Quality Investor

Applied Materials, Inc.

Rank #201Capital ReturnWatchlistCompare with other stocks

AMAT · Nasdaq · Technology

Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) — Rank #201 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.32) · ROE 27.3% · Piotroski F-Score 6 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000006951 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Applied Materials, Inc. provides materials engineering solutions, equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor and related industries in the United States, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and internationally.

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The company operates through Semiconductor Systems and Applied Global Services (AGS) segments. The Semiconductor Systems segment includes semiconductor capital equipment to enable materials engineering steps, including etch, rapid thermal processing, deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, metrology and inspection, wafer packaging, and ion implantation. The AGS segment offers integrated solutions to optimize equipment and fab performance and productivity comprising spares, upgrades, services, and 200 millimeter and other equipment and factory automation software for semiconductor 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.

Industry
Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
Sector
Technology
State
DC
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
October 26

Company Snapshot

P/E and reverse DCF are the primary valuation lenses at this stage.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

38,900

Industry

Semiconductor Equipment & Materials

Exchange

Nasdaq

12/12

Flags passed

AMAT passes 12/12 quality flags

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Revenue not declining
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Operating leverage expanding · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.32
Return on equity
27.3%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.70
Current ratio
2.42×
Net cash
$6.76B

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
2.4%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
4.4%
Piotroski F-Score
6 / 9
Share dilution
-3.1%

FCF yield, shareholder yield, and buyback activity are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

No warning flags · GP/assets 55th percentile of 21 SIC 3674 peers

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.32

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

55th pctl of 21 SIC 3674 peers

Return on equity

27.3%

Gross margin

48.7%

30th pctl of 21 SIC 3674 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

4.4%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

3.2%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

10.5%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

2.4%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

7.3%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 19% below net income

Free cash flow

$5.70B

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

-18.6%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

2.4%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net cash $6.76B, F-Score 6/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.70

42nd pctl of 20 SIC 3674 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

2.42×

35th pctl of 21 SIC 3674 peers

Quick ratio

1.63×

Net cash

$6.76B

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

6 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Valuation History

Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.

P / E

Price / diluted EPS

29.9xExpensive
14.1xmed 21.2x29.9x

P / S

Price / revenue per share

7.4xExpensive
3.6xmed 5.2x7.4x

P / B

Price / book value per share

10.3xExpensive
7.4xmed 8.0x11.0x

P / GP

Price / gross profit per share

15.2xExpensive
7.7xmed 11.0x15.2x

P / FCF

Price / free cash flow per share

36.8xExpensive
18.0xmed 22.0x36.8x

Dividend safety

Composite score

4.0 / 5

Strong
Payout ratio
19.8%5/5 Strong
FCF coverage
4.12×5/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
8 yr4/5 Strong
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.70 · IC N/A2/5 Fair

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.0 / 5

Good
Share count trend(net buybacks)
-3.1%4/5 Strong
Buyback timing
vs own P/E history0/5 Weak
Dividend growth consistency
8 yr4/5 Strong
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
2.9%4/5 Strong

Flag: heavy buybacks timed at a peak valuation.

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Capital Return
Hypergrowth
Value