After analyzing the applied materials sector in March 2020, we have concluded that tracking job postings data can provide you with actionable insights, making you see what others miss and act faster.
In early to mid-March a number of active job postings for AMAT began to disappear, declining from around 1,600 to approximately 1,300 – roughly a 20% reduction. That would be our red flag.
It wasn’t until March 19 that we saw the first of the 20 analysts citing the potential impact of COVID-19 and lowering the mean revenue estimate.