Applied Materials: Burned by the Sun

Applied Materials (AMAT) yesterday afternoon posted stellar results for the fiscal fourth quarter ended October 25; revenue of $1.53 billion was well ahead of the Street at $1.32 billion, and non-GAAP EPS of 13 cents a share crushed the consensus number at three cents. Likewise, the company said FY Q1 revenue would be up 10-25 percent sequentially, which implies $1.68 billion to $1.91 billion, smartly above the Street consensus at $1.4 billion.

As I noted yesterday, CEO Michael Splinter said on the call that he expects the chip industry to spend $18 to $20 billion on capital equipment in 2010, up from $12 million to $13 million this year; at the mid-point, that would be an increase of 52 percent, which while off a nightmarish bottom, is still nice growth.

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