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What's in Store for Applied Materials' (AMAT) Q4 Earnings?

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Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT - Free Report) is set to report fiscal fourth-quarter 2020 results on Nov 12. In the last reported quarter, it delivered an earnings surprise of 11.6%.

Applied Materials’ surprise history has been decent. The company surpassed earnings estimates in three of the trailing four quarters, while missed once, with the average surprise being 5.3%.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings has remained stable at $1.17 per share over the past 30 days. The figure indicates an increase of 46.3% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus mark for revenues is pegged at $4.60 billion, implying an increase of 22.7% from the year-ago reported figure.

Performance in the Last Reported Quarter

In third-quarter fiscal 2020, earnings of $1.06 per share surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 95 cents. The figure increased 19.1% sequentially and 43% year over year.

Net sales of $4.40 billion surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.7%. Also, the figure improved 23% from the year-ago period.

Applied Materials, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Applied Materials, Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

Applied Materials, Inc. price-eps-surprise | Applied Materials, Inc. Quote

Let’s see how things have shaped up for this announcement.

The company’s fiscal fourth-quarter sales are expected to have benefited from portfolio strength, growing investments in new playbook, its expanding position in memory and increasing new design wins.

Also, the company might have gained from the integration of advanced machine learning capabilities across semiconductor fabs to enhance automated defect analysis. Persistent expansion of big data and growth of new computing technologies are likely to reflect on the upcoming results.

During the quarter, the global rollout of 5G mobile technology led to higher demand for semiconductor equipment, which is expected to have aided its top-line growth.

Further, growth opportunities across specialty nodes and the new nodes ramp across foundry, logic, NAND, and DRAM are expected to have benefited Applied Materials in the to-be-reported quarter. Moreover, inventory reductions across memory and demand elasticity in NAND are likely to have acted as tailwinds.

In addition, the company’s growing research and development activities, as well as innovative next-generation products are likely to have aided the Display and Adjacent Markets segment’s performance in the quarter under review.

However, uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic could impact its upcoming results.

What Our Model Says

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Applied Materials this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is not the case here as you will see below.

Earnings ESP: The company has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Currently, Applied Materials has a Zacks Rank #3.

Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are a few stocks worth considering, as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to deliver an earnings beat in the upcoming releases.

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (ROK - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +3.67% and a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +1.75% and a Zacks Rank #1.

Target Corporation (TGT - Free Report) has an Earnings ESP of +11.29% and a Zacks Rank #2.

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