Applied Materials (NasdaqGS:AMAT) Q1 2026 Earnings call February 12, 2026 04:30 PM ET Company ParticipantsBlayne Curtis - Managing DirectorBrice Hill - CFOCJ Muse - Senior Managing DirectorGary Dickerson - CEOHarlan Sur - Executive Director of Equity ResearchKrish Sankar - Managing DirectorMark Lipacis - Senior Managing DirectorMelissa Weathers - Director of Equity ResearchMike Sullivan - Corporate VP of Investor RelationsTimothy Arcuri - Managing DirectorVivek Arya - Managing DirectorConference Call Partic ...

Applied Materials (NasdaqGS:AMAT) Q1 2026 Earnings call February 12, 2026 04:30 PM ET Company ParticipantsBlayne Curtis - Managing DirectorBrice Hill - CFOCJ Muse - Senior Managing DirectorGary Dickerson - CEOHarlan Sur - Executive Director of Equity ResearchKrish Sankar - Managing DirectorMark Lipacis - Senior Managing DirectorMelissa Weathers - Director of Equity ResearchMike Sullivan - Corporate VP of Investor RelationsTimothy Arcuri - Managing DirectorVivek Arya - Managing DirectorConference Call Partic ...

Financial Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue for Q1 2026 was $7 billion, down 2% year-over-year, but within the upper end of guidance range [17] - Non-GAAP gross margin increased by 20 basis points year-over-year to 49.1% [17] - Non-GAAP operating profit declined 4% year-over-year to $2.1 billion, with non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.38, flat year-over-year [17] Business Line Data and Key Metrics Changes - Semiconductor Systems revenue was $5.14 billion, down 8% year-over-year, but included record DRAM revenue [19] - Applied Global Services (AGS) delivered record revenue of $1.56 billion, growing 15% year-over-year [19] - Non-GAAP gross margin for AGS increased by 210 basis points, and non-GAAP operating margin grew by 320 basis points [19] Market Data and Key Metrics Changes - Revenue in China declined 7% year-over-year, representing 27% of combined Semi Equipment and AGS sales [17] - The global semiconductor industry revenues are projected to reach $1 trillion in 2026, driven by AI computing [5][14] - Demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) DRAM is increasing, with larger die sizes requiring significantly more wafer starts [7] Company Strategy and Development Direction - The company is focusing on inflection-focused innovation to drive sustainable growth and margin expansion [9][14] - Investments in AI infrastructure are expected to accelerate demand for semiconductor manufacturing capacity [4][5] - The company plans to launch over a dozen new products in 2026, enhancing its leadership in advanced logic and DRAM [10] Management's Comments on Operating Environment and Future Outlook - Management expects strong growth momentum to continue into 2027, driven by AI adoption and semiconductor demand [6][15] - The company anticipates Semiconductor Systems revenue of around $5.8 billion for Q2 2026, with a non-GAAP EPS of $2.64 [22] - Management highlighted the importance of clean room capacity and customer visibility in driving future growth [15][50] Other Important Information - The company has nearly doubled its system manufacturing capacity over the past several years to meet increasing demand [16] - A significant investment of $500 million in inventory year-over-year has been made to support growth [16] - The company has distributed over 85% of free cash flow to shareholders in the past year [21] Q&A Session Summary Question: Guidance on WFE for 2026 - Management expects to grow the semiconductor equipment business more than 20% in 2026, driven by AI [26][27] Question: Gross Margin Outlook - Management indicated that gross margins have improved significantly and are expected to continue growing due to high-value product offerings [32][35] Question: Changes in China and ICAPS Market - Management noted that the ICAPS market is now expected to be flat, with long-term growth projected in mid- to high-single digits [40] Question: Advanced Packaging Growth - Advanced packaging WFE spending is increasing, particularly in HBM and 3D chiplet stacking, where the company holds a strong market position [41][42] Question: Growth Rate for Foundry Logic and DRAM - Management refrained from ranking growth rates between foundry logic and DRAM due to factory availability constraints but indicated both are in high-growth segments [91][92]