Applied Materials (AMAT) announced a profit drop of 47% over the year ago quarter after the bell today, but it was enough to beat analyst expectations of .14/share as the company posted .18/share.  Revenue was also weak, dropping 14% from the year ago quarter but it too beat analyst estimates.  However, the stock dropped a bit after hours on news that the company is guiding lower for Q1 and sees EPS at flat to .04/share vs the street view of .14.  The company kept the bad news flowing and also announced it’s cutting 12% of its workforce and temporarily halting its buyback program. 

“The last six weeks of turmoil in the financial markets is unprecedented. The weakening global economy will have significant impact on all of Applied’s businesses.  To date, the macroeconomic liquidity issues have had less immediate effect on our solar business. However, we expect a period of pullback and reassessment in early ’09,” said CEO Mike Splinter.