Earnings results often indicate what direction a company will take in the months ahead. With Q3 behind us, let’s have a look at Nova (NASDAQ: NVMI) and its peers.

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 very strong Q3. As a group, revenues beat analysts’ consensus estimates by 3.3% while next quarter’s revenue guidance was 0.6% below.

Luckily, semiconductor manufacturing stocks have performed well with share prices up 23.7% on average since the latest earnings results.

Nova (NASDAQ: NVMI)

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

Nova reported revenues of $224.6 million, up 25.5% year on year. This print exceeded analysts’ expectations by 1.5%. Overall, it was a satisfactory quarter for the company with a meaningful improvement in its inventory levels but adjusted operating income in line with analysts’ estimates.

Management Comments "Nova achieved record third-quarter results, with the highest ever sales in memory and advanced logic, driven by strong demand for our advanced metrology solutions in leading nodes and advanced packaging," said Gaby Waisman, President and CEO.

Interestingly, the stock is up 9.8% since reporting and currently trades at $375.76.

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

Best Q3: Teradyne (NASDAQ: TER)

Sporting most major chip manufacturers as its customers, Teradyne (NASDAQ: TER) is a US-based supplier of automated test equipment for semiconductors as well as other technologies and devices.

Teradyne reported revenues of $769.2 million, up 4.3% year on year, outperforming analysts’ expectations by 3.3%. The business had a stunning quarter with a solid beat of analysts’ adjusted operating income estimates and revenue guidance for next quarter exceeding analysts’ expectations.

The market seems happy with the results as the stock is up 50.8% since reporting. It currently trades at $217.74.

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

Weakest Q3: Entegris (NASDAQ: ENTG)

With fabs representing the company’s largest customer type, Entegris (NASDAQ: ENTG) supplies products that purify, protect, and generally ensure the integrity of raw materials needed for advanced semiconductor manufacturing.

Entegris reported revenues of $807.1 million, flat year on year, exceeding analysts’ expectations by 0.6%. Still, it was a slower quarter as it posted revenue guidance for next quarter missing analysts’ expectations significantly and EPS in line with analysts’ estimates.

Interestingly, the stock is up 4.6% since the results and currently trades at $98.91.

Read our full analysis of Entegris’s results here.

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 $177.6 million, down 2.1% year on year. This number surpassed analysts’ expectations by 4.4%. Overall, it was an exceptional quarter as it also put up a significant improvement in its inventory levels and a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates.

The stock is up 52.9% since reporting and currently trades at $53.98.

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

Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT)

Founded in 1967 as the first company to develop tools for other businesses in the semiconductor industry, Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) is the largest provider of semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment.

Applied Materials reported revenues of $6.8 billion, down 3.5% year on year. This print topped analysts’ expectations by 2.2%. Taking a step back, it was a satisfactory quarter as it also logged a beat of analysts’ EPS estimates but an increase in its inventory levels.

The stock is up 26% since reporting and currently trades at $281.88.

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

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