BENGALURU, May 4, 2026, 01:37 IST
Applied Materials Inc. is set to gain 140 acres near the Bengaluru airport, after Karnataka cleared the way for the U.S. chip-equipment giant to expand its research presence in India. The land, part of Bengaluru Signature Business Park, comes with a price tag of roughly ₹780 crore—though final pricing and approvals remain in the works. Investors are watching as the company navigates China export restrictions while betting on AI-led demand.
The timing’s important: Applied’s pushing to ramp up R&D just as its customers scramble to make AI chips. The surge traces back to demand for top-tier logic chips, high-bandwidth memory—stacked memory running next to AI processors—and advanced packaging, a technique that packs chips closer together for more speed and lower power consumption.
This comes just ahead of a key moment for Applied Materials stock: the company is scheduled to post its fiscal second-quarter results on May 14. AMAT shares wrapped up the session at $389.08, off 1.37%, leaving the chip-equipment giant with a market cap near $310.9 billion as U.S. markets headed into the weekend.
The cabinet cleared the land allocation after examining valuation standards, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H.K. Patil told Moneycontrol. Authorities fixed the price at ₹1,288 per sq ft and are still weighing options for selling off the rest of the business park’s 267 acres.
Applied Materials plans to build out an R&D ecosystem at the Devanahalli site, The Times of India reported. The Bengaluru Signature Business Park—close to Kempegowda International Airport—sits in an area the state has been pushing as a high-tech business destination.
Applied has long maintained a significant presence in India. Back in February, the company announced it had opened a sprawling campus in Bengaluru spanning over 800,000 square feet. It also pointed to its India Validation Center, which it claims is the country’s sole site equipped to handle 300-mm wafers—those thin silicon disks at the heart of chipmaking. “More than a building,” is how Avi Avula, who heads Applied Materials India, summed up the new campus. Applied Materials
Applied’s numbers put its India move into sharper focus. First-quarter revenue came in at $7.01 billion—a 2% dip from last year. GAAP earnings per share landed at $2.54, while non-GAAP earnings per share were $2.38; that non-GAAP figure strips out certain items. “Industry investments in AI computing” powered the quarter, according to CEO Gary Dickerson. CFO Brice Hill added that system manufacturing capability has nearly doubled over the past few years. Applied Materials
Whether AI demand will fuel the next wave of equipment investment remains a focus for analysts. Timm Schulze-Melander at Rothschild & Co. Redburn described memory and logic-foundry capex as “two sides of the same coin,” but pointed to memory as the heavier lift in the near term. Applied is looking for second-quarter sales around $7.65 billion, with a swing of $500 million either way. Reuters
India’s approval doesn’t erase regulatory concerns. The land allotment is still pending key clearances and a final price tag. Last week, Reuters reported that the U.S. Commerce Department had sent letters halting some shipments to two Hua Hong sites—a move thought to hit Applied, Lam Research, and KLA. Chris McGuire, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, described the crackdown as “overdue and welcome,” but added it won’t have teeth unless it includes overseas subsidiaries. ETManufacturing.in
Defiance ETFs drew some attention after rolling out a daily 2X long AMAT ETF on May 1. The fund targets double the daily returns of Applied Materials shares. Still, Defiance cautioned it’s designed for short-term trading, doesn’t amount to owning Applied directly, and investors could lose their entire principal in just one session.
