What happened
Shares of STMicroelectronics (STM -1.78%) climbed 17.7% in July, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, as investors grew more optimistic that the company would deliver strong second-quarter results -- which it did.
So what
STMicroelectronics rebounded in July after seeing its stock price fall nearly 13% in June on analysts' worries that tech stocks may be overdue for a correction. But the company's investors took a more optimistic outlook last month as they pushed STMicroelectronics up about 12% in the weeks ahead of its second quarter results, and another 5% after earnings were reported.
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Investors were happy to see revenue in the second quarter increase by 12.9% year over year, to $1.92 billion, and gross margins improve from 33.9% in the year ago quarter to 38.3%.
The global semiconductor leader also made some modest gains in its largest revenue segment -- the Automotive and Discrete Group -- with revenue increasing by 4.7% year over year to $755 million. STMicroelectronics managed to meet analysts' consensus estimate of $0.17 earnings per share (EPS), with $151 million in net income.
Now what
The company's share price is up a staggering 30% over the past 12 months, and investors could be in for more growth in the coming quarters.
STMicroelectronics' CEO Carlo Bozotti said in a press release that, "Based on current booking activity and visibility on our anticipated key new program, we expect third quarter revenues to increase about 9% on a sequential basis, representing year-over-year growth of about 16.6% at the mid-point of our guidance range."
Management also expects another quarter of gross margin expansion, to about 39%. All of those positives bode well for STMicroelectronics' continued prospects over the near-term.
