Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is set to report fiscal second quarter 2016 results on May 19. Last quarter, it posted a positive surprise of 4.00%. Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.
Factors at Play
The first quarter was a robust one for Applied Materials, with both the top and bottom lines surpassing the respective Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Applied Materials has a solid product line and management has stepped up investments to prepare for the ongoing transitions to larger wafer sizes and smaller process nodes. The ramp up in FinFET, 3D NAND and new display technology will likely be the catalysts.
There is also scope for share gains on the Display side of the business backed by PVD tools. The drivers of this business are larger TV screens and better mobile displays that involve more complicated production processes and new tools.
Developing trends in mobility, connectivity, video and wearable devices are fueling growth in the industry. This, in turn, is increasing advancement in mobile processors, solid-state storage and interactive displays.
Applied Materials has strengthened its research & development and at the same time stepped up investment in product development.
The company has focused its structure and talent around key areas of value creation. It plans to align its product portfolio in a way that it generates the best returns for clients.
Applied Materials had guided well for the second quarter of fiscal 2016. Revenues are expected to increase 5–10 percentage points sequentially. Non-GAAP EPS is expected to come in a range of 30 cents to 34 cents, compared with 26 cents per share reported in the first quarter.
Earnings Whispers?
Our proven model does not conclusively show that Applied Materials will beat earnings this quarter. This is because a stock needs to have both a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) for this to happen. That is not the case here as you will see below.
Zacks ESP: Both the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate stand at 32 cents. Therefore, the ESP for the stock is 0.00%.
Zacks Rank: Applied Materials holds a Zacks Rank #2 which when combined with a 0.00% ESP makes surprise prediction difficult.
Stocks to Consider
Here are some other companies that can be considered as our model shows that they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:
TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ:TIVO) , with an Earnings ESP of +25.00% and Zacks Rank #1
Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) , with an Earnings ESP of +0.66% and Zacks Rank #2
Casey's General Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:CASY) , with an Earnings ESP of +0.84% and a Zacks Rank #2
TIVO INC (TIVO): Free Stock Analysis Report
INTUIT INC (INTU): Free Stock Analysis Report
CASEYS GEN STRS (CASY): Free Stock Analysis Report
APPLD MATLS INC (AMAT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post
Zacks Investment Research