Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ:CREE) shares took a nosedive as the company released its fiscal fourth-quarter report.
The lighting products manufacturer reportedly earned 19 cents on an adjusted basis for its most recent three-month period. The figure failed to meet Wall Street expectations of 20 cents per share in earnings.
Revenue proved to be a bright spot for the quarter at $388.4 million, topping the consensus estimate by $2.6 million. However, analyst sentiment for CREE stock lowered due to its earnings miss, with UBS Group AG (NYSE:UBS) downgrading shares from “neutral” to “sell.”
Cree sales fell 13% year-over-year due in part to the company’s continued decline in the lighting industry. Current and future quarters could be negatively impacted by structural issues in the company’s LED business.
First-quarter outlook seems grim, with Cree predicting earnings in the range of 10 cents to 16 cents per share for the period. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters call for earnings of 22 cents per share.
The company announced the sale of its Wolfspeed and RF brands to Infineon Technologies AG (OTCMKTS:IFNNY) for $850 million. This segment includes semiconductors designed to boost the energy, transportation and electronics markets, offering top-of-the-line bandwidth and efficiency.
Cree’s full-year earnings are slated to be 30 cents below estimates after Wolfspeed is officially no longer a part of the company. Slumping industry trends are slated to diminish earnings by about 14 cents per share for fiscal 2016.
CREE stock is down 14.7% Wednesday.
