What happened
Shares of KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC -2.49%) jumped on Tuesday following the semiconductor equipment company's fiscal fourth-quarter report. KLA-Tencor beat analyst expectations across the board, pushing the stock up 10.9% by 11:05 a.m. EDT.
So what
KLA-Tencor reported fourth-quarter revenue of $1.07 billion, up 14% year over year and $20 million higher than the average analyst estimate. Product revenue jumped 14% to $840.5 million, while service revenue also rose 14% to $229.5 million.
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Non-GAAP earnings per share came in at $2.22, up from $1.64 in the prior-year period and $0.08 better than analysts were expecting. The bottom line also increased compared to the third quarter, when KLA-Tencor reported $2.02 of non-GAAP earnings per share.
KLA-Tencor President and CEO Rick Wallace commented on the strong quarter: "We delivered the second highest quarterly bookings result in our history, while setting all-time records in quarterly shipments, revenue, and GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per diluted share. This demonstrates KLA-Tencor's market leadership in process control, and reflects the strategic importance of inspection and metrology in enabling growth of next-generation logic and memory semiconductor markets."
Now what
KLA-Tencor expects to report first-quarter revenue between $1.03 billion and $1.11 billion, along with shipments between $935 million and $1.015 billion and non-GAAP EPS between $2.04 and $2.36. The company reported revenue of $970 million and non-GAAP EPS of $1.80 in the first quarter of last year, and pointed to a record backlog as a driver behind the expected growth.
The semiconductor industry is cyclical, but KLA-Tencor is so far showing no signs of slowing down. With results above analyst estimates and solid guidance, investors found plenty or reasons to push up the stock.
