NEW YORK, Jan 9, 2026, 13:32 (EST) — Regular session
- AMAT shares gained about 6% in afternoon trading, briefly pushing past $300.
- Chip-equipment stocks moved higher after TSMC posted fourth-quarter revenue that topped expectations.
- Traders are keying in on TSMC’s Jan. 15 outlook and Applied’s next earnings update for clues on 2026 spending.
Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) shares jumped about 6% on Friday, at one point topping $300, as chip-equipment names moved higher. AMAT was up 6% at $298.53 in afternoon trading. Lam Research rose about 8%, KLA was up about 5% and ASML added about 6%, while the iShares Semiconductor ETF gained nearly 3%.
The gain came after strong figures from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s biggest contract chipmaker. TSMC said fourth-quarter revenue climbed 20.45% from a year earlier to T$1.046 trillion, beating a market forecast. It will lay out its outlook on a Jan. 15 earnings call, including its capital spending plans. (Reuters)
Fresh U.S. data hit the tape and shoved the rate narrative back into focus. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 50,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.4%, the Labor Department said, with economists expecting the Federal Reserve to hold rates steady at its Jan. 27-28 meeting. (Reuters)
Analysts played up the bounce. Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider hiked his price target on Applied to $310 from $250 and kept a Buy rating, pointing to stronger demand for etch and deposition tools — steps that remove and then add material on a silicon wafer. Mizuho’s Vijay Rakesh bumped his target to $275 from $245 and reiterated an Outperform rating, saying valuations are “attractive” even as he looks for a more modest 2026 for the group. (TipRanks)
The stock sank 3.61% on Thursday to $281.64 for a second consecutive loss, leaving it roughly 5.6% under its 52-week high of $298.22 reached earlier this week. (MarketWatch)
Applied Materials, headquartered in Santa Clara, California, sells the gear chipmakers use to build chips, from deposition systems that lay down thin films to etch machines that cut them back. For investors, the stock is often treated as a proxy for how aggressively chipmakers are willing to spend on new factories and upgrades.
But chip equipment names can reverse quickly when customers push out orders, and China is still a swing market. Applied has said tighter U.S. export controls have limited its access to some customers based in China. (Reuters)
Still to come: TSMC’s Jan. 15 guidance, then Applied’s own report — its next earnings release is estimated for Feb. 12 after the close — to see if 2026 spending stays intact. (MarketBeat)
