Wall Street punishes Wolfspeed after earnings news – stock plunges nearly 20%

DURHAM – Shares in Wolfspeed plunged nearly 20% Thursday after the company’s latest revenue projections didn’t meet Wall Street expectations.

“For the current quarter, Wolfspeed predicted an adjusted loss of 12 cents per share on sales of $225 million. That’s based on the midpoint of its guidance,” reported Investor’s Business Daily. “However, Wall Street had predicted a loss of a penny a share on sales of $252.5 million in the fiscal second quarter.”

Shares in the semiconductor firm closed down $19.38 to $87.06.

Wolfspeed (WOLF), which is gearing up to build a huge semiconductor plant in Chatham County, on Wednesday reported a loss of $26.2 million in its fiscal first quarter.

CEO Gregg Lowe pointed toward supply chain shortages as the sole reason the company’s performance didn’t meet expectations.

“Our near term revenue guidance is impacted solely by manufacturing and supply challenges in our current footprint, as our near term demand continues to grow and the long term demand continues to strengthen,” said Lowe in a statement. “As we enter this period of accelerated growth, we need to manage the near-term puts and takes as we position ourselves to take advantage of what we believe to be a multi-decade opportunity.”

On a per-share basis, the Durham, North Carolina-based company said it had a loss of 21 cents. Losses, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 4 cents per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 5 cents per share.

The chip maker posted revenue of $241.3 million in the period, which also beat Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $239.8 million.

For the current quarter ending in December, Wolfspeed expects its results to range from a loss of 16 cents per share to a loss of 8 cents per share.

The company said it expects revenue in the range of $215 million to $235 million for the fiscal second quarter.