Let’s dig into the relative performance of Amkor (NASDAQ:AMKR) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q2 semiconductor manufacturing earnings season.

The semiconductor industry is driven by demand for advanced electronic products like smartphones, PCs, servers, and data storage. The need for technologies like artificial intelligence, 5G networks, and smart cars is also creating the next wave of growth for the industry. Keeping up with this dynamism requires new tools that can design, fabricate, and test chips at ever smaller sizes and more complex architectures, creating a dire need for semiconductor capital manufacturing equipment.

The 14 semiconductor manufacturing stocks we track reported a decent Q2. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 1.9% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 2.7% below.

Valuation multiples for many growth stocks have not yet reverted to their early 2021 highs, but the market was optimistic at the end of 2023 due to cooling inflation. This year has been a different story as mixed inflation signals have led to market volatility. However, semiconductor manufacturing stocks have held steady amidst all this with share prices up 1.5% on average since the latest earnings results.

Amkor (NASDAQ:AMKR)

Operating through a largely Asian facility footprint, Amkor Technologies (NASDAQ:AMKR) provides outsourced packaging and testing for semiconductors.

Amkor reported revenues of $1.46 billion, flat year on year. This print was in line with analysts’ expectations, and overall, it was a decent quarter for the company with a significant improvement in its gross margin but underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

“Amkor delivered second quarter results in line with expectations. Revenue of $1.46 billion was up 7% sequentially, driven by Advanced packaging supporting premium tier smartphones and AI solutions utilizing 2.5D technology,” said Giel Rutten, Amkor’s president and chief executive officer.

Unsurprisingly, the stock is down 12.3% since reporting and currently trades at $32.95.

Is now the time to buy Amkor? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Best Q2: Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI)

Headquartered in Israel, Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI) is a provider of quality control systems used in semiconductor manufacturing.

Nova reported revenues of $156.9 million, up 27.8% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 5.9%. It was an exceptional quarter for the company with an impressive beat of analysts’ EPS estimates and a significant improvement in its operating margin.

Nova pulled off the fastest revenue growth among its peers. The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 22.7% since reporting. It currently trades at $222.39.

Is now the time to buy Nova? Access our full analysis of the earnings results here, it’s free.

Weakest Q2: IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP)

Both a designer and manufacturer of its products, IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) is a provider of high-performance fiber lasers used for cutting, welding, and processing raw materials.

IPG Photonics reported revenues of $257.6 million, down 24.2% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

IPG Photonics posted the slowest revenue growth in the group. As expected, the stock is down 21.2% since the results and currently trades at $69.

Read our full analysis of IPG Photonics’s results here.

Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB)

Sporting a global footprint of facilities, Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) is a manufacturer of photomasks, templates used to transfer patterns onto semiconductor wafers.

Photronics reported revenues of $211 million, down 5.9% year on year, falling short of analysts’ expectations by 6.2%. More broadly, it was a weak quarter for the company with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a miss of analysts’ EPS estimates.

Photronics had the weakest performance against analyst estimates among its peers. The stock is up 7.4% since reporting and currently trades at $25.82.

Read our full, actionable report on Photronics here, it’s free.

Kulicke and Soffa (NASDAQ:KLIC)

Headquartered in Singapore, Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is a provider of production equipment and tools used to assemble semiconductor devices

Kulicke and Soffa reported revenues of $181.7 million, down 4.9% year on year, in line with analysts’ expectations. Revenue aside, it was a slower quarter for the company with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

The stock is up 10.3% since reporting and currently trades at $43.81.

Read our full, actionable report on Kulicke and Soffa here, it’s free.

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