We entered Applied Materials (AMAT, Financial) at $20.31 after the Tokyo Electron deal fell apart, with a viewthat margin improvement through cost cutting and aggressive buybacks could lead to earningsoutperformance. Despite reasonable execution and lots of share repurchases, concerns aboutoverall spending levels in the semiconductor capital equipment space mattered more. The riskof a pending cyclical downturn caused us to exit at $18.21 with a small loss.
From David Einhorn (Trades, Portfolio)'s Green Light Capital fourth quarter 2015 shareholder letter.
