FY2026 Earnings Forecast for AMAT Issued By Erste Group Bank

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) – Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for Applied Materials in a report released on Wednesday, July 15th. Erste Group Bank analyst S. Lingnau now forecasts that the manufacturing equipment provider will post earnings of $12.29 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $12.23. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Applied Materials’ current full-year earnings is $12.14 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Applied Materials’ FY2027 earnings at $17.02 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Applied Materials from $502.00 to $647.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Applied Materials from $575.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price target on shares of Applied Materials in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Applied Materials from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $593.84.

Applied Materials Trading Down 5.6%

Shares of AMAT stock opened at $529.66 on Friday. Applied Materials has a 1 year low of $154.46 and a 1 year high of $739.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $420.53 billion, a PE ratio of 49.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $533.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $413.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $7.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Applied Materials had a return on equity of 36.97% and a net margin of 29.31%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.39 EPS. Applied Materials has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.160-3.560 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evolve Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 59.0% during the first quarter. Evolve Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,875 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,531,000. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Applied Materials by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 82,296 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock valued at $21,149,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Applied Materials in the fourth quarter worth $1,082,000. Finally, Baker Chad R lifted its stake in shares of Applied Materials by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 16,530 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider’s stock worth $4,297,000 after buying an additional 7,170 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Applied Materials

In related news, SVP Omkaram Nalamasu sold 24,263 shares of Applied Materials stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.43, for a total transaction of $14,398,392.09. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 146,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,184,361.88. The trade was a 14.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Gary E. Dickerson sold 71,727 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $593.75, for a total transaction of $42,587,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,695,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,006,503,625. This trade represents a 4.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 278,088 shares of company stock valued at $169,654,805. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Applied Materials’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.91%.

Trending Headlines about Applied Materials

Here are the key news stories impacting Applied Materials this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Erste Group Bank raised its FY2026 and FY2027 earnings estimates for Applied Materials and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling confidence in the company’s growth outlook and AI-driven demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Applied Materials CEO comments reinforcing the AI investment thesis may help support longer-term sentiment around the stock. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted that AMAT has been drawing increased attention from investors, but the piece was mainly a stock-screening update rather than a new fundamental catalyst. Article link
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary suggested Applied Materials may be trading above fair value after a strong multi-year run, which could limit upside even if earnings remain solid. Article link
• Negative Sentiment: A broad semiconductor selloff is pressuring AMAT along with peers like AMD and Intel, as the market rotates out of chip stocks and into other areas. Article link

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc is a U.S.-based supplier of equipment, services and software used to manufacture semiconductor chips, flat panel displays and other advanced materials. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, the company designs and sells capital equipment and related technologies that enable production of integrated circuits, display panels and materials used across the electronics supply chain.

Applied Materials’ offerings include process equipment and factory software that support critical steps in device fabrication, such as deposition, etch, implantation, inspection and metrology, as well as systems for packaging and advanced heterogeneous integration.