Applied Materials sees sales drop to a seven-year low

Applied Materials (AMAT) saw sales drop to their lowest level in seven years and posted its second straight quarterly loss.

Sales dropped 53 percent to $1.02 billion in the company's second quarter, which ended April 26. It had a loss of $255.4 million, or 19 cents a share, down from a profit of $302.5 million, the company said in a press release today.

Chip equipment sales may have reached a new low in the quarter and could have reached a bottom, yet the company could see a further decline in sales of its solar-panel production equipment.