Stock markets finished mostly lower on Monday, as a Russian invasion of Ukraine appeared increasingly likely. By the close, the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC +0.04%) had just about fully recovered from midafternoon losses, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI 0.57%) and S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.04%) still closed lower.
|
Index |
Daily Percentage Change (Decline) |
Daily Point Change |
|---|---|---|
|
Dow |
(0.49%) |
(172) |
|
S&P 500 |
(0.38%) |
(17) |
|
Nasdaq |
(0.002%) |
(0.24) |
Data source: Yahoo! Finance.
After the closing bell, however, a couple of stocks posted strong gains when the companies released their latest financial results. Below, we'll look more closely at how Arista Networks (ANET +1.90%) and Amkor Technology (AMKR 1.06%) wowed investors with their respective reports and what the prospects for both stocks look like.
Image source: Getty Images.
Arista gets a nice boost
Shares of Arista Networks were up almost 9% in after-hours trading on Monday. The cloud networking equipment specialist posted impressive results that showed its continuing success in tapping into the efforts of enterprise clients looking to take full advantage of technological innovation.
Arista's financial results looked solid. Fourth-quarter revenue came in at $825 million, up 27% year over year. Adjusted net income rose 33% from year-ago levels to $262.4 million, and that worked out to adjusted earnings of $0.82 per share. The numbers closed a strong year for Arista, which included a 27% rise in sales to $2.95 billion and a 27% gain in adjusted net income to $915 million.
Moreover, investors liked what they heard from Arista's guidance for the first quarter of 2022. Management believes it should see sales of $840 million to $860 million, with margin figures roughly consistent with what the company has seen in recent periods.
Businesses have been making the transition to 400G networking equipment to take full advantage of cloud capabilities for data collection and analysis, and Arista has been a pioneer in providing the top-of-the-line equipment that many enterprise customers prefer. Cloud computing is a trend that won't let up anytime soon, and many investors still see plenty of good times ahead for Arista.
Amkor keeps chipping away
Shares of Amkor Technology also moved sharply higher after the company reported its fourth-quarter financial results. The semiconductor stock was up nearly 9% in after-hours trading.
Amkor's numbers reflected the continued strength of the semiconductor industry amid chip shortages in several key areas. Quarterly revenue hit a new record, rising 26% year over year to $1.72 billion. Net income also reached a record $217 million, producing earnings of $0.88 per share. Full-year figures looked similarly solid, with a 22% rise in sales to $6.14 billion and earnings of $2.62 per share.
Investors didn't seem to be concerned about a sequential slowdown that's likely to take place in the first quarter of 2022. Amkor gave guidance for revenue of $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion, with earnings likely to be between $0.45 to $0.65 per share. Yet shareholders instead focused on positive comments from CEO Giel Rutten, who cited Amkor's strong relationships with both suppliers and customers as well as high levels of factory utilization and disciplined business execution as factors contributing to the company's success.
Semiconductor stocks have done quite well lately, and although Amkor has come off its recent highs, it's still well above where it traded throughout the late 2010s into 2020. The company isn't as well known as some of its peers, but it does have the potential to keep gaining ground in a strong industry.
