Applied Materials Dodges Smartphone Fears to Offer Positive Guidance

Applied Materials, Inc.

beat the Street's expectations in revenue and earnings. First-quarter EPS came to $0.26 over consensus of $0.25. Sales came in high at $2.26 billion over $2.24 billion from analysts. The company offered optimistic guidance, looking at an adjusted EPS for the second quarter of $0.30-$0.34 against estimate of $0.26. The company expects a 5-10 percent increase in sales. "As the market moves into the sweet spot for Applied's materials engineering technology, we see strong demand for our semiconductor, display and service businesses," said Gary Dickerson, president and CEO. "We are maintaining a positive outlook for 2016 as our customers make strategic, inflection-driven investments that play to our strengths." The company paid $115 million in dividends and bought back 35 million shares for $635 million. AMAT was up about 7 percent after market close.