Applied Materials reported record fourth-quarter fiscal revenue of $10.41 billion on Thursday, up 53 percent from the same period last year.
Adjusted earnings per share reached $4.16, compared to $2.17 a year earlier, according to the company. Analysts expected revenue of $10.30 billion and an adjusted profit of $4.06 per share. GAAP earnings per share rose 43 percent to $3.40, while gross margin increased by 2.4 percentage points to 50.4 percent.
Dickerson said the firm aims for segment revenue growth above 40 percent this year in Semiconductor Systems, Seznam Zprávy reported.
“Our core markets remain robust,” Dickerson told Seznam Zprávy.
Annual revenue hit a record $34.45 billion for the full fiscal year, representing a 21 percent increase. Operating cash flow reached $8.87 billion, and the company returned $4.75 billion to shareholders through share buybacks and dividends.
The Semiconductor Systems segment generated nearly 8 billion dollars during the quarter, a 64 percent year-over-year increase. Advanced logic and foundry customers accounted for 58 percent of those sales, while DRAM memory chips contributed 33 percent and flash memory made up 9 percent.
Demand centers on equipment for high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging technologies.
Applied Materials builds manufacturing tools for thin-film deposition, etching, and planarization. These systems allow fabricators to stack chip layers and connect processors with high-speed silicon interposers.
The Applied Global Services division generated $1.90 billion in revenue, marking a 26 percent increase. That unit handles equipment maintenance and upgrades for installed factory tools.
Applied Materials opened a 5 billion dollars research facility named EPIC in Silicon Valley in October to accelerate commercial manufacturing. The center joins chipmakers, equipment suppliers, and university researchers under one roof.
The company established research partnerships with Intel, memory maker Kioxia, Dutch firm Besi, and UCLA. Intel focuses on novel transistors and advanced packaging, while Kioxia works on memory structures.
The firm announced an agreement in October to raise its stake in Besi to approximately 20 percent. The two companies have collaborated since 2020 on hybrid bonding technology for three-dimensional chip designs. Applied Materials also introduced the VeritySEM 20 inspection system to evaluate nanoscale features produced by advanced lithography tools.
China accounted for 28 percent of the company’s revenue during the preceding fiscal quarter. Applied Materials must follow strict United States export rules regarding advanced semiconductor equipment shipments to Chinese customers. The company agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Commerce in February regarding past shipments, paying $253 million and accepting new oversight mandates.
Additional scrutiny follows the departure of Nvidia founder and long-time chief executive Jensen Huang on Thursday after disclosures regarding a personal relationship with Alice Huang. U.S. intelligence agencies investigate connections between Alice Huang, Chinese intelligence services, and Huawei. Nvidia said that it has no indication that business secrets or national security were compromised.
Applied Materials projects first-quarter fiscal revenue between 10.6 and 11.6 billion dollars. The company expects adjusted earnings per share between $4.15 and $4.55.
Market consensus estimates previously targeted revenue of 10.85 to 10.89 billion dollars and earnings of $4.24 per share. Stock in Applied Materials rose approximately three percent in extended trading following the guidance release before paring those gains.
“We see sustained multi-year investments across our portfolio,” Dickerson told Seznam Zprávy.