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Unlocking Lam Research (LRCX) International Revenues: Trends, Surprises, and Prospects

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Have you looked into how Lam Research (LRCX - Free Report) performed internationally during the quarter ending March 2024? Considering the widespread global presence of this semiconductor equipment maker, examining the trends in international revenues is essential for assessing its financial resilience and prospects for growth.

The global economy today is deeply interlinked, making a company's engagement with international markets a critical factor in determining its financial success and growth path. It has become essential for investors to comprehend how much a company relies on these foreign markets, as this understanding reveals the firm's potential for consistent earnings, its capacity to harness different economic cycles, and its overall growth prospects.

Participation in global economies acts as a defense against economic difficulties at home and a pathway to more rapidly developing economies. However, it also comes with the complexities of dealing with fluctuating currencies, geopolitical risks and different market dynamics.

While delving into LRCX's performance for the past quarter, we observed some fascinating trends in the revenue from its foreign segments that are commonly modeled and observed by analysts on Wall Street.

The company's total revenue for the quarter stood at $3.79 billion, declining 2% year over year. Now, let's delve into LRCX's international revenue breakdown to gain insights into the significance of its operations beyond home turf.

A Dive into LRCX's International Revenue Trends

Europe generated $175.77 million in revenues for the company in the last quarter, constituting 4.6% of the total. This represented a surprise of -34.52% compared to the $268.43 million projected by Wall Street analysts. Comparatively, in the previous quarter, Europe accounted for $238.47 million (6.4%), and in the year-ago quarter, it contributed $337.82 million (8.7%) to the total revenue.

During the quarter, Korea contributed $711.95 million in revenue, making up 18.8% of the total revenue. When compared to the consensus estimate of $760.56 million, this meant a surprise of -6.39%. Looking back, Korea contributed $547.95 million, or 14.6%, in the previous quarter, and $1.08 billion, or 27.8%, in the same quarter of the previous year.

Of the total revenue, $512.85 million came from Japan during the last fiscal quarter, accounting for 13.5%. This represented a surprise of +36.27% as analysts had expected the region to contribute $376.35 million to the total revenue. In comparison, the region contributed $324.52 million, or 8.6%, and $575.95 million, or 14.9%, to total revenue in the previous and year-ago quarters, respectively.

Taiwan accounted for 13.2% of the company's total revenue during the quarter, translating to $499.88 million. Revenues from this region represented a surprise of -16.36%, with Wall Street analysts collectively expecting $597.63 million. When compared to the preceding quarter and the same quarter in the previous year, Taiwan contributed $242.49 million (6.5%) and $991.17 million (25.6%) to the total revenue, respectively.

During the quarter, China contributed $1.49 billion in revenue, making up 39.4% of the total revenue. When compared to the consensus estimate of $1.11 billion, this meant a surprise of +34.42%. Looking back, China contributed $1.69 billion, or 44.9%, in the previous quarter, and $1.26 billion, or 32.7%, in the same quarter of the previous year.

Southeast Asia generated $145.63 million in revenues for the company in the last quarter, constituting 3.8% of the total. This represented a surprise of -30.53% compared to the $209.62 million projected by Wall Street analysts. Comparatively, in the previous quarter, Southeast Asia accounted for $159.1 million (4.2%), and in the year-ago quarter, it contributed $528.84 million (13.7%) to the total revenue.

International Revenue Predictions

The current fiscal quarter's total revenue for Lam Research, as projected by Wall Street analysts, is expected to reach $3.8 billion, reflecting an increase of 18.6% from the same quarter last year. The breakdown of this revenue by foreign region is as follows: Europe is anticipated to contribute 6.4% or $241.73 million, Korea 19.3% or $733.25 million, Japan 10.7% or $406.18 million, Taiwan 13.5% or $514.44 million, China 36.2% or $1.38 billion and Southeast Asia 4.1% or $154.05 million.

For the full year, a total revenue of $14.78 billion is expected for the company, reflecting a decline of 15.2% from the year before. The revenues from Europe, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China and Southeast Asia are expected to make up 6.1%, 18.5%, 11.1%, 12.2%, 39.3% and 4.1% of this total, corresponding to $908.21 million, $2.74 billion, $1.64 billion, $1.8 billion, $5.81 billion and $611.35 million respectively.

In Conclusion

The dependency of Lam Research on global markets for its revenues presents a mix of potential gains and hazards. Thus, monitoring the trends in its overseas revenues can be a key indicator for predicting the firm's future performance.

In an era of growing international interdependencies and escalating geopolitical disputes, Wall Street analysts are vigilant in tracking these trends for businesses with a global reach, in order to refine their predictions of earnings. It should be noted, however, that a multitude of other elements, such as a company's domestic position, also play a significant role in shaping the earnings forecasts.

At Zacks, we place significant importance on a company's evolving earnings outlook. This is based on empirical evidence demonstrating its strong influence on a stock's short -term price movements. Invariably, there exists a positive relationship -- an upward revision in earnings estimates is typically mirrored by a rise in the stock price.

With an impressive externally audited track record, our proprietary stock rating tool - the Zacks Rank - harnesses the power of earnings estimate revisions and serves as an effective indicator of a stock's near-term price performance.

Lam Research currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating that it could perform in line with the broader market in the near term. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

Lam Research's Recent Stock Market Performance

The stock has witnessed a decline of 4.8% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's a decrease of 2%. In the same interval, the Zacks Computer and Technology sector, to which Lam Research belongs, has registered a decrease of 1.9%. Over the past three months, the company's shares saw an increase of 10.3%, while the S&P 500 increased by 4.6%. In comparison, the sector experienced an increase of 4.2% during this timeframe.


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