Investing.com -- Applied Materials reported Thursday fiscal second-quarter results that beat estimates, led by strong growth in China as the artificial intelligence wave continues to boost chip demand.
Applied Materials Inc (NASDAQ:AMAT) fell more than 1% in afterhours following the news.
Fro three months ended Apr. 28, adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.09, up from $2.00 from the prior year, while revenue rose to $6.65 billion from $6.63B. That was ahead of analyst expectations for EPS of $1.99 on revenue of $6.54B.
Sales in China more than doubled to $2.83B in Q2 from $1.41B in the same period a year earlier, while sales fell in the United States to $853M from $1.11B a year earlier.
Adjusted gross margin rose to 47.5% during the period from 46.8% a year earlier.
Looking ahead to fiscal Q3, the company projected fiscal second-quarter adjusted EPS in the range of $1.83 to $2.19 per share on sales of approximately $6.65B, plus or minus $400M. That compared with Wall Street estimates for adjusted earnings of $1.97 per share on $6.59B in revenue.