New York, January 29, 2026, 11:32 (EST) — Regular session
Shares of Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT.O) dipped 0.9% to $333.80 in late-morning trading Thursday, after initially opening higher and fluctuating between $329.03 and $348.00. Roughly 7.7 million shares traded hands.
The stock shift is significant since chip-tool manufacturers have become a quick gauge of where factory spending is headed next. Investors want to know if bigger budgets are spreading beyond just a handful of headline projects or if spending remains spotty.
Mizuho threw fresh fuel on the debate with an upgrade. Analyst Vijay Rakesh raised Applied to “Outperform” from “Neutral,” hiking his price target to $370 from $275. He sees the company entering a “significant acceleration” in wafer fab equipment (WFE) spending — the machinery for chip manufacturing — through 2027. Rakesh projects WFE growth at 13% in 2026 and 12% in 2027, driven by heavier capital outlays at TSMC and a rebound at Intel. He also highlighted DRAM demand linked to high-bandwidth memory as an added tailwind. (Investing)
The broader market offered little support. The Nasdaq dropped roughly 1% as investors digested major tech earnings and rising AI-related spending, with Microsoft plunging over 11% after cloud revenue fell short, according to Reuters. “I think it’s going to be a show me the money story for AI,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. (Reuters)
Chip-equipment stocks showed a mixed picture. Lam Research climbed roughly 1.1%, KLA gained about 0.4%, but ASML’s U.S.-listed shares slipped close to 0.3%.
Applied released its proxy materials ahead of the annual shareholder meeting scheduled for March 12, according to a recent filing. Shareholders will vote on electing 10 directors, approve executive compensation, and confirm KPMG as the auditor. The meeting will take place at 11:00 a.m. Pacific time in Santa Clara, California. (SEC)
Valuation tensions are ripping through the sector, fueling sudden swings. “Much of the good news is then already priced in,” said Han Dieperink, chief investment officer at Aureus, referring to ASML. JPMorgan’s analyst Sandeep Deshpande chimed in: “We do not see a capacity issue.” Reuters pointed out that investors often buy ASML and peers like Applied to play rising chip demand without betting on specific chipmakers. (Reuters)
Policy risk still casts a long shadow. In November, Applied warned that tougher U.S. export controls would curb its China sales, projecting a $600 million revenue hit in fiscal 2026 due to the expanded restrictions. CEO Gary Dickerson noted then: “Non-U.S. equipment companies don’t have the same restrictions.” (Reuters)
Traders now face a key question: will the upgrade cycle spark more estimate revisions ahead of earnings, or will it falter if customer budgets fall short? A risk-off mood in the Nasdaq could easily drown out individual stock moves for a day or two.
Applied Materials will report its fiscal Q1 2026 earnings on Feb. 12, with a conference call set for 4:30 p.m. ET. Investors are focused on updates regarding order trends, exposure to China, and how quickly the company is ramping up spending on advanced logic and memory equipment. (Globenewswire)
