Applied Materials dips despite posting modest beats on Q4 sales, EPS

Solid Q4 results and a slightly better-than-anticipated outlook from Applied Materials aren’t inspiring any would-be buyers.

For the three months ended October 26, the firm reported:

• Revenue: $6.8 billion (compared to analyst estimates of $6.67 billion and guidance for $6.2 billion to $7.2 billion)

• Adjusted earnings per share: $2.17 (estimate: $2.11, guidance: $1.91 to $2.21)

Shares are down about 2% in after-hours trading.

Q1 guidance was also modestly ahead of estimates, as management pointed to sales of about $6.85 billion (plus or minus $500 million) with adjusted earnings per share of $2.18 (plus or minus $0.05). The consensus estimates for these figures were $6.81 billion and $2.15, respectively.

The company is preparing to meet a bigger pickup in demand by the middle of next year.

“Based on our conversations with our customers and partners, we are preparing Applied’s operations and service organizations to be ready to support higher demand beginning in the second half of calendar 2026,” Chief Financial Officer Brice Hill said.

Applied Materials was up more than 35% year to date heading into this report. That being said, it’s thoroughly lagged peers KLA Corp and Lam Research in the semi wafer fab equipment space, with the bulk of that underperformance coming after its Q3 earnings report in mid-August included underwhelming guidance for these Q4 results.

The entire space has come under scrutiny for its business with China, but Applied Materials has had the worst go of it: in early October, management flagged a $600 million hit to fiscal 2026 sales because of export restrictions.