Lam Research quarterly revenue misses estimates, shares fall
(Reuters) - Lam Research Corp reported third-quarter revenue on Wednesday that missed analysts' estimates, sending the chip equipment maker's shares down more than 2% after market.
Along with several other chip industry peers who reported earnings in recent weeks, Lam also refrained from providing a forecast for the current quarter, citing the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The impact from the globally spreading virus began to materialize in the company's manufacturing and supply chain operations in the latter part of the March quarter as shelter-in-place orders went into effect across many regions, Chief Executive Officer Tim Archer said.
The pandemic has wreaked havoc in the chip industry, as strict lockdown rules globally to curb the spread of the virus have disrupted operations and supply chains, even though many plants were eventually allowed to remain open.
Lam was impacted earlier as some operations in the San Francisco Bay Area and supply chain activities in Malaysia were hit due to lockdown orders.
"If our current assessment of our output capability turns out to be correct, revenue in the June quarter should be higher than March. There is obviously uncertainty around that statement," Chief Financial Officer Douglas Bettinger said.
While Lam did not give a formal forecast, the CFO comment indicated the company expects current-quarter revenue will not dip below the $2.5 billion reported in the third quarter. Analysts were expecting fourth-quarter revenue of $2.62 billion.
The company joined ASML Holding NV, a key supplier to computer chip makers such as Samsung and Intel Corp, which last week said it could not issue a formal full-year outlook. (https://reut.rs/2S06ell)
Lam's total revenue rose nearly 3% to about $2.50 billion for the quarter ended March 29, but came in slightly below estimates of $2.58 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Net income rose to $574.8 million, or $3.88 per share, in the reported quarter, from $547.4 million, or $3.47 per share, a year earlier.
On an adjusted basis, Lam earned $3.98 per share, beating estimates of $3.85 per share.
(Reporting by Akanksha Rana in Bengaluru and Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
