Lam Research Forecast in Focus After Negative Signals in Supply Chain
- Customer Taiwan Semiconductor trimmed capex forecast last week
- Supplier MKS Instruments revenue outlook missed estimates
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
When Lam Research Corp. reports fourth-quarter results tomorrow after the market close, investors may focus on the company’s forecast and supply-chain relationships after one of Lam’s top customers cut its capital spending guidance last week and one supplier forecast revenue that trailed estimates yesterday.
Last week, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which accounted for 16 percent of Lam’s third-quarter sales according to Bloomberg Supply Chain data, cut its 2018 capital spending forecast to $10 billion to $10.5 billion from its prior view of as much as $12 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor attributed the reduced capital spending outlay to "efficiency gains" that allow the integrated circuits maker to spend less on tools.