Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) late Thursday announced results and an outlook that topped Wall Street estimates, but the stock didn’t start taking off until the company started shedding light on what is driving its strong forecast.
Applied Materials shares fluctuated between gains and losses before the analyst call started but surged after the call started. The stock was last up 4% after hours, following a 2% decline in the regular session to close at $113.43. The shares opened Friday up sharply, $9.81, or 8.7%, to $123.24.
The stock is up 74% over the past 12 months while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has gained 63%.
On the call, Applied Materials Chief Executive Gary Dickerson said he sees long-term growth as the world becomes more digital, chip-making capacity becomes overburdened and supply issues plague end users.
The chip-industry supplier reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $1.13 billion, or $1.22 a share, compared with $892 million, or 96 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings, which exclude items like restructuring and severance expenses and others, were $1.39 a share, compared with 98 cents a share in the year-ago period.
Revenue rose to $5.16 billion from $4.16 billion in the year-ago quarter. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast $1.28 a share on revenue of $4.98 billion.
Applied Materials forecast adjusted earnings of $1.44 to $1.56 a share on revenue of $5.19 billion to $5.59 billion for the second quarter.
Analysts had estimated $1.28 a share on revenue of $4.96 billion.
