Applied Materials, Inc. provides materials engineering solutions, equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor and related industries across the United States, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and other international markets. The company operates through two segments: Semiconductor Systems and Applied Global Services (AGS). Semiconductor Systems supplies capital equipment for materials engineering steps such as etch, rapid thermal processing, deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, metrology and inspection, wafer packaging, and ion implantation. AGS offers integrated solutions to optimize equipment and fab performance and productivity, including spares, upgrades, services, 200 millimeter and other equipment, and factory automation software for semiconductors and other products. It serves manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and chips and other electronic devices. Applied Materials, Inc. was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
KLA Lifts Calendar 2026 WFE Market Estimate to Low-$150 Billion Range
KLA Corporation is benefiting from accelerating artificial intelligence infrastructure spending, which is driving higher investments in leading-edge foundry and logic technologies and boosting demand for its process-control solutions. In fiscal 2026, the Semiconductor Process Control segment's revenues increased 12% year over year, and overall fiscal 2026 revenues rose 12% year over year to $13.58 billion. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026, management raised its calendar 2026 wafer-fabrication equipment market estimate, including advanced packaging, to the low-$150 billion range, up from its previous $140 billion-plus view and approximately $120 billion in calendar 2025. KLAC expects second-half 2026 revenues to be approximately 20% higher than the first half, aided by high-performance computing, high-bandwidth memory, increasing extreme ultraviolet adoption in DRAM and advanced packaging technologies such as hybrid bonding, and said backlog was expected to reach about $12.5 billion. The company faces intensifying competition from Applied Materials, which expects its process diagnostics and control business to grow more than 50% in calendar 2026, and from ASML, which expects advanced foundry and logic revenues to rise about 25% in 2026 and extreme ultraviolet revenues to increase roughly 45%.
ASML Installed Base Sales Jump 31.8% as EUV Service Demand Grows
ASML Holding N.V. is riding strong momentum in its Installed Base Management business, which generated 2.8 billion euros in sales in the second quarter, up 31.8% year over year and about €300 million above management's expectations. The business benefits from the large and expanding fleet of ASML systems already operating at semiconductor manufacturers, and continued expansion of the EUV installed base is increasing the company's overall service opportunity. Demand is being driven not only by fleet expansion but also by software-led upgrades that improve productivity without significant machine time or production disruption. ASML expects to ship about 65 Low-NA EUV systems in 2026, with EUV revenue projected to rise roughly 45%, and management expects the combination of upgrade and service revenue to drive more than 30% growth in Installed Base Management sales in 2026. Sustaining that pace will depend on continued semiconductor investment and customer demand. Elsewhere in the semiconductor space, Monolithic Power Systems is gaining content across AI infrastructure and has extended its capacity goal beyond $6 billion, while Applied Materials delivered a record third quarter on the rapid global build-out of AI infrastructure.
Applied Materials Bets $5 Billion on India Semiconductor Buildout
Applied Materials is committing $5 billion over a decade to India's semiconductor push, a bet on research, suppliers and talent that Reuters reported Thursday. The spending plan works out to roughly $500 million a year and targets the infrastructure India still needs to become a serious chip-manufacturing hub. India expects semiconductor consumption to reach $110 billion by 2030, up from roughly $45 billion to $50 billion in 2025, but only three packaging plants are operating and a large-scale fabrication ecosystem has yet to fully emerge. For Applied, the annualized commitment equals only about 1.4% of revenue based on its record $9.12 billion quarterly sales, leaving room to build an early position without letting India dominate capital allocation. The shares traded around $416.40, up roughly 0.3%, and GuruFocus data shows the market price sitting 68.39% above GF Value of $247.28.
Bank of America Forecasts Semiconductor Market Nearly Doubling to $3.2 Trillion by 2030
Bank of America forecasts the global semiconductor market will nearly double to $3.2 trillion by 2030 from $1.7 trillion in 2026, citing AI infrastructure, memory and data-center demand that remains far stronger than recent fears suggest. Analysts led by Vivek Arya wrote that despite rising concerns about a potential AI infrastructure and investment slowdown, they see no signs of slowing in customer orders, long-term agreements, capacity commitments or semiconductor pricing. The bank pointed to Nvidia B200 rental pricing at $5.72 per hour, up consistently over the past two months and less than 10% below its March peak of roughly $6.10, while AMD has also indicated it is not seeing weakening customer orders. Within the total, memory is expected to remain the biggest growth engine, with sales rising to $1.8 trillion by 2030 from $937 billion in 2026, core semiconductors projected to increase to $1.35 trillion from $739 billion, server-related sales jumping to $848 billion from $359 billion, and wafer-fabrication-equipment spending more than doubling to $359.8 billion from $155.9 billion. BofA sees Nvidia and AMD as resilient compute plays, Marvell in networking, and Analog Devices and onsemi in analog, while Micron, Lam Research, Applied Materials and Intel could also outperform if sector momentum improves; the key risk is whether hyperscalers eventually slow AI capital spending.
Applied Materials AGS Revenue Hits Record $1.78 Billion, Up 22%
Applied Materials' Applied Global Services business posted record revenue of $1.78 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, up 22% year over year, with operating margin improving 280 basis points. Management said customers are bringing new fabs online while optimizing existing facilities, and more than 37,000 chambers are now connected to Applied Materials' AIx software for AI-powered monitoring, diagnostics and predictive analytics. The company added more than 1,500 manufacturing and AGS support employees in the quarter and plans to double quarterly system output from current levels by 2028, with further capacity additions through 2030. Customers are providing longer-term forecasts that support AGS revenue growth of more than 20% in 2026 and a sustainable mid-teens annual rate over the longer term, and Applied Materials expects AGS revenue of approximately $1.84 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026. Applied Materials expects non-GAAP earnings of $4.02 per share, plus or minus 20 cents, for 85% year-over-year growth at the midpoint, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate points to 86.6% growth.
Global AI-Linked Stocks Plunge as Industry Leaders Call for Slower Development
AI-related stocks plunged across global equity markets on the 14th, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling 5.9%. On the 12th, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called on companies to slow the pace of development amid growing concerns about AI misuse, and xAI's Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said they agreed with him. Altman also disclosed that OpenAI will not hold an initial public offering this year, citing safety concerns. Semiconductor stocks led a global selloff, with Nvidia down 3.4%, Advanced Micro Devices down 4.4%, Micron Technology down 5.3%, Lam Research down 8.3%, Applied Materials down 7.1%, and Bloom Energy down 6.8%; in Asian markets, SoftBank Group plunged more than 10%, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and SK Hynix also declined. Some voices, however, are not taking the warnings at face value: Michael Burry posted on X that such warnings are hype and bluster, Morgan Stanley forecast that AI-related investment will exceed 1.3 trillion dollars by 2027, and Deutsche Bank indicated it is hard to imagine companies voluntarily pausing. Anthropic is expected to list as early as October and is in talks to bring Nvidia in as an anchor investor.
Applied Materials Forecasts First $10 Billion Quarter This Fall
Applied Materials is guiding toward its first-ever $10 billion revenue quarter, with management setting a midpoint of $10.25 billion, plus or minus $500 million, for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2026, which runs through late October. That midpoint sits about 51% above the year-ago period, when fiscal fourth-quarter revenue fell 3% to $6.80 billion. The guidance range bottoms out at $9.75 billion, so management's own forecast leaves room to fall short of the milestone. The company's fiscal third quarter, ended July 26, was itself record-setting, with revenue rising 25% year over year to $9.12 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share reaching a record $3.50, up 41%. Management has beaten its own guidance all year, and CEO Gary Dickerson said in the fiscal third-quarter earnings release that based on increased demand visibility from customers, the company expects another strong growth year in 2027. Applied guided fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share to $4.02, plus or minus $0.20, up about 85% from the year-ago quarter's $2.17, and shares trade around $462, down about 38% from their 52-week high of $739.67.
Cramer Calls Applied Materials a Long-Term Buy as CEO Flags 40% Growth
Jim Cramer told a Mad Money caller on September 9 that he would go beyond holding Applied Materials and make it a long-term buy, citing CEO Gary Dickerson's interview with David Faber that day. Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference on September 9, Dickerson said Applied's semiconductor equipment business was approaching 40% revenue growth in 2026, up from forecasts of more than 20% in February and more than 30% in May, driven largely by AI and data-center demand, with agentic AI identified as a major 2026 driver. Dickerson said the company has an eight-quarter rolling forecast and customer commitments extending through 2030, and that growth in 2027 would be strong and growth beyond 2027 very strong, though he gave no specific 2027 figure. Applied Materials' fiscal third-quarter revenue rose 25% year over year to a record $9.12 billion, while GAAP EPS increased 43% to $3.17. The stock closed at $468.85 on September 9, a 26.25 forward P/E, with China at $2.506 billion, or 28% of fiscal third-quarter revenue, down from 35% a year earlier, and the company recorded a $253 million charge tied to a settlement with the U.S. Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security over export-controls compliance. Hedge fund holders of Applied Materials numbered 137 in the second quarter versus 138 in the first, and short interest stood at approximately 1.5% of the float.
Applied Materials Posts Record Q2 Revenue of $9.12 Billion, Up 24.8%
Applied Materials reported quarterly revenues of $9.12 billion, up 24.8% year on year, exceeding analysts' expectations by 0.9%, as the 14 semiconductor manufacturing stocks tracked by the report delivered a very strong Q2 in which group revenues beat consensus estimates by 3.5% and next quarter's revenue guidance came in 6.5% above. President and CEO Gary Dickerson called it another record-breaking quarter with the highest sequential revenue growth in the company's history, citing significant improvement in inventory levels and next-quarter revenue guidance above analysts' expectations, though the stock is down 15.3% since reporting and trades at $453.00. Among peers, Kulicke and Soffa posted the group's fastest growth with revenues of $330.4 million, up 123% year on year and 5.7% above expectations, yet its stock is down 11.7% at $82.90, while KLA Corporation, the weakest of the group, reported revenues of $3.66 billion, up 15.2% and 1.3% above expectations, with its stock down 7.3% at $176.86. FormFactor reported revenues of $258.2 million, up 31.9% and 7.6% above expectations, with its stock up 34.7% at $112.38, and Lam Research reported revenues of $6.72 billion, up 30% year on year, meeting expectations, with its stock up 17.8% at $297.23.
Applied Materials has been drawing heavy investor attention after Zacks Investment Research assigned the chipmaking equipment maker a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), citing upward revisions to analyst earnings estimates. The company is expected to post earnings of $4.05 per share for the current quarter, a year-over-year change of +86.6%, with the Zacks Consensus Estimate rising +13.3% over the last 30 days. For the current fiscal year, the consensus earnings estimate of $12.76 points to a change of +35.5% from the prior year, while the next fiscal year's estimate of $18.28 indicates a change of +43.3%. Revenue forecasts call for $10.29 billion in the current quarter, up +51.3% year over year, with current and next fiscal year estimates of $34.21 billion and $45.69 billion, representing changes of +20.6% and +33.6%. In its last reported quarter, Applied Materials posted revenues of $9.12 billion, up +24.8% year over year, and EPS of $3.5 versus $2.48 a year earlier, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $9 billion by +1.31% on revenue and by +3.55% on EPS, and the company has topped consensus EPS and revenue estimates in each of the trailing four quarters. Despite the strong estimate momentum, Applied Materials carries a Zacks Value Style Score of D, indicating it trades at a premium to its peers.
JPMorgan Names KLA Top Chip-Equipment Pick, Lifts WFE Forecasts
JPMorgan raised its forecasts for the wafer fabrication equipment market and named KLA as its top pick among U.S. chip-equipment makers in a note to clients on Friday. Analyst Mio Shikanai lifted the bank's WFE market growth estimates to 31% for 2026, taking the market to $163 billion, 38% for 2027 at $225 billion and 17% for 2028 at $263 billion, a 28% compound annual growth rate over 2025 to 2028. Shikanai said cloud service providers are accelerating their investments in response to further growth in AI-related demand, with spending by the top four U.S. players seen growing at a 58% annual rate through 2028. DRAM memory and TSMC drove the upgrade, with the analyst expecting memory supply to lag demand even in 2028 and TSMC's leading-edge capacity to stay above 100% utilization. Shikanai said she sees the most attractive risk/reward in KLA given its relative underperformance year to date, underappreciated exposure to foundry and logic-led WFE spending in 2027, and potential for upward revisions to consensus revenue estimates, noting KLA shares are up about 50% this year but have lagged peers Lam Research and Applied Materials, up roughly 85% and 82%, respectively.
Micron Q2 Revenue Jumps 346% to $41.46 Billion, Beating Estimates
Micron reported quarterly revenues of $41.46 billion, up 346% year on year and 14.3% above analysts' expectations, the fastest revenue growth among the 40 semiconductors stocks tracked in the group's Q2 review. The company also beat analysts' EPS and operating income estimates, prompting Chairman, President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra to call the results record fiscal Q3 financials with an even stronger outlook for Q4, reflecting the strategic value of memory in the AI era. Across the group, the 40 semiconductors stocks tracked reported revenues that beat consensus estimates by 3.7%, with next quarter's revenue guidance 6.2% above expectations, and share prices have held roughly steady on average since the latest earnings results. Micron's stock is down 2.1% since reporting and currently trades at $1,026. Among peers, Monolithic Power Systems reported revenues of $980.6 million, up 47.6% year on year and 8.6% above expectations, with its stock down 8.6% since reporting at $1,203, while Himax reported revenues of $227.4 million, up 5.9% and 2% above expectations, with its stock up 5% at $14.02. Applied Materials reported revenues of $9.12 billion, up 24.8% and 0.9% above expectations, with its stock down 12.3% at $468.65, and Western Digital reported revenues of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% and 0.9% above expectations, with its stock down 7% at $482.68.
Applied Materials, Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share on the company's common stock, payable on Dec. 10, 2026 to shareholders of record as of Nov. 19, 2026. The dividend follows a 15-percent increase in the quarterly payout, from $0.46 to $0.53, announced in March 2026, which marked nine consecutive years of dividend increases and an 18 percent compound annual growth rate in dividend per share over the past decade. Over the past 10 fiscal years, the company has distributed nearly 90 percent of free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. In the third quarter of fiscal 2026, Applied distributed $860 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, and it had approximately $12.8 billion remaining in its share repurchase authorization at the end of the period.
Maybank partners with KTB to launch DR80 capturing 3 global megatrends
Maybank, in partnership with Krungthai Bank, has launched a new set of DR80 depositary receipts, which are now available for trading. These cover three investment megatrends: the industries of the future, the growth of AI, and investment opportunities in China. DR80s are instruments representing rights to foreign securities, allowing Thai investors to access leading global companies through the Stock Exchange of Thailand. Under the future industries theme, the DRs include Airbus and Palantir Technologies. The AI Supercycle theme comprises Ajinomoto, Applied Materials, and Intel. Meanwhile, the China theme features index-linked DRs such as CH30080, CHAI80, CHNEXT80, and CHSTAR5080. This initiative reflects Maybank and Krungthai's commitment to expanding investment opportunities into the global market.
Qualcomm-AWS Deal and Chip Milestones Boost Semiconductor Stocks
Shares of Applied Materials, AMD, Broadcom, Lam Research, and Marvell Technology surged in afternoon trading after Qualcomm announced a multi-generational collaboration with Amazon Web Services to develop custom AI data center chips, and ASML, TSMC, and Intel revealed key advancements in next-generation chip manufacturing. Qualcomm's partnership with AWS focuses on co-designing custom AI chips for high-performance inference and data center workloads, aiming to cut operating costs and improve energy efficiency. At the SPIE Photomask conference, ASML and TSMC launched an initiative to transition from 6-inch to 12-inch photomasks, targeting a pilot line by 2031 and full production by 2033, which would reduce costs and boost output for advanced AI processors. Additionally, Intel Foundry and ASML confirmed that Intel has processed over one million wafers on its Intel 18A node using High NA EUV equipment. These developments boosted investor confidence in sub-2-nanometer chip designs and AI infrastructure, with Applied Materials up 3.4%, AMD up 6.5%, Broadcom up 3.3%, Lam Research up 4.2%, and Marvell Technology up 3.3%.
Applied Materials Sees AI Driving Equipment Demand Higher
Applied Materials said AI investment is lifting semiconductor equipment demand, with customer spending forecasts rising and cloud providers' capital expenditures expected to exceed $700 billion in the U.S. and approach $1 trillion globally. CFO Brice Hill said at Citi's 2026 Global TMT Conference that the company's rolling eight-quarter forecasts from its largest customers, particularly DRAM and leading-edge logic manufacturers, have increased throughout the year. Advanced packaging is a major growth area, with revenue expected to grow more than 70% this year after generating $1.4 billion last year. DRAM is entering a significant greenfield expansion cycle, with the industry adding roughly 400,000 wafer starts per month this year and similar additions expected over the next several years. Services revenue is growing more than 20%, and process diagnostics and control is expected to grow more than 50%, driven by chip complexity and AI-enabled tools.
Applied Materials Reports Record Revenue Jump on AI Chip Demand
Applied Materials reported its biggest quarter-over-quarter revenue jump in history, with revenue climbing to $9.12 billion, up 25% year over year, and non-GAAP earnings per share jumping 41% to $3.50. The company says demand for advanced chips is running ahead of supply, with customers providing rolling eight-quarter forecasts and more than 10 new fab projects announced in the quarter. DRAM revenue grew 52% year over year to a record, and advanced packaging is projected to grow more than 70% in calendar 2026. Applied added Broadcom as an EPIC innovation partner, bringing its total to 11, and non-GAAP gross margin reached 50.4%, marking the 13th straight quarter of year-over-year expansion. Guidance for the next quarter calls for revenue of $10.25 billion, a 51% increase from a year earlier, but CFO Brice Hill noted the tax rate will rise to roughly 13% in 2027 due to the global minimum tax, and the company hired over 1,500 people this quarter, with fiscal first quarter of 2027 running 14 weeks instead of 13. China still accounted for 28% of total revenue, and hedge fund interest held flat at 137 funds, with short interest at 1.50% of the float.
Applied Materials Appoints Qualcomm CFO Akash Palkhiwala to Board
Applied Materials has appointed Akash Palkhiwala, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of Qualcomm Incorporated, to its board of directors, effective immediately. Palkhiwala, who has also been named to the board's Audit Committee, brings extensive financial and operational leadership experience in the computing and technology industry. Chairman Tom Iannotti praised Palkhiwala's track record in finance and his decades of semiconductor industry experience, saying he will strengthen the board during Applied Materials' next phase of growth. Palkhiwala has served as Qualcomm's CFO since 2019 and COO since 2024, and previously held various finance roles at Qualcomm since 2001, as well as a private equity analyst position at KeyBank.
KLA Sees Advanced Packaging Revenue Surge, Faces Rivals
KLA is benefiting from accelerating demand for advanced packaging driven by AI and high-performance computing, with the company expecting its advanced packaging process-control systems revenues to reach approximately $1.1 billion in calendar 2026, representing growth of more than 70% year over year. The company's broad portfolio, including wafer inspection and metrology systems and chemistry process-control systems, positions it to capture spending across multiple stages of advanced packaging, while HPC packaging and integration are also driving demand in its Specialty Process and PCB and Component Inspection businesses, with these combined products expected to grow more than 25% in calendar 2026. However, KLA faces tough competition from Onto Innovation and Applied Materials, with Onto raising its 2026 advanced packaging growth outlook to approximately 80% and securing more than $200 million of Dragonfly orders from a single OSAT, and Applied Materials expecting its process diagnostics and control business to grow more than 50% in 2026. KLA shares have jumped 50.9% year to date, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector's return of 15.4%, but the stock is overvalued with a forward 12-month price/sales of 13.05X compared with the sector's 6.32X. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2027 earnings is pegged at $5.43 per share, up 7.1% over the past 30 days, suggesting 44.41% growth from fiscal 2026, and KLA currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Applied Materials Faces Growing China Risk from Domestic Equipment Push
Reports that Shanghai Aishengna Electronic Technology Group has begun producing immersion DUV systems sent shares of ASML Holding (ASML) down sharply, but the immediate threat to Applied Materials (AMAT) is overstated. Applied Materials does not make lithography systems; a Chinese immersion DUV machine competes directly with ASML, not with Applied Materials' deposition, etch, and other systems. However, China's directive requiring semiconductor manufacturers to use at least 50% domestically produced equipment when adding new capacity pressures Applied Materials' $4.2 billion annual China revenue. In fiscal Q1 2026, China accounted for $2.095 billion, or 29.9% of total revenue, and in Q2, $2.087 billion, or 26.4%. Six major Chinese equipment suppliers saw combined sales surge from $748 million in 2020 to $7.608 billion in 2025, and CXMT, a key DRAM maker, sources an estimated 40% to 50% of its tools domestically, potentially overtaking Micron in physical wafer capacity by 2030. While five initial DUV systems are too few to impact 2026 earnings, the longer-term risk is that China's domestic equipment ecosystem reduces Applied Materials' addressable market over several years.
Applied Materials' AGS Business Hits Record Revenue, Growth Expected to Continue
Applied Materials' Applied Global Services (AGS) business generated a record $1.78 billion in revenues in the third quarter of fiscal 2026, up 22% year over year, driven by subscription services and strong parts demand. The segment delivered a 35.6% gross margin and a 30.1% operating margin, up 180 and 280 basis points, respectively. Management expects AGS revenues to grow more than 20% in 2026 and sustain a mid-teens annual growth rate long term, as semiconductor fabs run at high utilization and seek to improve yields. Applied Materials shares have surged 86.8% year to date, and the company holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Guinness Global Innovators Fund highlighted KLA Corporation as a notable contributor in its second-quarter 2026 investor letter. The fund holds three semiconductor equipment manufacturers, which were its top performers over the quarter: Applied Materials up 111.8% in USD, KLA up 105.2%, and Lam Research up 103.0%. KLA, the leader in process control and yield management, continues to play a critical role as semiconductor manufacturing becomes increasingly complex, with demand for its inspection and metrology tools structurally supported by the transition to advanced nodes, high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging. The fund returned 13.8% in GBP for the quarter, compared with 13.0% for the MSCI World Index and 13.1% for the IA Global sector average.
Hedge funds and mutual funds split on AI trade, Goldman says
Hedge funds and mutual funds took sharply different approaches to individual AI stocks during the second quarter, according to Goldman Sachs. Hedge funds bought Microsoft and Amazon while mutual funds reduced positions in both, and hedge funds cut exposure to Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, Broadcom, Lam Research, Marvell Technology, Cisco Systems, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Applied Materials. Mutual funds bought Advanced Micro Devices, Micron Technology and Sandisk while hedge funds reduced exposure to those stocks. Goldman identified 12 AI infrastructure stocks purchased by both groups, including American Electric Power, Bloom Energy, CoreWeave, Flex, NiSource, Seagate Technology, Talen Energy and Xcel Energy. The analysis covers 991 hedge funds with $5.4 trillion of gross equity positions and 504 large-cap active mutual funds with $4.6 trillion in equity assets.
Applied Materials Beats Estimates but Shares Fall as Lam Research Rises
Applied Materials reported fiscal third-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates on revenue and adjusted profit, yet its shares fell nearly 5% in after-hours trading and kept sliding into August 14, 2026, while rival Lam Research saw its stock rise 6% after its own stronger-than-expected results on July 29, 2026. Applied Materials posted adjusted earnings of $3.50 a share versus the $3.40 expected and revenue up 25% year over year to $9.12 billion, topping the roughly $9 billion forecast, and guided fourth-quarter revenue to about $10.25 billion, above the $9.55 billion analysts expected. Investors punished the stock because they wanted clearer proof the company is outpacing rivals rather than falling behind them, with Summit Insights Group noting Applied's topline has lagged peers including ASML and Lam Research, and Morgan Stanley calling the quarter good but not great. Lam Research forecast first-quarter revenue of $8.10 billion, well above the $7.09 billion expected, and adjusted earnings of $2.15 a share versus the $1.83 Wall Street expected, and its prior quarter also beat with revenue of $6.72 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.82 a share. Applied Materials trades at 32.14 times forward earnings, a discount to Lam's 34.59 times, KLA's 36.85 times, and ASML's 33.39 times, and a $220 million unrealized investment loss dragged GAAP earnings per share below estimates even as the adjusted figure beat.
Shares of Marvell Technology, FormFactor, and Applied Materials jumped in afternoon trading after Bloomberg reported that Anthropic told prospective investors its second-quarter revenue surged more than 14-fold to over $11.5 billion, up from $787 million a year earlier and $4.73 billion in the first quarter. The AI company also posted positive adjusted operating income for the first time, though Bloomberg noted the figures could still be revised. Reuters separately reported that Anthropic is projecting 2028 revenue of roughly $190 billion to $200 billion, fueling gains in memory and storage names. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told The Wall Street Journal the Trump administration opposes Apple buying Chinese memory chips, a stance that would benefit Micron, Samsung, and SK hynix. Marvell Technology rose 5.8%, FormFactor gained 5.4%, and Applied Materials climbed 5.9%.
Applied Materials Posts Record Revenue Yet Stock Falls 5%
Applied Materials reported record fiscal third-quarter results, with revenue up 25% year over year to $9.1 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share up 41% to a record $3.50. The company guided fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to $10.25 billion, plus or minus $500 million, implying 51% year-over-year growth at the midpoint, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $4.02, up 85%. Despite the record results and strong guidance, shares fell about 5% in after-hours trading, leaving the stock more than 25% below its 52-week high of $739.67. Management attributed the growth to the artificial intelligence build-out, with leading-edge chipmaking, DRAM, and advanced packaging expected to represent about 80% of wafer fab equipment market growth in 2026 and 2027. The company also said it expects China revenue to increase this calendar year and plans to distribute 80% to 100% of free cash flow, with $12.8 billion remaining on its buyback authorization.
Applied Materials Beats Q2 Estimates, Raises Guidance on AI Demand
Applied Materials reported better-than-expected second-quarter results, with revenue up 24.8% year over year to $9.12 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.50, beating analyst estimates. The company also issued strong guidance for the next quarter, projecting revenue of $10.25 billion at the midpoint, which is 6.1% above analyst expectations. Management attributed the outperformance to robust demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, particularly in leading-edge logic and DRAM for AI infrastructure, as well as strength in advanced packaging and services. CEO Gary Dickerson highlighted that customers have found new ways to address clean room space constraints and significantly increase their demand for tool deliveries. Despite the positive results, the stock traded down from $540.01 before earnings to $507.81, reflecting a cautious market reaction.
Applied Materials Posts Record Q3 Results on AI Demand
Applied Materials reported record fiscal third-quarter revenue of $9.11 billion, up 25% from a year earlier and above estimates of $8.99 billion, while adjusted earnings per share of $3.50 beat the $3.38 consensus. Non-GAAP operating margin rose 3.3 percentage points to 34%, and free cash flow increased 14% to $2.33 billion. The company guided fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to approximately $10.25 billion and adjusted EPS to $4.02, both above Wall Street expectations, and expects advanced-packaging revenue to grow more than 70% in calendar 2026. Despite the strong results, shares fell 5% on Friday after roughly doubling year to date.
Shares of Entegris, Penguin Solutions, Seagate, Applied Materials, and KLA Corporation soared in afternoon trading after upbeat earnings and bullish forecasts from key AI industry players signaled robust demand for artificial intelligence technology. Super Micro Computer jumped after its earnings per share came in 84% higher than expected and it provided a revenue forecast that topped estimates, while CoreWeave rallied after its sales forecast also exceeded expectations. The positive sentiment spread globally, with Asian markets gaining as traders bought AI- and semiconductor-related shares, supported by a reported 155% year-over-year surge in South Korea's semiconductor exports for early August. Entegris jumped 6.1%, Penguin Solutions rose 4.7%, Seagate climbed 7.2%, Applied Materials gained 5%, and KLA Corporation advanced 4.2%.
Bank of America lowered its price target on Applied Materials to $650 from $720 while keeping a Buy rating, citing slower sequential growth and a flatter margin outlook. The move follows a record fiscal third quarter in which revenue rose 25% year over year to $9.12 billion and non-GAAP EPS jumped 41% to $3.50. BofA noted Applied's quarterly guidance implies roughly 13% sequential growth versus about 20% for Lam Research, and it compressed its valuation multiple to 27 times estimated 2028 earnings from 36 times previously. The bank simultaneously raised its EPS estimates for 2026, 2027 and 2028 by 8%, 15% and 22%, respectively, while highlighting roughly 50% year-over-year DRAM growth and more than 70% advanced-packaging growth tied to AI infrastructure demand.
Robinhood CIO Says AI Boom May Keep Stocks Rising but 10-Year Yield Above 5% Is Key Risk
Robinhood Markets CIO Stephanie Guild says the artificial intelligence boom may keep driving stocks to fresh records, but its enormous appetite for capital is creating a new threat to the rally: a 10-year Treasury yield above 5%. Speaking to Bloomberg on Friday, Guild said the largest technology companies are funding an expansion of intelligence that is accelerating the market while competing with Washington for increasingly expensive capital. She argued that investors still aren't fully buying into the AI spending boom, noting earnings growth expectations for 2026 have doubled while the S&P 500's valuation multiple has fallen and expectations for 2027 have barely moved. Guild pointed to Applied Materials as an example, saying the chip-equipment maker was set to open lower Friday despite beating Wall Street estimates as investors continued to question whether enormous AI capital spending will generate sufficient returns. She said that skepticism allows the market to continue to rip, but warned that competition for capital is one reason Treasury yields are rising, with Thursday's 30-year auction clearing at the highest yield since 2001 despite solid demand. Guild said one of the big risks is that you could see the 10-year going beyond 5%, which may keep valuations lower and slow how quickly the AI buildout can happen. She compared the recent Situational Awareness blowup to Long-Term Capital Management in 1998, describing that episode as a market-clearing washout rather than an omen of worse to come, and noted stocks climbed another 35% after LTCM before the dot-com bust arrived. Guild expects the modern cycle to move much faster, with parabolic moves and speed crashes, and said everyday investors may need to get more used to higher volatility.
Applied Materials, Nektar Therapeutics, and StoneCo reported quarterly results, with Applied Materials posting adjusted earnings of $3.5 per share on revenues of $9.12 billion, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $3.38 per share. Nektar Therapeutics reported a narrower-than-expected adjusted loss of $1.23 per share on revenues of $10.13 million, while StoneCo posted adjusted earnings of $0.47 per share on revenues of $709.88 million. The reports come as Wall Street heads for a winning week in which the S&P 500 recorded a new all-time high, and the Commerce Department said retail sales decreased 0.6% in July. After the closing bell, the University of Michigan will report its preliminary August consumer sentiment index, and the Census Bureau will release June business inventories data.
Reddit, Nu Holdings surge while Globant, Applied Materials slide
Stock futures were largely unchanged early Friday as investors weighed cooling inflation data and a fresh batch of tech earnings. Reddit shares jumped 12% after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the company will replace AvalonBay Communities in the S&P 500 before trading opens on August 18. Nu Holdings gained 9% after the Brazilian digital bank reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results, with revenue up 56% year-over-year to $5.88 billion and GAAP EPS of $0.22. Globant plunged 13% after posting adjusted EPS below expectations and signaling continued pressure on revenue growth, while Applied Materials slipped 5% despite beating fiscal third-quarter estimates as investors sought a stronger upside surprise after the stock's nearly 98% year-to-date gain.
Applied Materials guides Q4 revenue to $10.25 billion
Applied Materials guided fiscal fourth-quarter revenue to $10.25 billion, plus or minus $500 million, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $4.02, plus or minus $0.20. The company reported record third-quarter revenue of $9.1 billion, with non-GAAP gross margin of 50.4% and record non-GAAP EPS of $3.50. Management now expects overall packaging revenues to grow more than 70% in calendar 2026, up from a prior forecast of more than 50%, and expects Applied Global Services to grow more than 20% in calendar 2026. Semiconductor Systems revenue was $7 billion and Applied Global Services revenue was $1.8 billion, with China representing 26% of combined Semiconductor Systems plus AGS revenue. The company generated record operating cash flow of over $3 billion and free cash flow of $2.3 billion, distributed $860 million to shareholders, and has $12.8 billion remaining in its share buyback authorization.
Applied Materials' current-quarter revenue outlook tops estimates; shares fall after hours
Applied Materials, a major U.S. semiconductor equipment maker, on Thursday issued a revenue outlook for the fiscal fourth quarter ending in October that exceeded market expectations. The company expects semiconductor manufacturers to keep expanding equipment investment amid robust demand for advanced chips used in artificial intelligence. Its latest fourth-quarter revenue forecast is about 10.25 billion dollars, plus or minus 500 million dollars, while the average analyst estimate compiled by LSEG was 9.54 billion dollars. Revenue for the fiscal third quarter ended in July came to 9.12 billion dollars, beating the market forecast of 8.99 billion dollars. Still, the stock fell about 4 percent at one point in after-hours trading following the earnings release. Expectations had been running high, with the shares already more than doubling this year, and the results are seen as falling short of some bullish targets. The company also raised its calendar 2026 revenue growth outlook for advanced packaging-related business to more than 70 percent from its previous forecast of more than 50 percent.
Semiconductor equipment stocks rose Thursday after SanDisk issued bullish multi-year financial targets at its 2026 Investor Day. SanDisk guided for revenue growth in the mid-to-high teens through fiscal 2030, non-GAAP gross margins of approximately 80%, operating margins around 75%, and adjusted free cash flow margin near 50%, with plans to return 100% of excess cash to shareholders. The company has signed New Business Model agreements with eight customers covering about 50% of bits in fiscal 2027 and roughly two-thirds in fiscal 2028, backed by committed volumes and minimum financial guarantees. Lam Research climbed about 4% as the most direct equipment beneficiary, Applied Materials rose about 1.5% ahead of its Q3 earnings report after the close, and Camtek was roughly flat after last week's sharp run. SanDisk shares jumped about 14% intraday.
Applied Materials Stock Nearly Tripled On Orders It Cannot Ship Fast Enough
Applied Materials stock has nearly tripled over the past year, returning 193% while the S&P 500 gained 21%, even as trailing twelve-month revenue grew just 3.3% to $29.02 billion. The repricing rests on a guide rather than trailing results, with management guiding fiscal Q3 2026 revenue to $8.95 billion plus or minus $500 million, up nearly 23% year over year, and committing to more than 30% growth in its semiconductor equipment business for calendar 2026. Clean room space and roughly 2,000 direct suppliers pace the ramp, with the company tracking over 100 factory projects globally and adding more than 10 in a single quarter. Leading-edge foundry logic, DRAM and advanced packaging should account for more than 80% of the year-on-year growth in total wafer fab equipment spending in 2026, with a similar profile in 2027. AMAT reports fiscal Q3 2026 results today after market close, and whether revenue lands inside the $8.95 billion band matters less than whether the calendar-2026 equipment growth still carries a more-than-30% number.
Zacks Model Predicts Applied Materials Earnings Beat
Zacks Investment Research's proprietary model predicts Applied Materials will beat earnings expectations when it reports fiscal third-quarter results after the closing bell on Thursday. The model combines a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) with a positive Earnings ESP, a configuration that has historically produced positive surprises about 70% of the time. Management guided revenues to $8.95 billion plus or minus $500 million and non-GAAP earnings of $3.36 per share plus or minus 20 cents, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate sits at $9 billion in revenue and $3.38 in earnings, implying 23.3% revenue growth and a 36.3% earnings increase from the year-ago quarter. The company has beaten estimates for sixteen consecutive quarters and delivered a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of over 6%, though shares trade near $550, about 25% below their year-to-date high of $739.67 amid profit-taking, a short position disclosed by Michael Burry, and China export restrictions quantified as a $600 million to $710 million revenue headwind for fiscal 2026.
AI data center boom creates investment opportunities across chips, real estate, energy, and cooling
The massive buildout of AI data centers is creating distinct investment opportunities across semiconductor equipment, real estate, energy, and cooling, according to experts interviewed by Fortune. Hyperscalers are projected to spend between $750 billion and $800 billion annually, with some forecasts reaching $1 trillion, representing 2.5% to 3% of U.S. GDP. In chips, B. Riley Securities analyst Craig Ellis recommends shifting focus from giants like Nvidia to equipment suppliers such as Applied Materials, Lam Research, and Marvell Technology, citing severe undersupply that will drive multi-year capex growth. For real estate, CenterSquare’s Patrick Wilson highlights data center REITs Equinix and Digital Realty as beneficiaries of the shift from AI training to inference, which favors urban facilities with low latency. Morningstar’s Andrew Bischof points to utilities like American Electric Power, which plans $78 billion in infrastructure investment through 2030, while New Constructs’ David Trainer sees value in traditional energy stocks such as Valero and HF Sinclair. In cooling, Morningstar’s Nick Lieb favors Vertiv for its dominant position in precision cooling, though notes concentration risk, and Eaton for its diversified exposure to the electrical grid. Some analysts warn that current spending levels may be unsustainable, with hyperscalers increasingly relying on debt and equity issuance.
TSMC's 44.7% AI chip revenue jump signals demand lift for Applied Materials
Applied Materials is in focus after TSMC reported a 44.7% year-over-year revenue jump in July driven by strong AI chip demand. The surge at the leading foundry signals potential increases in capital spending on wafer fabrication equipment, which could benefit suppliers like Applied Materials. The news reinforces the thesis of an AI-driven wafer fab equipment supercycle, though risks such as customer concentration and export controls remain. Applied Materials shares have returned 100.5% year to date and 194.6% over the past year, despite a 10.5% decline in the past month.
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