Technology

Why Tower Semiconductors Is One of Monday's Biggest Earnings Losers

Chris Lange

Published: October 29, 2018 10:30 am

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 3:42 pm

When Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ: TSEM) released its third-quarter financial results before the markets opened on Monday, the company said that it had $0.33 in earnings per share (EPS) and $322.6 million in revenue. Consensus estimates had called for $0.40 in EPS and revenue of $335.04 million, and the same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.54 on $354.56 million in revenue.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the company expects to see revenues of approximately $340 million, with a range of 5% up or down. Consensus estimates call for $0.53 in EPS and $364.51 million in revenue for the coming quarter.

During the latest quarter, the company noted cash from operations of $69 million with free cash flow of $29 million. Also, cash generation from operations year-to-date was $221 million, with $315 million net cash balance as of the end of the quarter.

CEO Russell Ellwanger commented:

We entered the year having decided to focus on profitability, rather than utilizing valuable capacity for lower margin businesses. This has had a greater than expected revenue impact in 2018 while building the higher value mix and with some high-end replacements not having met customer forecasts. The present overall market softness has had a recent notable impact across our business units, with a fourth quarter revenue roll-up lower than previous expectations. However, we expect to see fourth quarter margins increase as a result of this much richer products mix.

Shares of Tower Semiconductors were last seen down about 16% at $14.95 Monday morning, with a consensus analyst price target of $29.75 and a 52-week trading range of $14.77 to $36.69.