New York, Jan 30, 2026, 19:24 EST — After-hours
- Applied Materials fell 5.6% on Friday, trailing the broader chip sector.
- Chip equipment stocks fell following KLA’s steep decline and a wider shift toward risk aversion in U.S. equities.
- Attention turns to Applied’s February 12 earnings and new clues on wafer-fab spending.
Applied Materials (AMAT) shares tumbled 5.6% on Friday, dragged down by a broader selloff in chip-equipment stocks despite generally positive demand reports in the sector.
The slide is significant now as chip-tool makers have become a crowded trade linked to the AI boom and factory investments. This sector usually stumbles when interest rates rise and risk appetite dries up.
The mood shifted sharply at the close as investors digested President Donald Trump’s pick of Kevin Warsh to head the Federal Reserve, alongside a hotter-than-expected inflation reading. Both factors dragged markets down.
Applied Materials closed at $322.32, slipping 5.57% after fluctuating between $321.54 and $340.95 during the session.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped 3.87%, underscoring the swift shift in sentiment across the chip sector.
Some peers faced steeper losses. KLA plunged over 15%, while Lam Research slid more than 5%, a market wrap noted, highlighting the strain on chip and AI infrastructure names.
KLA’s numbers weren’t the issue. “The stock had already raced ahead of the earnings, hitting new highs on expectations that might have outpaced the official consensus,” said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors, after KLA’s report. https://www.reuters.com/business/kla-corp-beats-quarterly-results-estimates-strong-chipmaking-tool-demand-2026-01-29/
Lam also projected third-quarter revenue ahead of Wall Street’s expectations, with CEO Tim Archer highlighting a move toward “smaller, more complex three-dimensional devices and packages.” Still, profit-taking hit the stock on Friday. https://www.reuters.com/business/lam-research-forecasts-strong-quarterly-results-chipmaking-tool-demand-2026-01-28/
Applied Materials didn’t release a new operational update on Friday, but shareholders received fresh paperwork to review. The company scheduled its annual meeting for March 12 in Santa Clara, California.
Policy risk remains the larger concern. Applied warned that stricter U.S. export controls will probably hit its China-related sales and dampen China’s chipmaking equipment spending in 2026.
Applied is set to release its fiscal first-quarter results on Feb. 12. Investors will zero in on the company’s outlook for wafer-fab equipment — crucial for chip manufacturing — and any shifts in demand linked to AI servers, memory, or China-related restrictions.
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