\n<\/p>\n
By Arsheeya Bajwa<\/p>\n
Feb 12 (Reuters) – Applied Materials (AMAT) forecast second-quarter revenue and profit above market estimates on Thursday, betting on a boom in demand for AI processors \u200cand a worldwide memory shortage to help drive sales of its chipmaking equipment.<\/p>\n
The \u200crapid build-out of artificial intelligence infrastructure \u2014 a major driver for Applied \u2014 has absorbed much of the world’s memory chip \u200bsupply, boosting production capacity, and further helping the company’s sales.<\/p>\n
The company’s shares rose 12% during premarket trading on Friday. Shares of peers Lam Research (LRCX) and KLA (KLAC) rose nearly 3% each before the bell, as Applied’s upbeat outlook lifted sentiment.<\/p>\n
Applied Materials expects second-quarter sales of about $7.65 billion, plus or minus $500 million, \u200ccompared with estimates of $7.01 billion, \u2060according to data compiled by LSEG.<\/p>\n
The results were “fueled by the acceleration of industry investments in AI computing,” CEO Gary Dickerson said in a statement.<\/p>\n
“The \u2060need for higher performance and more energy-efficient chips is driving high growth rates for leading-edge logic, high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging.”<\/p>\n
The largest U.S. semiconductor equipment maker forecast second-quarter adjusted profit of about $2.64 \u200bper share, \u200bplus or minus 20 cents, compared with estimates \u200bof $2.28.<\/p>\n
“Memory and logic-foundry capex growth are \u200ctwo sides of the same coin. They are both growing significantly \u2013 with memory a greater growth driver near-term,” said Timm Schulze-Melander, a Rothschild & Co. Redburn analyst.<\/p>\n
Logic generally refers to a type of chip that is capable of serving as the brains of a system, such as graphics processors and central processing units.<\/p>\n
High-bandwidth memory (HBM), made by stacking layers of dynamic random \u200caccess memory (DRAM) on top of each other, refers \u200bto a type of advanced memory chip used alongside \u200bpricey AI processors such as those sold \u200bby Nvidia.<\/p>\n
Applied expects DRAM to be its fastest growing segment in \u200c2026, coupled with 3D chiplet stacking \u2014 a \u200btechnique used extensively in \u200bproducing AI processors \u2014 Dickerson said during a post-earnings call.<\/p>\n
The company reported first-quarter revenue of $7.01 billion, beating estimates of $6.87 billion.<\/p>\n
Revenue for the quarter ended January 25 included record DRAM \u200bsales on a year-on-year basis, \u200cfinance chief Brice Hill said during the call.<\/p>\n\n
The company reported first-quarter profit of $2.38 \u200bper share, excluding items. Analysts had expected $2.20 per share.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in \u200bBengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona and Sriraj Kalluvila)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n