Applied Materials: Healthy Foundry Spending & Increased Adoption Of 3D NAND Can Drive Future Growth

Overall revenues came in at the lower end of the expectations as WFE (Wafer Fab Equipment) spending remained sluggish due to lower-than-expected sales of 200 mm equipment. During the entire year, weak foundry spending weighed heavily on the semiconductor tool division, but Applied sees significant revenue and gross margin improvement opportunities for fiscal 2016. The company believes that higher foundry spending, increased adoption of 3D NAND, strong TV demand in display and reduction in materi...