Chips mixed as sector digests earnings, awaits results from Intel

Semiconductor stocks were mixed on Thursday, as investors digested results from some of the industry's most notable companies and awaited results from Intel (NASDAQ:INTC).

STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) shares fell 10% after the European chipmaker issued a weaker-than-expected forecast for the coming quarter. The Netherlands-based chipmaker expects first quarter 2025 net revenue to be $2.51B at midpoint, compared to a consensus revenue estimate of $2.68B. STMicroelectronics' President and CEO Jean-Marc Chery said that for 2025, the company plans to invest between $2B and $2.3B in net capital expenditure.

Following the results, Citi analyst Andrew Gardiner said the print was in-line with consensus, but its guidance may have spooked investors, as STMicro did not provide a revenue outlook for 2025, amid a lack of visibility. Citi has a Buy rating and €30 price target on STMicro's shares.

Mobileye (NASDAQ:MBLY), which is partially owned by Intel, erased premarket losses and rose 1.3%, even as the company issued an outlook for 2025 that fell well short of estimates. Looking to next year, Mobileye expects sales to be between $1.69B and $1.81B, well below the $1.92B estimate.

Wolfspeed (NYSE:WOLF) shares fell 6% after the company reported mixed second-quarter results and guidance for the coming quarter.

Several investment firms cut their price targets on Wolfspeed, including Piper Sandler, which lowered its target to $10 from $18. Piper Sandler analyst Harsh Kumar said the company is going through a transition as it looks to realign its facilities to a lower level of revenue.

"While WOLF is seeing some traction in [electric vehicle] particularly in the U.S., we believe that it is not enough to transition the company to breakeven in the foreseeable future," Kumar wrote. "The interim CEO is doing a great job of reducing operating expenses, however start-up and underutilization costs are set to continue to hamper profitability efforts."

MaxLinear (MXL) shares tumbled 22% after it issued its fourth quarter results and a forecast. Looking ahead to the quarter in progress, the designer of communications systems-on-chip expects revenue ranging from $85M to $105M, with a midpoint of $95M more than the consensus estimate of $93.7M.

Western Digital (WDC) shares rose 3% after it offered up mixed second-quarter results, but provided investors with an update on its business split. Seagate Technologies (STX) and Micron (MU), which often trade in tandem with Western Digital, rose on the back of the results.

Semiconductor equipment firm Lam Research (LRCX) added more than 7% after it upped its third-quarter guidance and provided positive commentary on the NAND part of the memory market. Several analysts heaped praise on the company after its results.

Allegro MicroSystems (ALGM) shares gained 3% after its third-quarter earnings met the consensus and said it expects sales in its fiscal fourth-quarter to rise 4% sequentially.

Intel (INTC) shares rose fractionally in midday trading as investors awaited its quarterly results. A consensus of analysts expect the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company to earn $0.12 per share on $13.83B in revenue.

Nvidia (NVDA) and AMD (AMD), which compete against Intel, were mixed in midday trading.

Traders will also be looking at what Apple (AAPL) has to say about demand for its products, namely the iPhone, when it reports quarterly results after the end of trading. Apple suppliers, Qualcomm (QCOM), Qorvo (QRVO) and Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) were mixed in midday trading.