Why Marvell Technology Stock Is Plummeting Today

The stock of Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) is getting hit with big sell-offs on Thursday following the company's recent earnings report. The semiconductor specialist's share price was down 17.4% as of noon ET today.

Marvell published its fourth-quarter results after the market closed yesterday, and its stock is seeing big sell-offs even though the business posted sales, earnings, and forward guidance that came in ahead of the average Wall Street targets. Sell-offs for Marvell after earnings are also triggering valuation pullbacks for other artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks.

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Marvell stock sinks despite a strong Q4

In most respects, Marvell overdelivered relative to expectations with its fourth quarter report. The business posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.60 on sales of $1.82 billion, which beat the average analyst target for EPS of $0.59 on revenue of $1.8 billion.

Revenue increased 27.3% year over year in the period, with the strong performance driven by 78% growth for data center products. Adjusted EPS was up 33.3%, and the business recorded an adjusted gross margin of 60.1%.

But despite sales and earnings beats in the fourth quarter, it looks like some investors were anticipating even better performance surprises.

What's next for Marvell?

Marvell's guidance also topped the average Wall Street forecast -- but apparently not by enough for investors today. The company guided for sales of about $1.875 billion, topping the average forecast of $1.87 billion. Management also expects that its adjusted gross margin will come in at roughly 60% for the period.

By normal standards, Marvell's fourth quarter results and guidance were far from bad. But today's big sell-off highlights that the market is struggling with how to value growth-dependent tech stocks amid macroeconomic and geopolitical risks.

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Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Marvell Technology. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.