Any opinions on how today's guidance from AMAT compares to the guidance given in recent NVLS and LRCX conference calls?
A comparison is tricky, because AMAT's quarter ends a month later than for the other two companies, and AMAT is citing order cancellations and pushouts during the intervening month (January).
I thought that NVLS and LRCX earlier this month were reporting that they were seeing pushouts but not cancellations, whereas today AMAT is reporting cancellations as well. I wonder if this indicates that the other two firms are performing better than AMAT, or whether it means that customers have really gone sour in the last two weeks.
Any opinions?
Applied Materials' First Fiscal Quarter 2001 Results to be Below Expectations
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2001--Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that it expects its financial results for the first fiscal quarter ending January 28, 2001 to be below the targets provided during its earnings conference call on November 15, 2000. Applied Materials will release its financial results for the first fiscal quarter on February 13, 2001, after the close of the U.S. stock market.
``Demand for semiconductors began to slow late in the fourth quarter of 2000,'' said James C. Morgan, chairman and chief executive officer of Applied Materials. ``Inventory buildups in telecommunication products, slower than expected PC sales and slower global economic growth are now causing customers to reevaluate their capital spending plans. Since the beginning of January, a number of our customers have been revising the timing of their capital spending and rescheduling or cancelling existing backlog, resulting in the postponement in delivery of equipment. Therefore, we expect orders and revenue to be below our original targets.''
Revenue is expected to be 7-10 percent below the $2.9 - $2.95 billion revenue target issued by the Company on its November 15, 2000 earnings conference call. First quarter revenue will include only those 300mm system shipments that have been accepted by customers, and 300mm revenue is in line with original estimates. Due to the expected revenue shortfall, earnings per share are not expected to reach the target set by the company. Orders are expected to be below a 1.0 book to bill ratio for the quarter.
``We will continue to assess the impact of these industry factors on our business and share our outlook with investors on our February 13, 2001 earnings conference call,'' concluded Morgan. |
