth stories over more traditional, cyclical parts of the chip market.
Applied Materials is up 0.2% since the beginning of the year, but at $164.22 per share, it is still trading 23.2% below its 52-week high of $213.89 from October 2024. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Applied Materials’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $2,453.
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