HILLSBORO, Ore. (AP) ? TriQuint Semiconductor Inc.’s shares plunged 20 percent late Wednesday after the wireless chip maker said it is facing “short-term headwinds” that are unlikely to let up until the end of the year.
The company raised the red flag in its second-quarter earnings report.
Although TriQuint’s earnings matched analyst estimates, the company’s revenue fell slightly below the forecasts that steer investors.
Even more troubling, management’s outlook for the current quarter fell well below analyst projections.
“Despite short-term headwinds, TriQuint’s long-term growth story remains intact,” TriQuint CEO Ralph Quinsey said. He predicted TriQuint would deliver a strong financial performance during the final three months of the year.
Quinsey’s confidence didn’t reassure investors. TriQuint’s shares plummeted $2.05 to $8.16 in extended trading after the numbers came out.
TriQuint earned $16.6 million, or 10 cents per share, in the three months ending July 2. That represented a 26 percent decrease from net income of $22.5 million, or 14 cents per share, at the same time last year.
If not for certain items unrelated to the company’s ongoing business, TriQuint said it would have earned 17 cents per share in the period. That figure matched the average estimate among analysts polled by FactSet.
Revenue rose 10 percent from last year to $229 million, but missed the $235 million target set by analysts.
Excluding certain items, TriQuint expects its earnings per share in the third quarter to range from 16 cents to 18 cents on revenue of $225 million to $235 million. Analysts had been hoping for earnings of 25 cents per share on revenue of $265.5 million.
TriQuint indicated it was being hurt by weakening sales of chips for mobile phones running on 2G networks as the shift to faster networks accelerates.
