Q2 Earnings Highs And Lows: Kulicke and Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC) Vs The Rest Of The Semiconductor Manufacturing Stocks

Looking back on semiconductor manufacturing stocks’ Q2 earnings, we examine this quarter’s best and worst performers, including Kulicke and Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC) and its peers.

The semiconductor industry is driven by demand for advanced electronic products like smartphones, PCs, servers, and data storage. The need for technologies like artificial intelligence, 5G networks, and smart cars is also creating the next wave of growth for the industry. Keeping up with this dynamism requires new tools that can design, fabricate, and test chips at ever smaller sizes and more complex architectures, creating a dire need for semiconductor capital manufacturing equipment.

The 14 semiconductor manufacturing stocks we track reported a strong Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.8% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 2.7% below.

The Fed cut its policy rate by 50bps (half a percent) in September 2024, the first in roughly four years. This marks the end of its most pointed inflation-busting campaign since the 1980s. While CPI (inflation) readings have been supportive lately, employment measures have bordered on worrisome. The markets will be assessing whether this rate cut's timing (and more potential ones in 2024 and 2025) is ideal for supporting the economy or a bit too late for a macro that has already cooled too much.

While some semiconductor manufacturing stocks have fared somewhat better than others, they have collectively declined. On average, share prices are down 3.5% since the latest earnings results.

Kulicke and Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Headquartered in Singapore, Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is a provider of production equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices

Kulicke and Soffa reported revenues of $181.7 million, down 4.9% year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, but overall, it was a slower quarter for the company with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a decline in its operating margin.

Fusen Chen, Kulicke & Soffa's President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "While the recovery remains gradual, improving utilization rates combined with continued near-term industry growth provide optimism for coordinated capacity and technology expansion across multiple end-markets. Additionally, we continue to drive industry adoption of our leading Fluxless Thermo-Compression (FTC), Vertical-Fan-Out (VFO), and High-Power-Interconnect (HPI) solutions through industry collaborations, customer development programs and recent market wins."

Interestingly, the stock is up 12.6% since reporting and currently trades at $44.71.

Read our full report on Kulicke and Soffa here, it’s free.

Best Q2: Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Headquartered in Israel, Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) is a provider of quality control systems used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Nova reported revenues of $156.9 million, up 27.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.9%. The business had an exceptional quarter with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a significant improvement in its operating margin.

Nova pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 5% since reporting. It currently trades at $190.35.

Is now the time to buy Nova? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Slowest Q2: Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Sporting a global footprint of facilities, Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) is a manufacturer of photomasks, templates used to transfer patterns onto semiconductor wafers.

Photronics reported revenues of $211 million, down 5.9% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 6.2%. It was a softer quarter as it posted underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Photronics delivered the weakest performance against analyst estimates in the group. The stock is flat since the results and currently trades at $24.

Read our full analysis of Photronics’s results here.

FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM)

With customers across the foundry and fabless markets, FormFactor (NASDAQ:FORM) is a US-based provider of test and measurement technologies for semiconductors.

FormFactor reported revenues of $197.5 million, up 26.7% year on year. This print beat analysts’ expectations by 1.3%. It was an exceptional quarter as it also put up a significant improvement in its gross margin and an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is down 16% since reporting and currently trades at $45.

Read our full, actionable report on FormFactor here, it’s free.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX)

Founded in 1980 by David Lam, the man who pioneered semiconductor etching technology, Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) is one of the leading providers of wafer fabrication equipment used to make semiconductors.

Lam Research reported revenues of $3.87 billion, up 20.7% year on year. This result surpassed analysts’ expectations by 1%. It was a strong quarter as it also produced an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a meaningful improvement in its operating margin.

The stock is down 17.7% since reporting and currently trades at $76.

Read our full, actionable report on Lam Research here, it’s free.

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