File photo: Applied Materials’ Maydan Technology Center in Santa Clara, California, April 18, 2023. Olaf2 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped and resized; adapted image licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Applied Materials reported a 53% jump in quarterly revenue Thursday to a record $10.41 billion, as the chipmaking-equipment supplier posted higher profits and forecast another increase in sales.
In its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings release, Applied Materials said the fiscal quarter ended October 25 generated net income of $2.72 billion, up 43% from a year earlier. Earnings under generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, rose to $3.40 a share from $2.38.
Adjusted earnings rose 92% to $4.16 a share from $2.17. The adjusted measure excludes certain items included in GAAP results, so the two figures should not be treated as interchangeable.
Nasdaq’s quote showed the shares at $376.54 at 4:26 p.m. Eastern, down $4.41, or 1.16%, from the $380.95 regular-session close. That after-hours move is separate from the stock’s 3.58% decline during regular trading.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2027, the company forecast revenue of $11.1 billion, plus or minus $500 million, and adjusted earnings of $4.35 a share, plus or minus 20 cents. These are forecasts, not results already earned.
Applied Materials makes the tools that chip manufacturers use to produce semiconductors. Its Semiconductor Systems business generated $8.0 billion in quarterly revenue, compared with $4.88 billion a year earlier. DRAM memory accounted for 33% of that business’s revenue, up from 28%; foundry and logic represented 58%, while flash memory accounted for 9%.
Chief executive Gary Dickerson said AI was fueling additional demand for semiconductors and that the company’s Semiconductor Systems business was on track to grow more than 40% in calendar 2026. That calendar-year outlook is separate from the fiscal-year results released Thursday.
Quarterly GAAP gross margin rose to 50.4% from 48.0%. The company generated $3.30 billion in operating cash flow and returned $2.42 billion to shareholders through $2.00 billion in share buybacks and $421 million in dividends.
For the full fiscal year, revenue rose 21% to $34.45 billion. GAAP earnings reached $12.62 a share, while adjusted earnings were $12.89 a share.
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