William Blair Lifts Earnings Estimates for Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) – Equities research analysts at William Blair lifted their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Applied Materials in a research report issued on Friday, May 16th. William Blair analyst J. Dorsheimer now anticipates that the manufacturing equipment provider will post earnings per share of $9.52 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $9.51. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials’ current full-year earnings is $9.38 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Applied Materials’ Q4 2025 earnings at $2.40 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.28 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.26 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.30 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.40 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $9.53 EPS.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.12 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.50% and a net margin of 22.95%. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.09 EPS.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AMAT. Barclays reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $190.00 to $160.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (down previously from $225.00) on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday. Edward Jones upgraded Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. B. Riley reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $250.00 to $215.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Applied Materials from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.48.

Applied Materials Stock Performance

AMAT opened at $165.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $134.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $149.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $165.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Applied Materials has a 12-month low of $123.74 and a 12-month high of $255.89.

Applied Materials Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.46 per share. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 22nd. This is an increase from Applied Materials’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.38%.

Applied Materials announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, March 10th that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the manufacturing equipment provider to reacquire up to 8.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, CEO Gary E. Dickerson acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $137.30 per share, for a total transaction of $6,865,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,716,058 shares in the company, valued at $235,614,763.40. This trade represents a 3.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 450 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.83, for a total value of $65,173.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 6,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $880,131.91. The trade was a 6.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Applied Materials

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Applied Materials by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,039,667 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $12,528,961,000 after purchasing an additional 487,358 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 20,079,451 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $3,260,178,000 after acquiring an additional 253,078 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,230,464 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,663,780,000 after acquiring an additional 1,602,645 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Applied Materials during the fourth quarter worth $1,588,422,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,338,520 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,356,094,000 after acquiring an additional 587,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Company Profile

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.