Photronics Stock Gains After Q4 Results With Chip Crunch

The semiconductor industry is in a “renewed drive” amid the chip crunch to install more factory capacity at “the mature nodes” for automotive, industrial and IoT applications, and “as the chip market leads, the photomask market follows,” said Photronics CEO Peter Kirlin on a call Wednesday for fiscal Q4 ended Oct. 31. Photronics manufactures photomasks for producing chips and flat panels, and analysts view the company as a bellwether of semiconductor and display industry health. The company said Q1 revenue and profit may rise sequentially; Q4 revenue was $181.3 million, "the third consecutive quarterly record, up 6% sequentially and 21% year-over-year." The stock soared 26% higher Wednesday, closing at $17.91.