What happened
Shares of Amkor Technology (AMKR -1.62%) spiked higher in early trading on Tuesday, after the company reported strong earnings for the second quarter of 2020. The stock was up 16% before giving some gains back. As of noon EDT, it was up just 5%.
Amkor Technology stock has nearly tripled from March lows, as the company's business has proven to be immune from the coronavirus so far.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
Amkor Technology operates in the semiconductor industry by offering packaging and test services to manufacturers. This typically doesn't provide much growth opportunity for the company, but it's proven consistent. For Q2, however, Amkor grew nicely. Net sales were up 31% year over year to $1.2 billion. And its operating margin drastically improved from last year, providing the company with a nice $55 million profit.
Smartphone shipments were better than expected for Amkor Technology in Q2. Considering communications accounts for 38% of the company's end markets over the past year, this was a large reason its revenue was so good. But management expects overall shipments to be down in 2020. So financial results could revert in coming quarters.
Indeed, Amkor Technology's results have a habit of ebbing and flowing, as the five-year chart below demonstrates.
AMKR Revenue (TTM) data by YCharts
Now what
The revenue trend is still up for now. Amkor Technology is guiding for its third-quarter revenue to increase 15% year over year, which would be about $1.25 billion. And if its gains in operating margin hold, it would represent a healthy profit.
That's one thing to like with Amkor Technology right now. Thanks to its consistent cash flow, it's steadily working on improving its balance sheet. Right now it has a net debt position of $451 million, which isn't great. But that's substantially improved from its net debt of $751 million in the second quarter of 2019.
