What happened
Shares of Universal Display (OLED 1.69%) were up 14.6% as of 1:30 p.m. EDT Thursday after the OLED technologist announced better-than-expected third-quarter 2019 results.
So what
Universal Display's quarterly revenue climbed 25.6% year over year to $97.5 million, including a 1.2% increase in OLED material sales (to $51.8 million) and 84.5% growth in royalty and license fee revenue (to $43 million). On the bottom line, that translated to net income of $37 million, or $0.78 per share.
For perspective, and though we don't usually pay close attention to Wall Street's demands, most analysts were looking for earnings of $0.58 per share on revenue of $85.9 million.
IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.
"During the quarter, OLED activity continued to gain strength on a global scale," stated Universal Display CFO Sidney Rosenblatt. "As a result, we are raising our 2019 revenue guidance and believe that we are well on track to deliver record revenues and earnings for the year, and expect this strength to continue into 2020."
Now what
More specifically, Universal Display now expects total revenue in 2019 ranging from $400 million to $410 million, an increase from its old outlook calling for a range of $370 million to $390 million.
Rosenblatt further added that given "the proliferation of OLEDs across the consumer electronics spectrum [...] fueling a tremendous multi-year capex cycle," Universal Display anticipates the installed manufacturing capacity base of OLEDs will increase roughly 50% over the next two years.
After coupling that impending growth with Universal Display's relative outperformance this quarter, it's easy to see why shares are roaring higher right now.
