Let's dig into the relative performance of Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) and its peers as we unravel the now-completed Q1 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 mixed Q1; on average, revenues beat analyst consensus estimates by 2.4%, while next quarter's revenue guidance was 5.6% below consensus. Inflation progressed towards the Fed's 2% goal at the end of 2023, leading to strong stock market performance. The start of 2024 has been a bumpier ride, as the market switches between optimism and pessimism around rate cuts due to mixed inflation data, but semiconductor manufacturing stocks have shown resilience, with share prices up 5.5% on average since the previous earnings results.

Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC)

Operating for more than 60 years, Semtech (NASDAQ:SMTC) is a provider of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors used for Internet of Things systems and cloud connectivity.

Semtech reported revenues of $192.9 million, up 15.2% year on year, topping analyst expectations by 1.2%. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a decline in its operating margin and a miss of analysts' EPS estimates.

"End market demand for our semiconductor business has progressed from stable to growing," said Paul H. Pickle, Semtech's president and chief executive officer.

The stock is up 20.5% since the results and currently trades at $33.15.

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

Best Q1: 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 11.1% since the results and currently trades at $174.99.

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

Weakest Q1: 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 6.5% since the results and currently trades at $47.01.

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

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 $1.75 billion, down 8.1% year on year, surpassing analyst expectations by 2.1%. It was a slower quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter.

The stock is down 0% since the results and currently trades at $32.3.

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

Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL)

Moving away from a low margin storage device management chips in one of the biggest semiconductor business model pivots of the past decade, Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) is a fabless designer of special purpose data processing and networking chips used by data centers, communications carriers, enterprises, and autos.

Marvell Technology reported revenues of $1.43 billion, flat year on year, in line with analyst expectations. It was a weak quarter for the company, with underwhelming revenue guidance for the next quarter and a miss of analysts' EPS estimates.

The stock is down 19.1% since the results and currently trades at $68.73.

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

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