R&D Process Engineer - Hybrid Bonding

Applied Materials: once-in-a-decade opportunity. 5.88K Followers Summary. * Applied Materials has just sold off by roughly 48% since its ATH. * I believe it created a once-in-a-decade buying opportunity with a high double-digit upside potential. * AI-driven semiconductor demand remains robust, with supply shortages expected through 2030, directly benefiting AMAT's core business. * AMAT delivered a 25% top-line jump, 330 bps margin expansion, and over 40% EPS growth, with bullish Q4 guidance and consensus. * Wall Street Analysts expect over 66% upside with AMAT, which I read as another bullish signal. Some of you who read my articles may know that I'm a big fan of the semiconductor space. I'm invested in a handful of players, which include (among others) Nvidia (NVDA), Micron Technology (

Applied Materials shares have fallen 24% since October 12, from $497.53 to $377.24 at Friday's close. The drop followed an October 13 investor presentation in which the company set ambitious profit targets but gave no forecast for wafer fab equipment (WFE) spending. By 2030, Applied Materials targets a non-GAAP gross margin of about 54% and an operating margin of 40%. Chief executive officer Gary Dickerson declined to give a WFE forecast but expressed "tremendous confidence" in computing demand. The stock fell 6.7% on October 13, more than rivals Lam Research, KLA, and ASML, which lost roughly 2.6% to 3.5%. It trades at about 21.4x forward earnings, down from nearly 49x in late June. The company reports fiscal fourth-quarter earnings on November 12. Analysts expect revenue of about $10.30 billion and adjusted earnings of $4.06 per share. China accounts for about 30% of fiscal 2025 revenue.

Chip stocks break a bear trap after a $3 trillion rout - here are the levels bulls need to hold. Chip bulls sprang a bear trap on Tuesday. Two sessions later, the floor under it has cracked. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (^SOX) fell more than 6% Thursday, closing below 11,000 - the support that rescued the group twice since September. A bear trap is a breakdown that quickly reverses, catching traders who bet on further losses. This one only worked as long as that floor held. It was the index's worst day since June and its lowest close since July 29. The damage is piling up. All 60 stocks in a Yahoo Finance chip basket are down since Oct. 6, erasing more than $3 trillion in market value, more than $900 billion of it Thursday alone. Lam Research (LRCX) and Applied Materials (AMAT) have each lost about 30% in that span, and AMD (AMD) more than 20%. Nvidia (NVDA) has fallen less, but on its size that's more than $600 billion. Lam Research corporation (LRCX). 230.10 -0.05 (-0.02%) At close: October 23 at 4:00:01 PM EDT 229.37 -0.73 (-0.32%) After hours: October 23 at 7:59:10 PM EDT LRCX AMD NVDA Lam led Thursday's slide after reporting record revenue Wednesday night. The company said supply limits capped its outlook and that China sales will be "meaningfully down" in December. The selling isn't sparing the giants. Meta (META) shed more than $120 billion in market value after its earnings, and SpaceX (SPCX) and Amazon (AMZN) slid too. Still, the Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) is down about 7% since Oct. 6. Chips are down more than twice as much. The 11,000 floor cracked. The index closed near 11,130 on Sept. 14 and again on Oct. 16. Tuesday's dip into that zone reversed sharply, springing the trap. Thursday's break puts the 10,450-10,550 zone in focus. That's where the summer rally started on July 29. The 200-day moving average sits just above it, and Thursday's low stopped a few points short of that line. On the upside, bulls first need to win back 11,000, then 12,600-12,700. That area capped rallies in August and September. Dip buyers haven't given up. Semiconductor ETFs saw record flows over the past week, Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas posted Thursday. "Buying the dip here has [a] pretty good record of working," he wrote. There's little room to hide from the AI trade. "Every index on the planet is basically an AI index," Matt Miskin, co-chief investment strategist at Manulife John Hancock Investments, said on Yahoo Finance's live show Thursday. The close below 11,000 puts the 10,500 area in play if the 200-day gives way. Bulls need a close back above 11,000 in the next couple of days to revive the trap. Internal AI tools helped analyze interview transcripts, research, and draft this post. Humans reviewed, edited, and fact-checked this post before publication. Jared Blikre is the global markets and data editor for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X at @SPYJared or email him at [email protected].