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Democrat Sherrod Brown dumped stock after meeting company's CFO. 27 Oct 2026 11 Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown dumped $15,000 in stock after meeting with the company's CFO, a curiously timed move that has resurfaced as he aims to recapture a Senate seat in next week's midterm election against Republican Sen. Jon Husted. Discover more Breitbart News subscription Political news updates Culture war commentary In June 2010, Brown and several other senators met with the CFO of Applied Materials and other executives on potential legislation to combat global warming by instituting cap-and-trade policies, the Hill reported. The meeting also included CEOs of General Electric, Dow Corning, and Honeywell International. One month later, the Emily C. Brown Trust, of which the then-senator was a trustee, sold stock in Applied Materials valued at up to $15,000 - shortly before the company announced a major restructuring effort and laid off 500 employees. The company's stock subsequently fell 12 percent from July 21 through August 12, and by August 31 it was down 17 percent. The company's third-quarter earnings filing showed the restructuring effort cost the company $405 million. Brown later admitted to failing to report a transaction on his Senate financial disclosure - the sale of Applied Materials stock. In a letter to the Secretary of the Senate, Brown wrote that he failed to report the transaction. However, Brown's letter is dated May 14, 2011, but the stamp of acceptance from the Secretary of the Senate office is May 14, 2012. Brown has not addressed the discrepancy. Concurrently, the STOCK Act was moving through Congress in early 2012, which requires the public notification of trades greater than $1,000 within 30-45 days of the trade and other transparency measures. The bill was signed into law on April 4, 2012, and Brown's letter was stamped by the Secretary of the Senate's office on May 14, 2012. Breitbart News senior contributor Peter Schweizer and the late Andrew Breitbart led the charge to ban members of Congress from using nonpublic information for their own profit. Brown was an active trustee of the Emily C. Brown Trust for over three years and held fiduciary responsibility. Under Senate ethics rules, it did not qualify as a blind trust, meaning Brown had access to and/or knowledge of trades made by the trust. In February 2012, Brown loudly backed anti-insider trading legislation, telling CBS News, "Senators shouldn't be voting on issues that affect their financial investments." The timing of his sale of Applied Materials stock and the year-long gap between the date of his letter and its stamp of acceptance raise the question of why the sale came shortly before the company's restructuring announcement.

BE Semiconductor shares jump after Applied Materials increases stake. Published on 10/27/2026 at 06:24 am EDT - Modified on 10/27/2026 at 07:13 am EDT By Joe Stonor Be Semiconductor Industries shares jumped after fellow semiconductor-equipment maker Applied Materials said it would increase its stake in the company to 20% of outstanding shares. Shares rose 9.2% to 13.40 euros in morning European trade, helping to lift the stock away from year-to-date lows hit earlier this month. California-based Applied Materials said it would increase its ownership stake via an accelerated share purchase agreement. The company initially invested in Besi in April 2025, and the two companies started collaborating in 2020. Even without increasing its stake, Applied Materials is currently Besi's largest shareholder, owning 9% of outstanding shares, according to LSEG. At Besi's Monday closing price, an 11% increase in Applied Material's position would cost the company 1.30 billion euros, or around $1.45 billion. Applied Materials has no current plans to further increase its stake in Besi, nor will it seek representation on the Amsterdam-listed group's board, the company said. "Applied Materials is adding to its investment in Besi as hybrid bonding technology and next-generation interconnect architectures become increasingly critical enablers of energy-efficient AI compute performance," said Prabu Raja, president of Applied Materials' semiconductor products group. Applied Materials and Besi collaborate on product development, with Besi recently joining Applied Materials' research-and-development center as an innovation partner. Besi shares have dropped by around 54% since their June highs, as jitters around the artificial-intelligence buildout and concerns around demand for Besi's hybrid bonding technology weighed on the stock. Write to Joe Stonor at [email protected] Corrections & Amplifications This was corrected at 6:58 a.m. ET because the original version misstated Applied Materials' name in the headline as Advanced Materials and the share price of BE Semiconductor Industries as 9.2% in the article. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 10-27-26 0623ET (C) Dow Jones - 2026

Applied Materials is raising its stake in BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi), a Dutch maker of semiconductor assembly equipment, to about 20% of the company's outstanding shares. It first invested in Besi in April 2025. The US chip equipment maker has signed an accelerated share purchase agreement. Delivery of the shares depends on the waiting period ending under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. The companies have collaborated since 2020. Besi has now joined Applied's EPIC Center as an Innovation Partner, extending their work beyond hybrid bonding into new interconnect designs for AI-driven chip scaling. Applied calls the stake a long-term investment. It does not plan to go beyond 20% or seek a seat on Besi's board.