Looking back on semiconductor manufacturing stocks' Q1 earnings, we examine this quarter's best and worst performers, including IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) and its peers.
The semiconductor industry is driven by demand for advanced electronic products like smartphones, PCs, servers and data storage. The growth of data and technologies like artificial intelligence, 5G networks and smart cars are also creating a next wave of growth for the industry. To keep up with ever changing customer needs requires new tools that can design, fabricate and test at ever smaller sizes and more complex architectures, and that is driving the demand for semiconductor capital manufacturing equipment.
The 14 semiconductor manufacturing stocks we track reported a mixed Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 3.16%, while on average next quarter revenue guidance was 1.49% under consensus. Investors abandoned cash burning companies since high interest rates will make it harder to raise capital, but semiconductor manufacturing stocks held their ground better than others, with the share prices up 18.4% since the previous earnings results, on average.
Weakest Q1: IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP)
Both a designer and manufacturer of most of its products, IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) is a provider of high-performance fiber lasers that are used for cutting, welding and processing raw materials.
IPG Photonics reported revenues of $347.2 million, down 6.16% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 5.01%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and an increase in inventory levels.
The stock is up 9.76% since the results and currently trades at $129.54.
Read our full report on IPG Photonics here, it's free.
Best Q1: Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB)
Sporting a global footprint of facilities, Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) is a manufacturer of photomasks, templates used to transfer patterns onto semiconductor wafers.
Photronics reported revenues of $229.3 million, up 12.1% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 8.68%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in gross margin and strong revenue guidance for the next quarter.
Photronics scored the strongest analyst estimates beat among its peers. The stock is up 34.1% since the results and currently trades at $23.1.
Is now the time to buy Photronics? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it's free.
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 $173 million, down 55% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.17%. It was a weaker quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a decline in operating margin.
Kulicke and Soffa had the slowest revenue growth in the group. The stock is up 20% since the results and currently trades at $56.53.
Read our full analysis of Kulicke and Soffa's results here.
Amtech (NASDAQ:ASYS)
Focusing on Silicon Carbide and Power Semiconductor sectors, Amtech Systems (NASDAQ:ASYS) produces machinery and related chemicals needed for manufacturing semiconductors.
Amtech reported revenues of $33.3 million, up 24.8% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 8.33%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in inventory levels but underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.
The stock is up 5.15% since the results and currently trades at $9.27.
Read our full, actionable report on Amtech here, it's free.
Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL)
Moving away from a low margin storage device management chips in one of the biggest semiconductor business model pivots of the past decade, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) is a fabless designer of special purpose data processing and networking chips used by data centers, communications carriers, enterprises, and autos.
Marvell Technology reported revenues of $1.32 billion, down 8.65% year on year, beating analyst expectations by 1.67%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in inventory levels but a decline in operating margin.
The stock is up 18.3% since the results and currently trades at $58.47.
Read our full, actionable report on Marvell Technology here, it's free.
The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned