Applied Materials and Whole Foods post Q2 profit declines

On Tuesday, microchip equipment maker Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) reported a drop in its fiscal second quarter earnings due in part to a glut of flash memory chips, and organic and natural food retailer Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ: WFMI) also said second quarter profits fell, due to integrating its Wild Oats acquisition.

Applied Materials posted earnings of $302.5 million, or 22 cents per share, for the quarter ended April 27, compared with a profit of $411.4 million or 29 cents per share in the same period a year ago. Its adjusted net income came to 24 cents per share, beating the average analyst forecast of 22 cents, according to Reuters estimates.

Second-quarter revenue fell to $2.15 billion from $2.53 billion in the previous year. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $2.13 billion.

Shares fell 1.3% after the news but rose 2.7% in after-hours trading to $20.40.

Whole Foods reported that sales surged 28% in the second quarter to $1.87 billion, from $1.4 billion in the previous year. But net income fell 13% to $40 million, or 29 cents per share, in the quarter ended April 13; the acquisition of rival Wild Oats cost it 6 cents per share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial had predicted a profit of 30 cents per share on revenue of $1.89 billion.

Shares of Whole Foods fell $2.94, or 8.7%, to $30.70 in after-hours trading.