Equities Analysts Offer Predictions for AMAT FY2026 Earnings

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 EPS estimates for Applied Materials in a research report issued on Thursday, August 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now expects that the manufacturing equipment provider will post earnings of $12.76 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $12.29. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Hold” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials’ current full-year earnings is $12.76 per share.

AMAT has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $645.00 target price on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Applied Materials from $520.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, August 14th. HSBC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $683.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $658.45.

Applied Materials Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMAT opened at $441.85 on Monday. Applied Materials has a 52 week low of $154.46 and a 52 week high of $739.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $544.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $459.28. The company has a market cap of $350.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.09, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $3.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.99 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 30.05% and a return on equity of 38.02%. The business’s revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.820-4.220 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMAT. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Applied Materials by 26.7% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,225 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $590,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Forefront Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the second quarter valued at about $410,000. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 30.1% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 15,003 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $2,747,000 after purchasing an additional 3,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 59.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 422,694 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $77,383,000 after purchasing an additional 157,426 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.22, for a total transaction of $14,704,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,599,843 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,176,236,570.46. The trade was a 1.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas J. Iannotti sold 9,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $599.77, for a total value of $5,547,872.50. Following the sale, the director owned 40,559 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,326,071.43. The trade was a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 281,692 shares of company stock worth $171,378,059. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Applied Materials’s payout ratio is 18.28%.

Key Applied Materials News

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target to $695 and maintained a Buy rating, implying substantial potential upside from recent trading levels. The upgrade reflects continued confidence in Applied Materials’ semiconductor-equipment business. Tickerreport.com article
• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group lifted its FY2027 earnings-per-share forecast to $18.56 from $17.13. Although the firm retained a Hold rating, the higher estimate suggests improving expectations for long-term demand and profitability.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts continue to describe Applied Materials’ longer-term prospects favorably, with the company viewed as a beneficiary of semiconductor and artificial-intelligence infrastructure investment. Comparisons with Corning also highlight AMAT’s exposure to the chip-manufacturing equipment side of the AI supply chain. Corning versus Applied Materials article
• Negative Sentiment: Higher oil prices and a global bond selloff pushed the 10-year Treasury yield toward 4.79%. Rising yields increase corporate financing costs and reduce the present value of future earnings, creating pressure on higher-valuation technology and semiconductor stocks. Semiconductor stocks trade down article
• Negative Sentiment: Semiconductor stocks broadly declined as investors reassessed expensive growth stocks in response to the jump in long-term interest rates. Applied Materials’ elevated valuation and relatively high market sensitivity make it vulnerable to this risk-off rotation. Semiconductor stocks slide article

Applied Materials Company Profile

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.