Wolfspeed's stock rallies as company notches smaller loss than expected

By Emily Bary

Silicon-carbide company also gives a better-than-expected outlook on the bottom line

Wolfspeed Inc. shares surged nearly 13% in after-hours trading Monday after the silicon-carbide company forecast a slimmer-than-expected loss for its ongoing quarter.

The company posted a fiscal first-quarter net loss of $402.7 million, or $3.22 a share, compared with a loss of $26.2 million, or 21 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

On an adjusted basis, Wolfspeed (WOLF) lost 53 cents a share, whereas it lost 24 cents a share a year before. The FactSet consensus was for a 67-cent loss per share.

Don't miss: Intel cheers foundry wins, AI traction, and its stock roars higher after earnings

"As part of expanding its production footprint to support expected growth, Wolfspeed is incurring significant factory start-up costs relating to facilities, the company is constructing or expanding that have not yet started revenue-generating production," the company said in its release. "These factory start-up costs have been and will be expensed as operating expenses in the statement of operations."

Revenue came in at $197.4 million, up from $189.4 million a year prior. Analysts tracked by FactSet were modeling $196.2 million.

Looking to the fiscal second quarter, the company models $192 million to $222 million in revenue, where analysts had been looking for $207.1 million. The company also anticipates an adjusted net loss from continuing operations of 56 cents a share to 70 cents a share, whereas the FactSet consensus was for a 69-cent loss per share.

See also: Chip stocks just got sent a big warning

"The market opportunity for silicon carbide stands at $6 billion today, up from $400 million just five years ago," Chief Executive Gregg Lowe said in a release. "This further validates our strategy to invest now to capitalize on the immense opportunities at-hand, and the significant opportunity in the future."

-Emily Bary

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-30-23 2022ET

Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.