Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT will release its second-quarter financial results after the closing bell on Thursday, May 15.Analysts expect the Santa Clara, California-based company to report quarterly earnings at $2.31 per share, up from $2.09 per share in the year-ago period. Applied Materials projects quarterly revenue of $7.12 billion, compared to $6.65 billion a year earlier, according to data from Benzinga Pro.On April 22, Barclays analyst Tom O’Malley maintained the stock with an Equal-Weight rating an ...

Explore the exciting world of Applied Materials (AMAT 3.03%) with our expert analysts in this Motley Fool Scoreboard episode. Check out the video below to gain valuable insights into market trends and potential investment opportunities!*Stock prices used were the prices of April 2, 2025. The video was published on May. 13, 2025. ...

Applied Materials (AMAT) is scheduled to report second-quarter fiscal 2025 results on May 15.For the fiscal second quarter, AMAT expects revenues to be $7.1 billion (+/- $400 million). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues is pegged at $7.12 billion, suggesting a rise of 7.13% from the year-ago quarter’s reading.Applied Materials projects non-GAAP earnings to be $2.30 (+/- 18 cents). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.31 per share, indicating growth of 10.5% from the year-ago quar ...

Market Capitalization Changes - Tesla's market capitalization increased by 6.75% to $1,025.4 billion [3] - TSMC's market capitalization rose by 5.93% to $969.7 billion [3] - Tencent's market capitalization grew by 4.66% to $609.8 billion [3] - Netflix's market capitalization decreased by 2.65% to $472.3 billion [3] - Oracle's market capitalization increased by 4.58% to $440.8 billion [3] Notable Performers - Shopify saw a significant increase of 13.7% in market capitalization, reaching $136.2 billion [4] - AppLovin experienced a remarkable rise of 89% to $1.177 billion [4] - AMD's market capitalization increased by 5.13% to $175.3 billion [5] - Uber's market capitalization rose by 6.39% to $184.2 billion [5] Decliners - Pinduoduo's market capitalization fell by 6.14% to $165.2 billion [4] - Xiaomi's market capitalization decreased by 2.11% to $163.4 billion [4] - Spotify's market capitalization declined by 4.23% to $127.3 billion [4] Other Companies of Interest - Adobe's market capitalization increased by 3.3% to $168.7 billion [4] - Qualcomm's market capitalization rose by 4.78% to $167.0 billion [4] - Intel's market capitalization increased by 3.55% to $96.7 billion [5] - Airbnb's market capitalization grew by 5.64% to $828 million [5]

Group 1 - The market capitalization of major global technology and internet companies has shown varied changes, with notable increases for companies like Tesla and Palantir [3][4][5] - Tesla's market cap reached $917.3 billion, reflecting a 3.11% increase, while TSMC's market cap was $908.7 billion, up by 0.39% [3] - Tencent's market cap increased by 3.04% to $592.8 billion, while Netflix saw a slight decline of 0.95%, bringing its market cap to $487 billion [3][4] Group 2 - Companies like Alibaba and ASML also experienced positive growth, with Alibaba's market cap at $304.8 billion (up 2.08%) and ASML at $278.3 billion (up 1.09%) [3][4] - Notable declines were observed in companies such as Arm Holdings, which dropped by 6.18% to $1.228 billion, and Uber, which fell by 1.61% to $172.1 billion [4][5] - The overall trend indicates a mixed performance across the technology sector, with some companies gaining significantly while others faced declines [3][4][5]

Core Viewpoint - The market anticipates that Applied Materials (AMAT) will report a year-over-year increase in earnings and revenues for the quarter ended April 2025, with actual results being crucial for stock price movement [1][2]. Earnings Expectations - The consensus estimate for quarterly earnings is $2.31 per share, reflecting a year-over-year increase of +10.5%, while revenues are expected to reach $7.12 billion, up 7.1% from the previous year [3]. - The consensus EPS estimate has been revised 0.23% higher in the last 30 days, indicating a positive reassessment by analysts [4]. Earnings Surprise Prediction - The Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) model suggests that a positive Earnings ESP reading indicates a likely earnings beat, especially when combined with a Zacks Rank of 1, 2, or 3 [5][8]. - For Applied Materials, the Most Accurate Estimate is higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate, resulting in a positive Earnings ESP of +1.94% [10][11]. Historical Performance - In the last reported quarter, Applied Materials exceeded the expected earnings of $2.28 per share by delivering $2.38, resulting in a surprise of +4.39% [12]. - The company has beaten consensus EPS estimates in all of the last four quarters [13]. Conclusion - While an earnings beat is a positive indicator, other factors can influence stock performance, making it essential to consider the broader context [14][16].

Group 1 - FerdiS focuses on investing in dividend growth stocks and utilizes options to enhance dividend income [1] - The portfolio, DivGro, primarily consists of dividend growth stocks and was established in January 2013 [1] - FerdiS has over 20 years of investment and trading experience, contributing to articles on various investment topics [1] Group 2 - Collaboration with the founders of Portfolio Insight, which is an online platform for portfolio management and investment analysis [1] - Maintenance and publication of Dividend Radar, a weekly free spreadsheet that lists dividend growth stocks [1]

Core Viewpoint - The semiconductor industry is experiencing growth driven by the AI boom, with Applied Materials (AMAT) and Lam Research (LRCX) being key players in this sector, each with distinct strengths and challenges in their investment profiles [2][17]. Group 1: Applied Materials (AMAT) - AMAT is a major manufacturer of semiconductor fabrication equipment, focusing on deposition, etching, and inspection, which are critical for chip manufacturing [3]. - The company is leveraging AI-driven semiconductor technology, which is expected to create long-term growth prospects [3]. - In fiscal 2024, AMAT's revenues from advanced semiconductor nodes surpassed $2.5 billion, with expectations to double this figure in fiscal 2025 due to increased customer adoption of GAA and backside power delivery solutions [5]. - In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, AMAT reported a 7% increase in revenues and a 12% increase in non-GAAP EPS [5]. - However, AMAT faces challenges, including U.S. government export restrictions on semiconductor equipment sales to China, which are projected to reduce fiscal 2025 revenues by $400 million [6]. - The company also noted a slowdown in the IoT, Communications, Automotive, Power, and Sensors (ICAPS) segment, which could impact overall performance [7]. - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 indicates single-digit growth in revenues and EPS, with year-over-year growth of 6% and 8.21%, respectively [8]. Group 2: Lam Research (LRCX) - LRCX is recognized for its etch and deposition technology, essential for HBM and advanced packaging technologies that support AI workloads [9]. - In 2024, LRCX's shipments for gate-all-around nodes and advanced packaging exceeded $1 billion, with expectations to triple to over $3 billion by 2025 [11]. - The company reported revenues of $4.72 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2025, reflecting a 24.5% year-over-year increase, and EPS of $1.04, a 33.3% increase [12]. - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2025 suggests strong growth, with year-over-year increases in revenues and EPS of 21.8% and 32.8%, respectively [13]. Group 3: Stock Performance and Valuation - Year to date, AMAT and LRCX shares have declined by 25.5% and 19.2%, respectively [13]. - AMAT and LRCX are trading at forward 12-month price to sales multiples of 4.24X and 5.14X, both below the semiconductor industry's average of 6.92X [14]. - LRCX is viewed as having a stronger growth profile due to its advanced technology for AI chip manufacturing, while AMAT's growth outlook is more uncertain [17].

Core Viewpoint - The article emphasizes the rapid development and industrialization of hybrid bonding technology as a key enabler for overcoming performance bottlenecks in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the post-Moore's Law era [1][12]. Group 1: Hybrid Bonding Technology Overview - Hybrid bonding technology, also known as direct bonding interconnect, is a core technology in advanced packaging, enabling high-density vertical interconnections between chips through copper-copper and dielectric bonding [3][12]. - This technology allows for interconnect distances below 1μm, significantly increasing the number of I/O contacts per unit area compared to traditional bump bonding, which has distances above 20μm [3][5]. - Advantages include improved thermal management, enhanced reliability, flexibility in 3D integration, and compatibility with existing wafer-level manufacturing processes [3][5]. Group 2: Industry Adoption and Applications - Major semiconductor companies like SK Hynix and Samsung are adopting hybrid bonding in their products, such as HBM3E and 3D DRAM, achieving significant improvements in thermal performance and chip density [5][8]. - Samsung's implementation of hybrid bonding has reduced chip area by 30% while enhancing integration [8]. - TSMC's SoIC technology and NVIDIA's GPUs also utilize hybrid bonding to improve performance and density in advanced applications [10][11]. Group 3: Market Growth and Equipment Demand - The global hybrid bonding equipment market is projected to grow from approximately $421 million in 2023 to $1.332 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30% [13]. - Equipment manufacturers are competing to meet the rising demand for high-precision bonding machines and related technologies, with companies like Applied Materials and ASMPT leading the charge [13][14]. Group 4: Competitive Landscape - Applied Materials is focusing on building a comprehensive hybrid bonding ecosystem through strategic investments and partnerships, aiming to cover the entire process from material to bonding [14][15]. - ASMPT is enhancing its position by developing high-precision bonding technologies and collaborating with industry leaders to drive standardization [17][22]. - BESI is capitalizing on the demand for AI chips and HBM packaging, with a significant market share in CIS sensors and a focus on high-precision bonding equipment [18][19]. Group 5: Future Trends and Challenges - The shift from 2D scaling to 3D integration is reshaping the competitive landscape in the semiconductor industry, with hybrid bonding technology at the forefront [22][23]. - Despite its potential, hybrid bonding faces challenges such as high costs and stringent manufacturing environment requirements, which may slow its widespread adoption [23][21].

Core Insights - The stock market adage "sell in May and go away" is highlighted, with a focus on identifying stocks that typically perform well during this month [1] - Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) and Broadcom Inc (AVGO) are noted as strong performers in May, having finished higher in nine of the last ten years with average gains of 6.3% and 7.2% respectively [2] Company Performance - AMAT has an average return of 7.37% and a median return of 6.29% in May, with a 90% positive return rate over the past decade [3] - AVGO has an average return of 7.65% and a median return of 7.23% in May, also with a 90% positive return rate over the past decade [3] - AMAT is currently trading near breakeven at $150.77, having experienced a 21.9% year-over-year deficit, but recently bounced back from a 52-week low of $123.95 [3] - AVGO has seen a 3.8% increase in May, trading at $199.81, marking its highest level since March, and boasts a 61% year-over-year gain [4] Options Trading Sentiment - AMAT's 50-day put/call volume ratio of 1.96 indicates a strong appetite for bullish bets, ranking higher than 97% of readings from the past year [5] - AVGO's 10-day put/call volume ratio is the highest among all annual readings, suggesting a potential unwinding of pessimism that could benefit the stock in the near term [6]