Applied Materials' 1Q Outlook Misses Views

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) posted higher fiscal fourth-quarter results but the top chip gear-maker's outlook for the first quarter was shy of Wall Street's expectations and its stock fell.

Chief Executive Gary Dickerson told analysts on a conference call he expects approval early next year for Applied Materials' agreement to buy rival Tokyo Electron Ltd in an all-stock deal worth more than $10 billion.

He said he expects strong demand for consumer gadgets like smartphones with improved battery life to fuel investments by chipmakers in advanced manufacturing equipment sold by Applied Materials.

Applied Materials said on Thursday it had a net profit for the quarter ended in October of $290 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a net profit of $183 million, or 15 cents, in the same quarter last year.

It posted fourth-quarter revenue of $2.26 billion, up 14 percent from the year-ago period.

For the current quarter, Applied Materials expects revenue to be flat to up 5 percent from the fourth quarter, the midpoint of which is about $2.32 billion.

Analysts expected fourth-quarter revenue of $2.26 billion and first-quarter revenue of $2.38 billion.

Non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share were 27 cents in the fourth quarter, in line with expectations.

Applied Materials said it expects first-quarter non-GAAP EPS between 25 cents and 29 cents. Analysts expected 31 cents.

The shares fell 3 percent in extended trade after closing up 0.58 percent at $22.62 on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich; Editing by Dan Grebler)