Shares of the Santa Clara, California-based company rose more
than 1% in trading before the bell.
The newly approved buyback scheme adds to its previous
authorization, which had $4.7 billion remaining at the end of
the first quarter of fiscal 2023, the company said.
Applied Materials said its board also approved a 23% increase in
its quarterly dividend, the largest in five years, to 32 cents
per share, up from 26 cents per share.
The semiconductor industry has been facing a downturn in demand
for chips used in personal computers and mobile devices,
although, in a bright spot, demand from data center and
automotive sectors has been steady.
Last month, Applied Materials forecast quarterly revenue that
was largely above analysts' expectations as it benefited from
resilient demand for its tools used to make chips for the
automotive and artificial intelligence industries.
Applied Materials said its services business has become larger
and more subscription-based helping its revenue and
profitability become more predictable.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio
D'Souza)
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