Tech & AI
Applied Materials Reports $10.41 Billion Quarterly Revenue, Up 53%, and Guides Higher
The chip-equipment maker forecast about $11.1 billion for its next quarter as AI keeps driving demand for chipmaking tools.
HedgeWeekly Tech & AI Desk ·
Applied Materials, the largest US maker of chipmaking equipment, reported revenue of $10.41 billion for its fiscal fourth quarter, which ended on October 25, up 53% from a year earlier. Earnings per share were $3.40 on a GAAP basis (standard accounting rules) and $4.16 adjusted, the latter up 92%. Adjusted gross margin was 50.6%.
Semiconductor Systems, which sells the machines used to build chips, brought in $7.996 billion. Within that unit, foundry and logic (contract and processor chips) made up 58% of sales and DRAM (computer memory) 33%. Services revenue was $1.896 billion. China accounted for 25% of the quarter's sales, or $2.642 billion, against 28% from Taiwan and 17% from Korea.
For the full year, revenue was $34.45 billion, up 21%, with adjusted earnings of $12.89 a share. The company generated $8.87 billion of operating cash and returned $3.18 billion through buybacks and $1.57 billion in dividends. It guided first-quarter revenue to $11.10 billion, give or take $500 million, and adjusted EPS of $4.35, give or take 20 cents. A TipRanks earnings calendar had listed expectations of about $10.25 billion and $4.02 for the quarter just reported.
Why it matters: Equipment makers sit upstream of every AI chip, so their order books show whether foundry and memory makers are still expanding capacity. CEO Gary Dickerson said the company is on track to grow Semiconductor Systems by more than 40% in calendar 2026. Investors will watch the revenue mix between memory and foundry, China's share of sales as US export rules tighten, and whether the next-quarter guide holds.