Applied Materials Profit Surges, But Expectations Disappoint
Thursday, August 25, 12:40 PM ET

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Profits rose to $476 million, or $0.36 per share, compared to $123 million, or $0.09 per share, in last year’s third quarter.

Adjusted earnings of $0.35 per share beat analyst expectations.

Revenue rose to $2.79 million from $2.52 million last year, also ahead of estimates.

But, Applied Materials said it expects fourth quarter sales to fall 15% to 30% on a sequential basis, with earnings of $0.16 to $0.24 per share. The outlook misses analyst forecasts.

The company is seeing softness in its business resulting from an uncertain economic environment and an overcapacity in the solar sector, CEO Mike Splinter said.

Applied Materials shares are trading down over 2.7% Thursday.

Is the gloom carrying over to other chips stocks?

The Semiconductor HOLDRS (AMEX:SMH) is trading up slightly Thursday.

Applied Materials is the third-largest holding in the fund, behind Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), trading up over .1% Thursday, and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), trading down slightly.

Rounding out the top holdings of the fund, Altera (NASDAQ:ALTR) is trading down about .7%, while Analog Devices (NASDAQ:ADI) trades up over .7%.

The iShares PHLX SOX Semiconductor Sector Index Fund (NASDAQ:SOXX) is trading down slightly.

For MarketNewsVideo.com, I’m Kristin Bianco.