Semiconductor maker Applied Materials (AMAT) reported its fiscal fourth quarter numbers this afternoon following the market close, and the company easily outpaced analyst estimates.Going into this afternoon's earnings report, analysts had been expecting to see the company show earnings of 3 cents per share, but the company surprised to the upside by posting actual Q4 earnings of 13 cents.
This quarter is the first time in the past year that the company has not seen a loss. Its last profit came during the same period last year when it was able to show an 18 cents per share profit.
The recession has reduced the number of chip makers, and those that remain are in decent position now that a recovery seems to be under way. While AMAT is already witnessing a jump in orders, it did caution that we should not expect its orders to return to pre-recession levels any time soon.
Applied Materials expects to see a 30% jump in orders next year.
The company also announced that it would be cutting roughly 1,500 jobs.
Following this afternoon's report, shares are trading up close to 2% in after hours trading.
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Closing Bell: Earnings working against stocks (BCRX, DELL, DHI, INTC, LEAP, PCS)
Chasing Value: E-Trade, a word of caution
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