(Reuters) – Chipmaking equipment supplier KLA Corp forecast its third-quarter revenue and profit above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, betting on robust demand for high-end chips that support artificial intelligence workload.
Shares of the Milpitas, California-based company rose 3.9% in extended trading.
Significant investments in high-performance computing chips from bellwether firms such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which is KLA’s biggest customer, are likely to boost orders for chipmaking tools.
KLA provides advanced equipment, process control software, and services for manufacturing wafers, integrated circuits and other semiconductor components across the U.S., Europe and Asia.
The company’s upbeat results came “despite navigating through the business impact of new U.S. government export controls released late in the quarter,” said CEO Rick Wallace.
Reuters had reported in December that the U.S. would launch its third crackdown in three years on China’s semiconductor industry, curbing exports to 140 companies.
KLA forecast its third-quarter revenue to be in a range of $3 billion, plus or minus $150 million. Analysts on average estimate $2.89 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The company also expects its adjusted per-share profit to be $8.05 plus or minus 60 cents for the quarter ending March, compared with estimates of $7.51.
KLA posted second-quarter revenue of $3.08 billion, in line with analysts’ expectation.
(Reporting by Priyanka.G in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
Comments