Applied Materials Wows Investors With Strong Earnings

Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) released its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report after the markets closed on Thursday. The company had $0.29 in earnings per share (EPS) on $2.37 billion in revenue, versus Thomson Reuters consensus estimates that called for $0.25 in EPS on $2.24 billion revenue. The same period from the previous year had $0.27 in EPS on revenue of $2.36 billion.

For the first quarter, the company expects net sales to be down 2% to 9% sequentially while EPS is expected in the range of $0.23 to $0.27. There are consensus estimates that call for $0.26 in EPS on $2.28 billion in revenue.

The company generated $471 million in cash from operations during the fourth quarter, paid dividends of $119 million and used $700 million to repurchase 44 million shares of common stock at an average price of $15.78.
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On the books the company had $4.97 billion in cash, equivalents, and short-term investments, compared to $3.16 billion in the same period from the previous year.

Gary Dickerson, president and CEO, commented:

In fiscal 2015, Applied Materials delivered year-over-year growth across our semiconductor, display and service businesses resulting in our highest earnings in four years. We have positioned the company for sustainable profitable growth and we are winning share, growing our service business and expanding our available market.

Shares of Applied Materials closed Thursday relatively flat at $17.17, with a consensus analyst price target of $21.60 and a 52-week trading range of $14.25 to $25.64. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was up 7.2% at $18.40 in the after-hours trading session.