Zacks Research Issues Pessimistic Forecast for AMAT Earnings

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for Applied Materials in a report released on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the manufacturing equipment provider will earn $2.25 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $2.27. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials’ current full-year earnings is $9.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Applied Materials’ Q2 2027 earnings at $2.50 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.11 EPS.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on AMAT. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Daiwa America downgraded Applied Materials from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Bank of America raised Applied Materials from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $180.00 to $250.00 in a report on Monday, October 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $273.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on Applied Materials from $240.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.74.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

Shares of AMAT opened at $267.14 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $212.81 billion, a PE ratio of 30.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.61 and a quick ratio of 1.87. Applied Materials has a one year low of $123.74 and a one year high of $273.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $233.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.69.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.11 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 24.67% and a return on equity of 39.26%. Applied Materials’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,920,984 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $7,125,265,000 after buying an additional 391,540 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 21,026,363 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $3,836,807,000 after acquiring an additional 407,282 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 225.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 14,877,672 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,046,057,000 after acquiring an additional 10,305,182 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Applied Materials by 72.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 13,564,120 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,483,183,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700,349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Applied Materials by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 12,520,114 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $2,563,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,583,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Applied Materials news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total value of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. This represents a 4.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a $0.46 dividend. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 20th. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.20%.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.