GrowthTurtle
Data Science PhD & IEEE Fellow, Ex-Two Sigma
Applied Materials looks expensive against its earnings at $511.75, or 29x next year's earnings, versus the usual 18x for chip-equipment makers. An 18x multiple on forward EPS of $17.91 gives a fair range of $283.64 to $360.99, leaving shares 42% above the high end, and the forward read leans on forecasts 54% above trailing. The view uses levels only, from reported earnings and revenue estimates. x.comÂ
Applied Materials is the chokepoint for high-bandwidth memory, which AI needs faster than fabs can produce it. Its deposition machines layer every memory chip, with 12+ month equipment lead times and no substitute. The stock fell 2% despite a beat at $2.86 per share because the market is repricing the forward guide, not last quarter; the why matters more than the when. Micron is the direct winner as Applied's gear ships, and SanDisk's flash storage runs the same bottleneck. x.comÂ
Semiconductor equipment makers such as Applied Materials, KLA and Lam Research look like shorts, a view Michael Burry now shares: per @zerohedge, Burry says he shorted Applied Materials, along with Tesla, Nvidia and, for the first time, Caterpillar. x.comÂ
Accelerating earnings mean ASML is not expensive right now. It trades at 24x forward earnings and 19x forward EV/EBITDA. x.comÂ
Applied Materials' record revenue and Q4 guidance show strong AI equipment demand, and the median analyst target implies 42.9% upside over the next 12 months. x.comÂ
Lam Research's record results suggest the equipment cycle is not ending despite its stock selloff. Revenue reached $8.22B, up 54% year over year and over 20% sequentially, while EPS rose 75%; ASML and TSMC also report customers needing more tools. Overweight with a $355 target and 35% upside, but the selloff is a gift only if Lam guides December higher. x.com x.comÂ
The Nasdaq 100 already effectively prices in a severe semiconductor recession. QQQ trades at about 20 times 2027 EPS versus a 10-year average forward P/E near 25; halving 2027 estimates for Nvidia, Broadcom, AMD, Micron, Lam Research and Applied Materials would lift that only to 24.5. If the market instead traded at 20 times in that scenario, downside would be about 20%. Capex seems unlikely to be cut materially unless growth at AI labs such as Anthropic decelerates dramatically. x.comÂ
Applied Materials' largely fixed cost base could carry operating margins above management's 40% target if revenue approaches the upper scenarios. World Trade Securities sees 40% as a floor despite the step up from 30%; gross margin is guided to 54% and opex to fall from 19% to 14% of revenue. Its upside case uses a 45% margin, lifting 2030 EPS to $32-$47, about $4-$5 above the management framework across scenarios. x.comÂ
The OpenAI ecosystem is lifting a broad supply chain, from Microsoft's $300B and Oracle's $200B backlogs to Nvidia and AMD, whose MI450 has a massive customer. Micron trades at 7x earnings that are still rising, Korean memory is fully sold out and TSMC is king. ASML has no capacity for the next 12 months, Lam is the best memory supplier and KLA the best equipment maker, while Applied Materials depends on China returning given 40% exposure. Optical, chemical and test suppliers also gain. x.comÂ
Improving earnings and more attractive valuations favor AI infrastructure names Nvidia, Micron, Broadcom and TSMC. Goldman Sachs charts put memory stocks at about 4 times two-year forward earnings versus an 8 times median, and large fabless chip stocks at about 13 times versus 18 times. x.comÂ
Next-generation AI systems could double wafer demand, keeping the long-term outlook compelling for semiconductor equipment makers. Applied Materials targets more than $12 billion in services revenue and roughly 40% operating margins by 2030; management expects over two points of share gains and potentially more than $5 billion in advanced-packaging revenue, driven by HBM and AI demand. Bullish on Applied Materials, Lam Research, ASML and KLA. x.comÂ
Low multiples give AI infrastructure good risk/reward as demand outruns supply and agentic workloads have runway. TSMC at 17x 2027E EPS appears to have all the accelerator and CPU demand it can handle this year and next; Ultra Clean is at 8x, MKS 12x, TTM 13x, Nvidia 14x and Celestica 15x. Kioxia at 3x and Samsung preferreds at 2.5x carry a big discount on pricing and cycle fears. Multiples imply a 2027 capex peak and meaningful drop; 2028 capex growth is expected, but below 2027's rate. x.com … Show more
