Benefiting from AI Demand and Memory Shortage, Applied Materials Expects Positive Earnings; Shares Surge After Hours
Applied Materials predicted on Thursday that its revenue and profit for the second quarter will exceed market expectations, as the company is betting that the growing demand for artificial intelligence processors and a global memory shortage will help drive its chip manufacturing equipment sales. The rapid construction of AI infrastructure—a main driver for Applied Materials—has absorbed most of the global supply of memory chips, increased capacity, and further boosted the company's sales. The company's stock price rose more than 12% in after-hours trading.
As Applied Materials' optimistic outlook boosted market sentiment, shares of peers Lam Research and KLA both rose nearly 3% after the market closed.
Data shows that Applied Materials expects second-quarter sales of about $7.65 billion, plus or minus $500 million, compared to the forecast of $7.01 billion. CEO Gary Dickerson said in a statement, "The industry's accelerated investment in AI computing is driving the company's performance growth." "The demand for higher performance and more energy-efficient chips is driving rapid growth in leading-edge logic, high-bandwidth memory, and advanced packaging."
Editor: Wang Yongsheng
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
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