Diodes Incorporated Shares Plunged: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Diodes Incorporated (NAS: DIOD) short-circuited today, with the stock plunging by as much as 20% after the company reported quarterly earnings yesterday.

So what: The maker of -- you guessed it -- diodes posted third-quarter sales of $160.6 million and earnings per share of $0.26. Both were below what the market was looking for, as the consensus estimates called for $164.5 million in revenue and earnings of $0.34 per share.

Now what: CEO Dr. Keh-Shew Lu attributed the miss to "broad weakness across global markets that began in May and accelerated throughout the third quarter." In response, the company took steps to reduce costs like delaying capital investments, freezing hiring, and reducing travel time. During the quarter, Diodes also continued to drive manufacturing productivity improvements at its China packaging facilities to maximize utilization.

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