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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Ox who wrote (10385)	6/15/2004 8:37:23 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

IC-equipment billings jump 65% in Q1, says SEMI By Mark LaPedus Silicon Strategies 06/15/2004, 6:55 PM ET SAN JOSE, Calif.--Fueled by the growth in Asia, worldwide semiconductor equipment billings hit $9.14 billion in the first quarter of 2004, up 42 percent from the like period a year ago and up 65 percent sequentially, according to the Semiconductor Equipment & Materials International trade group on Tuesday (June 15). SEMI of San Jose also reported worldwide semiconductor equipment bookings of $9.60 billion in the first quarter of 2004. The figure is 118 percent above the same quarter a year ago and 9.3 percent above the bookings figure for the fourth quarter of 2003. The data is gathered in cooperation with the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ) from more than 150 global equipment companies that provide data on a monthly basis. "The strength of the first quarter billings and bookings supports the outlook for a robust growth year for the semiconductor equipment market," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI, in a statement. "Billings levels in all regions were strong sequentially, and based on bookings will remain so in the second quarter." In terms of regions, Japan was the world's largest chip-equipment market in the first quarter, followed by Taiwan, Rest of World, Korea, North America, and Europe. Taiwan was the fastest growing market in Q1, as billings hit $1.99 billion in the period, up 70.1 percent sequentially and up 290.2 percent from a year ago. Korea was second, as billings hit $1.45 billion in the period, up 51 percent sequentially and up 31.8 percent from a year ago. Meanwhile, Japan was third in Q1, as billings hit $2.18 billion in the period, up 47.3 percent sequentially and up 74.4 percent from a year ago. The Rest of World region was fourth, as billings hit $1.54 billion in the period, up 45.3 percent sequentially and up 102.6 percent from a year ago. Europe was fifth in Q1, as billings hit $760 million in the period, up 11.8 percent sequentially and up 52 percent from a year ago. North America was last, as billings hit $1.22 billion in the period, up 10.9 percent sequentially but down 14.7 percent from a year ago.

To: The Ox who wrote (10385)	6/16/2004 9:31:53 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

Multiples are going to contract from their lofty levels of 12 or so for the SCE group......why doesn't an EBAY with a PSR of 24 get even a fraction of the attention of this group? Not a cyclical company yada-yada-yada...... Would Higher Rates Help Semi Stocks? 06.16.04, 9:15 AM ET Prudential Equity Group said it examined 20 years of data to assess historical correlations between interest rates, stock multiples and year-over-year revenue growth rates in the semiconductor group. The research outfit concluded that historically, there has been an inverse correlation between interest rates and semiconductor stock price multiples, but an even stronger positive correlation between year-over-year revenue growth and stock prices. "We think revenue growth trumped the historical inverse relationship between interest rates and semi stock multiples during the last cycle, and may be leading some investors to the (in our opinion) incorrect conclusion that rising rates will be positive for semi stocks," the firm said. Prudential predicted that over the next six months year-over-year industry revenue growth will decelerate and interest rates will increase. "We think this will limit the prospect for multiple expansion, if not result in multiple contraction for the group," the firm said. Given that scenario, Prudential predicted that earnings results and revisions will be primary drivers of stock performance. The firm reiterated "overweight" ratings for Intel (nasdaq: INTC - news - people ) and Broadcom (nasdaq: BRCM - news - people ).