Goldman Sachs’ 35 AI Superstars

16. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 74

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) provides equipment, services, and software for the semiconductor industry. There are many aspects that contribute to this company being an excellent investment opportunity. Among them is the company’s strong financial growth, as illustrated in the fiscal year report of 2024. For instance, Applied generated record revenue of $27.18 billion, and on a GAAP basis, the company recorded a gross margin of 47.5%, a record operating income of $7.87 billion or 28.9% of net sales, and a record EPS of $8.61. Additionally, on a non-GAAP adjusted basis, the company reported a gross margin of 47.6%, a record operating income of $7.92 billion or 29.2% of net sales, and a record EPS of $8.65. Moreover, the company’s AIx platform enables engineers to gain real-time insights into semiconductor processes, optimizing thousands of variables to improve performance, power efficiency, area, cost, and time to market. The AIx platform works across all Applied Materials process equipment, eBeam metrology systems and inspection systems and is extendable from lab to fab.