Applied Materials Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Whoever buys today is betting that operating growth (up 0.2 percent in the latest half-year) accelerates fast enough to justify a valuation near 59 times earnings before portfolio effects, China conditions or the capex cycle catch up with it. Whoever waits checks three lines in every quarterly report (10-Q): the "interest and other income" line (how much of the profit is paper?), segment operating income (is the factory business pulling its weight?), and the China share along with the progress of the BIS audits. Quality of this caliber rarely disappears overnight — a valuation premium of 130 percent over the historical average can. The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Applied Materials is the textbook case that a quality sieve and a buy signal are two different things: the company passes all five Buffett criteria with room to spare, earns world-class margins on the chip industry's indispensable toolbox, and carries essentially no net debt. At the same time, the latest profit jump comes almost entirely from unrealized portfolio gains and a tax effect, the China business (30 percent of revenue) sits under a three-year probation regime after the $253 million settlement, and a valuation near 59 times earnings prices the machinery maker like a software company. Whoever invests here is not buying the sieve result but the continuation of the AI capex boom at full price. Not investment advice.
Market position & business model
The world's largest maker of chip-manufacturing equipment, claiming a hand in "virtually every semiconductor in the world" (10-K FY 2025); three revenue records in a row ($26.5 → $28.4 billion, FY 2023–2025), a services business with $6.4 billion of revenue and nearly half of the $15 billion backlog as a cycle cushion.
Buffett criteria & balance sheet quality
All five screenable criteria passed with room to spare (data as of 07/18/2026): return on equity ~40%, debt-to-equity 0.32, EBIT margin ~32%, six quarters of rising earnings, positive FCF — plus an Altman-Z of ~13.6, Piotroski 7/9 and $12.9 billion of cash and investments (10/26/2025).
Earnings quality FY 2026
The 45 percent jump in half-year net income to $4.832 billion feeds primarily on $1.157 billion of unrealized portfolio gains and a tax rate that fell from 25.2 to 13.0 percent; operating income rose just 0.2 percent (10-Q as of 04/26/2026). Both effects are reversible.
China & regulation
A $253 million BIS settlement (02/11/2026) over China shipments with a suspended denial order and three years of probation conditions — with China at 30 percent of revenue (FY 2025; FY 2024: 37 percent), a direct regulatory lever on the top line.
Customer concentration
Two customers accounted for 19 and 15 percent of FY 2025 revenue (FY 2024: 12 and 11 percent) — typical for an industry with a handful of fab builders worldwide, but the AI demand behind it is, per the company's own 10-K, "difficult to accurately forecast."
Valuation
P/E near 59, price-to-sales near 18, price to free cash flow near 99 after a roughly 245 percent twelve-month run (data as of 07/18/2026) — historically the cyclical traded at 15 to 25 times earnings; the company itself cut buybacks by about three quarters in H1 FY 2026.
Worth Noting
AMAT made the research list as rank 8 of our in-house Buffett criteria scanner (U.S. selection, 25 U.S. hits of 104 total, as of July 18, 2026) — part of our series on the top 20 of that selection.
Scanner metrics (ROE, debt-to-equity, EBIT margin, P/E, P/S, Piotroski, Altman-Z) use trailing twelve-month figures as of July 18, 2026; the Buffett criteria test quality and earnings direction, not the purchase price.
Price and market value figures (~$670, ~$530 billion) from the July 18, 2026 feed, sanity-checked against 794 million shares outstanding per the quarterly report 10-Q as of April 26, 2026; analyses are evergreen, daily prices are not a buy argument.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at AMAT since then.
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Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 178.10 $ to 723.00 $ · Last price: 417.40 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applied Materials Inc AMAT | 331.4 | 36.5 | 31.3 | 49.4 | 31.9 | 4.4 | 135.6 |
| Lam Research Corp LRCX | 371.4 | 47.0 | 41.9 | 50.5 | 35.0 | 23.7 | 122.2 |
| KLA Corporation KLAC | 220.8 | 46.0 | 37.8 | 61.3 | 41.2 | 23.9 | 71.6 |
| Teradyne Inc TER | 57.6 | 59.4 | 34.3 | 59.2 | 37.6 | 13.1 | 209.5 |
| Qnity Electronics, Inc Q | 24.5 | 47.5 | 20.3 | 46.2 | 22.8 | 9.7 | 20.8 |
| Entegris Inc ENTG | 22.4 | 69.9 | 25.9 | 45.6 | 18.0 | -1.4 | 41.1 |
| Onto Innovation Inc ONTO | 13.7 | 109.7 | 49.6 | 55.5 | 16.8 | 1.8 | 115.5 |
| Amkor Technology Inc AMKR | 11.9 | 23.7 | 8.5 | 15.5 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 81.4 |
| Nova Ltd NVMI | 11.1 | 43.3 | 39.3 | 57.1 | 29.9 | 31.0 | 12.3 |
| Median of companies shown | 24.5 | 47.0 | 34.3 | 50.5 | 29.9 | 9.7 | 81.4 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10,825 | 2,152 | 1,721 | 1.54 | 2,466 | 7,217 | 14,571 |
| 2017 | 14,698 | 3,936 | 3,519 | 3.25 | 3,609 | 9,349 | 19,419 |
| 2018 | 16,705 | 4,491 | 3,038 | 2.96 | 3,787 | 6,839 | 17,773 |
| 2019 | 14,608 | 3,350 | 2,706 | 2.86 | 3,247 | 8,214 | 19,035 |
| 2020 | 17,202 | 4,365 | 3,619 | 3.92 | 3,804 | 10,578 | 22,353 |
| 2021 | 23,063 | 6,889 | 5,888 | 6.41 | 5,442 | 12,247 | 25,825 |
| 2022 | 25,785 | 7,788 | 6,525 | 7.44 | 5,399 | 12,194 | 26,726 |
| 2023 | 26,517 | 7,654 | 6,856 | 8.11 | 8,700 | 16,349 | 30,729 |
| 2024 | 27,176 | 7,867 | 7,177 | 8.61 | 8,677 | 19,001 | 34,409 |
| 2025 | 28,368 | 8,289 | 6,998 | 8.66 | 7,958 | 20,415 | 36,299 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025: Q1 | 1.45 | -40.00 | 7,166 | 6.80 | 16.50 | 925 | 544 |
| 2025: Q2 | 2.62 | 27.30 | 7,100 | 6.80 | 30.10 | 1,571 | 1,061 |
| 2025: Q3 | 2.19 | 7.20 | 7,302 | 7.70 | 24.40 | 2,634 | 2,050 |
| 2025: Q4 | 2.38 | 13.70 | 6,800 | -3.50 | 27.90 | 2,828 | 2,043 |
| 2026: Q1 | 2.54 | 75.30 | 7,012 | -2.10 | 28.90 | 1,686 | 1,040 |
| 2026: Q2 | 3.51 | 33.90 | 7,910 | 11.40 | 35.50 | 843 | 208 |
| 2026: Q3 | 3.17 | 44.70 | 9,115 | 24.80 | 27.80 | 3,037 | 2,330 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 7 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Backtested Scanners
Quality & Balance Sheet
Aktien.Guide
Dividends
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/31/2026 | 12.79 | 12.53 – 12.98 | 34,254 | 35.8% | 30 |
| 10/31/2027 | 18.45 | 16.02 – 21.77 | 46,132 | 44.2% | 34 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 22.5% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $5.62B |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $331.40B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $42.70B |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 67.9% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 11.0% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Applied Materials verkauft keine KI-Produkte — die Anlagen sind generische Chipfertigungs-Werkzeuge („Materials Engineering“), und KI erscheint in den Geschäfts- und Quartalsberichten (10-K/10-Q) durchgängig als externer Nachfragetreiber der belieferten Branchen (inklusive der ausdrücklichen Warnung, dass die KI-bezogene Nachfrage schwer präzise zu prognostizieren ist) —, aber der Geschäftsbericht (10-K) für das Geschäftsjahr 2025 belegt den eigenen operativen Einsatz: KI-Fähigkeiten werden zunehmend in Technologieentwicklung, Geschäftsabläufe sowie Produkte und Dienste eingebaut, und in der Mitarbeiter-Schulung kommen KI-basierte Simulationen zum Einsatz — daher „Nutzt KI“.
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„Artificial intelligence (AI) and technologies related to AI are a significant demand driver for the industries we serve. AI is evolving rapidly and the expected timing and amount of investments related to AI can change significantly. As a result, it is difficult to accurately forecast demand for our products related to AI."
Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) und mit KI verbundene Technologien sind ein bedeutender Nachfragetreiber für die von uns belieferten Branchen. KI entwickelt sich schnell, und der erwartete Zeitpunkt und Umfang KI-bezogener Investitionen können sich erheblich ändern. Deshalb ist die Nachfrage nach unseren KI-bezogenen Produkten schwer präzise zu prognostizieren.
10-K · 2025-12-12 · View SEC filing
„We are increasingly incorporating AI capabilities into the development of technologies, our business operations and our products and services. AI technology is complex and rapidly evolving and may subject us to significant competitive, legal, regulatory, operational and other risks."
Wir bauen zunehmend KI-Fähigkeiten in die Entwicklung von Technologien, unsere Geschäftsabläufe sowie unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen ein. KI-Technologie ist komplex, entwickelt sich schnell und kann uns erheblichen Wettbewerbs-, Rechts-, Regulierungs-, Betriebs- und sonstigen Risiken aussetzen.
10-K · 2025-12-12 · View SEC filing
„In addition to instructor-led and web-based training, we offer state-of-the-art training modalities, such as AI-based simulations and Augmented and Virtual Reality learning capabilities, to further the development of our new products, train our manufacturing and field support employees, and facilitate remote collaboration."
Zusätzlich zu Präsenz- und webbasierten Schulungen bieten wir hochmoderne Trainingsformen an, etwa KI-basierte Simulationen sowie Augmented- und Virtual-Reality-Lernangebote, um die Entwicklung unserer neuen Produkte voranzubringen, unsere Fertigungs- und Außendienst-Mitarbeiter zu schulen und die Zusammenarbeit aus der Ferne zu erleichtern.
10-K · 2025-12-12 · View SEC filing
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-05-21 · 10-Q 2026-02-19 · 10-Q 2025-08-21 · 10-Q 2025-05-22 · 10-K 2025-12-12 · 10-K 2024-12-13
Rated on July 18, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years 3.2%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 25.4%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -2.7%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 24.5%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 48.7%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 10.2%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 1,523 m net cash
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 4,304 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago 29.3%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 0.3%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
10/10 Quality stockThe AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 11.3%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 27.5%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% 16.2%
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 46.0%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT -0.2x
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 10
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 25.4%
- Return on equity > 15% 42.5%
- ROCE > 15% 29.3%
- Expected return > 10% 48.5%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8, 2026 | Bruner Judy | Director | Sell | 1,000 | 465.00 | 465,000 |
| Aug 27, 2026 | Palkhiwala Akash J. | Director | Other | 279 | 0.00 | – |
| Aug 25, 2026 | Hill Brice | SVP, CFO | Sell | 7,500 | 479.25 | 3,594,376 |
The company
About the Company
Applied Materials, Inc. liefert Lösungen, Anlagen, Dienste und Software für Materialtechnik an die Halbleiter- und verwandte Industrien in den USA, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Südostasien, Europa und international.
- Employees
- 38,900
- Headquarters
- Santa Clara, CA
- Address
- 3050 Bowers Avenue, 95052-8039 Santa Clara, United States
- Phone
- 408 727 5555
- Website
- appliedmaterials.com
- IPO Date
- 10/05/1972
- ISIN
- US0382221051
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 04/17/2002
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 03/16/2000
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 10/14/1997
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Gary E. Dickerson | President, CEO & Executive Director | 1957 |
| Brice A. Hill | Senior VP, CFO & leads Global Information Services | 1967 |
| Omkaram Nalamasu Ph.D. | SVP, CTO, President Applied Ventures, LLC & Chair of the Growth Technical Advisory Board | 1958 |
| Prabu G. Raja Ph.D. | President of Semiconductor Products Group | 1963 |
| Timothy M. Deane | Senior Vice President of Applied Global Services | 1966 |
| Adam Sanders | VP, Corporate Controller & Chief Accounting Officer | 1972 |
| Teri A. Little J.D. | Senior VP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | 1965 |
| Joseph M. Pon | Chief Public Affairs Officer and Corporate VP of Communications & Public Affairs | – |
| Joji Sekhon Gill | Senior VP & Chief Human Resources Officer | 1965 |
| Charles W. Read | Corporate VP of Business Units & Operations CFO | 1966 |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/27/2026 APPLIED MATERIALS INC /DE (AMAT): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/13/2026 APPLIED MATERIALS INC /DE (AMAT): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.