Applied Materials, Inc. ranks slightly below the peer group median, with stability as the least supportive dimension. That creates a tension: current price behavior looks stronger than the structural profile would suggest.
Peer-relative scores, weakest to strongest
Applied Materials supplies equipment and services for semiconductor manufacturing, focusing on advanced process technologies.
AMAT is priced as an AI infrastructure play with a persistent premium. The company’s 29.2% operating margin anchors its position at the top of the equipment sector, but with revenue tightly linked to AI-driven semiconductor capex, the market interprets every demand shift as a signal for the entire AI cycle—so even minor deviations trigger significant repricing, as seen in the 41.8% one-year volatility. AMAT provides critical technologies for sub-2nm manufacturing, distinguishing it from standard equipment suppliers, which leads the market to value it as a growth proxy for AI infrastructure rather than a typical cyclical. The market prices AMAT’s premium with little tolerance for disappointment, swiftly compressing valuation at the first sign of a weak AI investment quarter: a single miss is enough to sharply reduce the premium.
Break down AMAT's position across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.
This analysis is rule-based and descriptive. Peer-relative scores are derived from functional peer group comparisons using publicly available financial data. Scores reflect structural positioning only and do not constitute investment advice, a buy or sell recommendation, or a forecast of future performance. AssetNext peer scores are recalculated periodically as new data becomes available.
AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.
Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.
Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.
Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.