Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of AMAT Q2 Earnings

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) – Research analysts at Zacks Research reduced their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Applied Materials in a report released on Thursday, December 4th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the manufacturing equipment provider will post earnings of $2.25 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $2.27. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials’ current full-year earnings is $9.38 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Applied Materials’ Q2 2027 earnings at $2.50 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $12.11 EPS.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 13th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.11 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 39.26% and a net margin of 24.67%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.980-2.380 EPS.

AMAT has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $273.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a report on Friday, November 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, November 14th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.74.

Applied Materials Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of AMAT opened at $268.00 on Monday. Applied Materials has a 52-week low of $123.74 and a 52-week high of $273.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $196.16. The company has a market capitalization of $213.50 billion, a PE ratio of 30.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.67.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Applied Materials by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 8,340 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $1,707,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 657 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $135,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. Sunflower Bank N.A. grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 1.4% during the third quarter. Sunflower Bank N.A. now owns 3,287 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $673,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.0% during the third quarter. Outlook Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Welch Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 3.0% during the third quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 1,741 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.56% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other Applied Materials news, SVP Teri A. Little sold 4,000 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.24, for a total value of $952,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 84,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,095,782.24. The trade was a 4.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Adam Sanders sold 609 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.53, for a total transaction of $155,617.77. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 4,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,127,653.89. This trade represents a 12.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,044,898 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.20%.

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.