We recently compiled a list of the 15 AI News Making Waves Right Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) stands against the other AI stocks that are making waves right now.
With Donald Trump having won the elections, it seems Elon Musk is going to be a powerful force in the administration. After all, X CEO has played an outsized role in his comeback, contributing millions to his campaign, serving as policy advisor, and even using his social media platform as a Make America Great Again (MAGA) advocacy platform.
Now that his efforts have come to fruition Max Tegmark, a leading scientist, who has previously worked with the world’s richest person says Musk’s influence could lead to tougher safety standards for artificial intelligence, as reported by The Guardian.
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Tegmark says Musk’s backing of a failed AI bill demonstrated that Musk is still worried about the repercussions of uncontrolled AI development. The SB 1047 bill in California required companies to stress-test large AI models before releasing them.
Having frequently warned that such an unrestrained development can be catastrophic for humanity, Musk was one of the 30,000 others who had signed a letter calling for a pause on the development of advanced AI technology last year.
According to Tegmark, Musk could convince Trump to introduce standards that prevent the growth of artificial general intelligence (AGI), a term used for AI systems that match or surpass human levels of intelligence.
“I do think that if Elon manages to get Trump’s ear on AI issues we’re more likely to get some form of safety standards, something that prevents AGI. He might help Trump understand that an AGI race is a suicide race.”
– Tegmark, a professor specializing in AI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Before Trump won the elections, Musk had predicted the development of artificial intelligence that would be smarter than the smartest human being by next year or by 2026.
“If you define AGI (artificial general intelligence) as smarter than the smartest human, I think it’s probably next year, within two years”.
– Elon Musk when asked about the timeline for the development of AGI.
For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A technician in a clean room assembling a semiconductor chip using a microscope.
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)
Market Capitalization: $140.75 billion
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is an American corporation that develops, manufactures, markets, and services semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment and related spare parts for the worldwide semiconductor industry. Companies rely on Applied Material’s cutting-edge technology to build some of their most advanced semiconductors.
On November 14, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) forecast its first-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates, implying stagnant demand for chip-making equipment apart from its AI-powered chips. Even though there remains a strong demand for advanced equipment that produces AI chips, weaker spending in some markets has been impacting companies such as Applied Materials. Analyst Brooks Idlet from CFRA noted that hints of slowing growth amidst the recent explosive AI-related growth are being penalized by investors. Additionally, tighter US export restrictions on high-end chips and certain equipment are adding a layer of uncertainty for both suppliers and chip firms. Nevertheless, Chief Executive Officer Gary Dickerson remains confident that AI and new types of chips will help keep the industry growing.
“Applied has leadership in all the advanced segments. AI is the big driver for the entire industry”.
Overall AMAT ranks 4th on our list of the AI stocks that are making waves right now. While we acknowledge the potential of AMAT as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMAT but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
