What happened
Companies associated with electric vehicles (EVs) have been popular on the exchange lately, but that wasn't the case Thursday with specialty semiconductor stock Wolfspeed (WOLF -5.72%). Following the release of quarterly results that were marked by disappointing guidance, investors aggressively sold out of the company. As a result, its share price cratered by almost 20% on the day.
So what
For its fiscal third quarter of 2023, Wolfspeed divulged after market hours Wednesday, the company booked revenue of slightly under $229 million. That was well above the $188 million it earned in the same quarter of fiscal 2022, and it topped the average analyst estimate of a bit over $220 million.
The dynamic was similar on the bottom line, with Wolfspeed's non-GAAP (adjusted) net loss deepening only slightly to $16 million, or $0.13 per share, against the year-ago deficit of $14.3 million. Prognosticators following the stock had been modeling a $0.15 per-share loss.
The company hit a milestone during the quarter, making its first shipments from a newly onstream factory in upstate New York. In its earnings release, Wolfspeed quoted its CEO Gregg Lowe as saying that this was "a significant development in our business and for the industry."
Now what
That isn't preventing Wolfspeed from being more cautious with its guidance. The company proffered estimates for both its current (fourth) quarter and for the entirety of its next fiscal year.
For the former period, it believes its top line will hit $212 million to $232 million, with a non-GAAP net loss of $0.17 to $0.23 per share. Both ranges compare unfavorably to the average analyst projections of almost $235 million and $0.12, respectively.
As for full-year 2024, the company is targeting $1 billion to $1.1 billion in revenue. Again, this is shy of pundit expectations; on average, analysts are estimating revenue of $1.2 billion.
