As the Q4 earnings season wraps, let's dig into this quarter's best and worst performers in the semiconductor manufacturing industry, including IPG Photonics (NASDAQ:IPGP) 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 mixed Q4; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 2.4%. while next quarter's revenue guidance was 5.6% below consensus. Stocks--especially those trading at higher multiples--had a strong end of 2023, but 2024 has seen periods of volatility. Mixed signals about inflation have led to uncertainty around rate cuts, but semiconductor manufacturing stocks have shown resilience, with share prices up 8.7% on average since the previous earnings results.

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 $298.9 million, down 10.4% year on year, topping analyst expectations by 4.3%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with a significant improvement in its inventory levels.

"Fourth quarter revenue came in at the top of our expectations with higher sales in welding, cleaning, 3D printing and medical applications. We also saw increased demand in e-mobility applications outside of China. This growth was offset by continued soft industrial demand across many major geographies and lower sales in e-mobility applications in China," said Dr. Eugene Scherbakov, IPG Photonics' Chief Executive Officer.

The stock is down 13.2% since the results and currently trades at $89.99.

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

Best Q4: Nova (NASDAQ:NVMI)

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

Nova reported revenues of $134.2 million, down 11.3% year on year, outperforming analyst expectations by 4.8%. It was a very strong quarter for the company, with an impressive beat of analysts' EPS estimates and a significant improvement in its inventory levels.

The stock is up 11% since the results and currently trades at $174.8.

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

Weakest Q4: 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 $171.2 million, down 2.9% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 0.5%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a decline in its operating margin.

The stock is down 3.1% since the results and currently trades at $48.7.

Read our full analysis of Kulicke and Soffa's results here.

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 $670.6 million, down 8.4% year on year, falling short of analyst expectations by 0.9%. It was a weaker quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a miss of analysts' revenue estimates.

The stock is up 4.6% since the results and currently trades at $109.35.

Read our full, actionable report on Teradyne here, it's free.

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC)

Formed by the 1997 merger of the two leading semiconductor yield management companies, KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is the leading supplier of equipment used to measure and inspect semiconductor chips.

KLA Corporation reported revenues of $2.49 billion, down 16.7% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 1.1%. It was a mixed quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter. On the other hand, KLAC exceeded analysts' revenue and EPS expectations during the quarter.

The stock is up 8.8% since the results and currently trades at $698.49.

Read our full, actionable report on KLA Corporation here, it's free.

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