5) Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)
5-year Sales Growth: ~13.22%
TTM net income: $7,177.0 Million
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is engaged in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. Morningstar believes that the company tends to benefit from good AI investment and broader demand across semiconductor markets. The firm expects 8% compound annual sales growth for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) through fiscal 2029. Furthermore, it projects strong growth for the company in fiscal 2025 and 2026, aided partly by strong capacity expansions at chipmakers to supply AI demand. The company’s system sales are the most cyclical, while its services business is stable, which supports offsetting some cyclicality on the top line.
Morningstar gave a wide moat rating to the company, given its intangible assets and switching costs. As per the firm, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has the most comprehensive portfolio of equipment for semiconductor manufacturing. The company is expected to benefit from drivers of chip complexity, such as gate-all-around transistors and advanced packaging. Furthermore, Morningstar expects the company to focus on generating strong cash flow while prioritizing R&D investment.
KeyCorp upgraded the shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) from a “Sector weight” rating to an “Overweight” rating, providing a price target of $225.00 on 17th January. Vltava Fund, an investment management company, recently released its Q4 2024 investor letter. Here is what the fund said:
“In the quarter just ended, we added to the portfolio two new companies from the technology sector: Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Lam Research. Both are in the same industry as is another of our investments that we have held for some time, KLA Corporation. This industry is termed semiconductor devices and materials. One chapter in Hidden Investment Treasures is devoted to investing in technology companies and, among other things, the controversy over what really constitutes a technology company. As investors, we try to view technology companies not according to the industry into which they are formally classified but by whether the technologies and technological processes used in the production of their products and services are an essential element in value creation or if they are a source of long-term, sustainable competitive advantage. Among the companies that are formally categorized as technology-based and fall into either the Information Technology or the Communications Services sector, we find some that can be said to be just that but also others for which this classification is at least debatable. Similarly, among companies that do not formally belong to these two sectors, we find many that clearly are built to a large extent on technology and base their market positions and competitiveness on it. In the cases of Applied Materials and Lam Research, there can be no doubt that these are technology companies not only as a formality but also in fact.
Applied Materials provides manufacturing equipment, services, and software for the semiconductor, display, and related industries. Its principal business activities are semiconductor systems and Applied Global Services. Its largest customers are Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductors, but its overall clientele is more diversified than is that of Lam Research. At first glance, it would appear that Applied Materials has a somewhat less tangible and definable competitive advantage compared to KLA Corporation and Lam Research, but the numbers do not support such a view. Net margins likewise in the neighborhood of 27% and ROCE around 30% are outstanding. Basically, it can be said that all three companies we own have very similar underlying profitability metrics. Even their valuations, growth, and potential are similar. All have strong free cash flow and strong balance sheets, and they are regularly buying back their own shares over the long term and in large volumes…” (Click here to read the full text)
