KLA Corp Shares Dip Due to Disappointing Forecast and Intel's Weak Performance

KLA Corp (NASDAQ:KLAC) saw its stock price drop by over 6% on a recent Friday trading session, which was a direct outcome of the company's fiscal third-quarter revenue and earnings forecast not meeting Wall Street analysts' expectations.

Financial Forecasts Miss the Mark

KLA predicted that its total revenue for the upcoming fiscal third quarter will be in the range of $2.175 billion to $2.425 billion, a forecast that is short of the consensus figure of $2.46 billion expected by analysts. Furthermore, the company's earnings expectation of between $4.66 and $5.86 per share also fell below the midpoint figure of analyst consensus at $5.86 per share.

Despite the recent quarter's earnings exceeding estimations at $6.16 per share, which was $0.28 higher than the expected $5.88, and sales at $2.49 billion against the forecasted $2.46 billion, the future outlook provided by KLA led to the decline in stock value.

Intel's Struggles Weigh on the Semiconductor Sector

The semiconductor industry felt further pressure owing to Intel (INTC) outlining a weaker than anticipated outlook. Intel's projection of its first-quarter revenue to fall between $12.2 billion and $13.2 billion was significantly below the analyst consensus of $14.25 billion. Its expected earnings of an adjusted $0.13 per share also came in far lower than the anticipated $0.42 per share. Companies such as GlobalFoundries (GFS) also experienced stock repercussions from Intel's announcement.

Several analytical firms have downgraded their ratings for Intel, observing that its data center business is facing mounting challenges from competitors like Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD), as the market shifts its spending towards artificial intelligence technologies.

KLA, Intel, Stocks