A Look Back at Semiconductor Manufacturing Stocks’ Q4 Earnings: Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) Vs The Rest Of The Pack

Looking back on semiconductor manufacturing stocks’ Q4 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) and its peers.

The semiconductor industry is driven by demand for advanced electronic products like smartphones, PCs, servers, and data storage. The need for technologies like artificial intelligence, 5G networks, and smart cars is also creating the next wave of growth for the industry. Keeping up with this dynamism requires new tools that can design, fabricate, and test chips at ever smaller sizes and more complex architectures, creating a dire need for semiconductor capital manufacturing equipment.

The 14 semiconductor manufacturing stocks we track reported a satisfactory Q4. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.6% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 1.8% below.

Amidst this news, share prices of the companies have had a rough stretch. On average, they are down 13.3% since the latest earnings results.

Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Headquartered in Israel, Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) is a provider of quality control systems used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Nova reported revenues of $194.8 million, up 45.1% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 2.3%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter for the company with a significant improvement in its inventory levels and a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

"Nova continues to outperform the market, with quarterly and annual sales records which exceeded the high end of the guidance in both revenue and profitability," said Gaby Waisman, President and CEO.

Nova scored the fastest revenue growth of the whole group. Investor expectations, however, were likely higher than Wall Street’s published projections, leaving some wishing for even better results (analysts’ consensus estimates are those published by big banks and advisory firms, not the investors who make buy and sell decisions). The stock is down 21.4% since reporting and currently trades at $193.22.

Read why we think that Nova is one of the best semiconductor manufacturing stocks, our full report is free.

Best Q4: Kulicke and Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Headquartered in Singapore, Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is a provider of production equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices

Kulicke and Soffa reported revenues of $166.1 million, down 3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 0.7%. The business had a very strong quarter with a significant improvement in its inventory levels and an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Although it had a fine quarter compared to its peers, the market seems unhappy with the results as the stock is down 20.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $34.42.

Is now the time to buy Kulicke and Soffa? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q4: FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM)

With customers across the foundry and fabless markets, FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) is a US-based provider of test and measurement technologies for semiconductors.

FormFactor reported revenues of $189.5 million, up 12.7% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a softer quarter as it posted a significant miss of analysts’ adjusted operating income and EPS estimates.

As expected, the stock is down 27.6% since the results and currently trades at $29.79.

Read our full analysis of FormFactor’s results here.

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Formed by the 1997 merger of the two leading semiconductor yield management companies, KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is the leading supplier of equipment used to measure and inspect semiconductor chips.

KLA Corporation reported revenues of $3.08 billion, up 23.7% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 4.5%. Overall, it was a very strong quarter as it also put up a significant improvement in its inventory levels and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is down 7.2% since reporting and currently trades at $690.

Read our full, actionable report on KLA Corporation here, it’s free.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Founded in 1980 by David Lam, the man who pioneered semiconductor etching technology, Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) is one of the leading providers of wafer fabrication equipment used to make semiconductors.

Lam Research reported revenues of $4.38 billion, up 16.4% year on year. This number topped analysts’ expectations by 1.4%. It was a strong quarter as it also logged a solid beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and an impressive beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates.

The stock is flat since reporting and currently trades at $74.50.

Read our full, actionable report on Lam Research here, it’s free.

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