Applied Materials Sees Poor Third Quarter

Updated from 4:39 p.m. ET

Chip equipment maker Applied Materials (AMAT Quote) missed its fiscal second-quarter earnings estimate by a penny Tuesday, earning 32 cents a share in the period ended April 29.

It also offered a gloomy outlook for the fiscal third quarter, saying earnings could slip to break even. But in after-hours trading the company's stock was hanging right around its regular-trading close of $49.89

The second-quarter earnings were less than half the 66 cents the company earned in the fiscal first quarter and were down from the 53 cents a share it earned a year earlier. The weaker results were due to a combination of lower sales and weaker profit margins, the company said. ...