How much a stock's price changes over time is a significant driver for most investors. Not only can price performance impact your portfolio, but it can help you compare investment results across sectors and industries as well.
FOMO, or the fear of missing out, also plays a role in investing, particularly with tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.
What if you'd invested in Applied Materials (AMAT) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to AMAT for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?
Applied Materials' Business In-Depth
With that in mind, let's take a look at Applied Materials' main business drivers.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials is one of the world’s largest suppliers of equipment for the fabrication of semiconductor, flat panel liquid crystal displays (LCDs), and solar photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules. The company also offers deployment and support services related to the equipment supplied.
In fiscal 2025, Applied reported results in four segments—Semiconductor Systems (73.3% of total revenue), Applied Global Services (22.5%), and Corporate and Other (4.2%). The Corporate and Other segment included 89.5% of Display revenues.
Applied Materials’ Silicon segment offers equipment for front-end operations in the semiconductor manufacturing process. Front-end processes involve the deposition or implantation of multiple thin layers of electronically conductive, semiconductive and insulating materials onto and within a silicon wafer with the help of photomasks (reticles) to give multiple copies of integrated circuit devices.
With over 33,000 systems installed, the Applied Global Services segment goes a long way to ensure customer satisfaction and support. There are primarily three kinds of services offered.
Applied has developed technologies for significantly larger-sized wafers made of materials other than silicon. This has helped it expand its portfolio into equipment for thin film transistor (TFT) LCDs (made from glass) and OLED, which are used in smartphones, TVs and other consumer electronic devices. The company operates this business under the Display segment.
The Energy and Environmental Solutions segment primarily consists of the solar product line. Currently, the company offers equipment for manufacturing both wafer-based crystalline silicon (c-Si) and glass-based thin film used in the solar PV cell fabrication process.
Being a leading producer of specialized equipment, most of the competition comes from other large equipment makers, such as KLAC and LRCX.
Bottom Line
Putting together a successful investment portfolio takes a combination of research, patience, and a little bit of risk. For Applied Materials, if you bought shares a decade ago, you're likely feeling really good about your investment today.
A $1000 investment made in May 2016 would be worth $19,716.88, or a 1,871.69% gain, as of May 5, 2026, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.
In comparison, the S&P 500's gained 251.06% and the price of gold went up 239.73% over the same time frame.
Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for AMAT.
Applied Materials is benefiting from strength in the Semiconductor Systems, owing to a rebound in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the foundry and logic space. Consistent progress in the services is aiding Applied Global Services' performance. Solid momentum in the subscription and display businesses is a plus. Its strength in IoT, Communications, Auto, Power and Sensors (ICAPS) is likely to continue aiding its position in the semiconductor industry. Its diversified portfolio remains its key growth driver. Shares of the company have outperformed the industry over the past year. However, increasing U.S.-China tensions and export restrictions on semiconductor manufacturing equipment may undermine its near-term growth prospects. Rising operating costs and intense competition remain other major concerns.
Over the past four weeks, shares have rallied 10.99%, and there have been 1 higher earnings estimate revisions in the past two months for fiscal 2026 compared to none lower. The consensus estimate has moved up as well.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
