Earnings To Watch: Photronics (PLAB) Reports Q1 Results Tomorrow

Semiconductor photomask manufacturer Photronics (NASDAQ:PLAB) will be announcing earnings results tomorrow before market hours. Here's what to look for.

Photronics missed analysts' revenue expectations by 1.7% last quarter, reporting revenues of $216.3 million, up 2.5% year on year. It was a weak quarter for the company, with a miss of analysts' EPS estimates and an increase in its inventory levels.

Is Photronics a buy or sell going into earnings? Read our full analysis here, it's free.

This quarter, analysts are expecting Photronics's revenue to be flat year on year at $231 million, slowing from the 12.1% increase it recorded in the same quarter last year. Adjusted earnings are expected to come in at $0.55 per share.

The majority of analysts covering the company have reconfirmed their estimates over the last 30 days, suggesting they anticipate the business to stay the course heading into earnings. Photronics has missed Wall Street's revenue estimates twice over the last two years.

Looking at Photronics's peers in the semiconductor manufacturing segment, some have already reported their Q1 results, giving us a hint as to what we can expect. Lam Research's revenues decreased 2% year on year, beating analysts' expectations by 1.7%, and KLA Corporation reported a revenue decline of 3%, topping estimates by 1.7%. Lam Research traded up 1.9% following the results while KLA Corporation was also up 4.7%.

Read our full analysis of Lam Research's results here and KLA Corporation's results here.

There has been positive sentiment among investors in the semiconductor manufacturing segment, with share prices up 17.1% on average over the last month. Photronics is up 12.9% during the same time and is heading into earnings with an average analyst price target of $32 (compared to the current share price of $28.99).

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