Lam Research Offers Positive Surprise

Lam Research shares rise after it reports better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter financial results.

Published October 17, 2018, 10:25am ET · 2 min read

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When Lam Research Corp. (NASDAQ: LRCX) reported its fiscal first-quarter financial results after the markets closed on Tuesday, the company said that it had $3.36 in earnings per share (EPS) and $2.33 billion in revenue. The consensus estimates had called for $3.21 in EPS and revenue of $2.3 billion, and it the same period of last year the chip equipment maker posted EPS of $3.46 on $2.48 billion in revenue.

During the most recent quarter, deferred revenue and deferred profit decreased to $626 million and $542 million, respectively, as compared to $994 million and $720 million, respectively, at the end of the June 2018 quarter.

Looking ahead to the fiscal second quarter, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $3.27 to $3.67 and revenues between $2.35 billion and $2.65 billion. Consensus estimates call for $3.35 in EPS and $2.38 billion in revenue for the quarter.

At the end of the September 2018 quarter, cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash and investment balances decreased to $3.9 billion from $5.2 billion at the end of the June 2018 quarter. This decrease was primarily the result of $1.7 billion of share repurchases, including net share settlement on employee stock-based compensation.

Martin Anstice, Lam Research’s CEO, commented:

We are pleased to report September quarter results that modestly exceed expectations and forecast a stronger December quarter sequentially. More importantly, central to the Lam outperformance aspiration is our commitment to investing in innovation and close collaboration with our customers to address the technical and economic challenges of device and systems performance scaling. We remain focused on creating and capturing value for our customers in the world of emerging data economy opportunity.

Shares of Lam Research were last seen up over 4% at $151.66 on Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $212.58 and a 52-week trading range of $135.99 to $234.88.

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Chris Lange

Chris Lange is a financial and geopolitical writer with more than a decade of experience covering a myriad of topics. He has published thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St., with past coverage focused heavily on stocks, IPOs, healthcare, defense, global affairs, and technology.

His work has been quoted, or referenced by a number of outlets including Business Insider, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, The Motley Fool, and many other publications. A graduate of Southwestern University, he studied business with a focus on investments and has previous experience in banking and startups.

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