Applied Materials, Palo Alto tumble as their earnings projections disappoint

Applied Materials (AMAT+1.10%) and Palo Alto Networks (PANW-3.10%) both fell in after-hours trading in New York on Thursday despite beating expectations for revenue and profit as their guidance for current-quarter earnings disappointed investors.

Sales at Applied will be about $7.1 billion in its fiscal second quarter, the company said, compared with analysts’ consensus for $7.22 billion, according to Bloomberg News. Projected profit of $2.30 a share matched expectations. The biggest U.S. producer of chip-making equipment also recorded a tax expense of $644 million in Singapore.

Palo Alto, a cybersecurity company, said profit in its fiscal third quarter will be 76 to 77 cents a share, compared with market consensus for 80 cents.