Applied Materials (AMAT) is set to report its Q3 fiscal 2026 results after the market closes on Thursday, August 13. The earnings call is scheduled for 4:30 PM ET.
Wall Street expects EPS of $3.39 and revenue of around $9 billion. That would represent revenue growth of roughly 23% year over year. Applied Materials has guided for EPS in the range of $3.16 to $3.56.
AMAT stock is trading around $539, down from a year-to-date high of $739.67. That’s a drop of roughly 27% from peak, putting it in local bear market territory.
The stock has a 12-month low of $154.46 and a market cap of approximately $424 billion. It currently trades at a forward P/E of 43.8, above its five-year average of 21.18.
Last quarter, the company beat expectations. EPS came in at $2.86 versus the $2.68 consensus. Revenue hit $7.91 billion, up 11.4% year over year, beating the $7.68 billion estimate.
Gross margin in Q2 reached 50%, and operating income rose 20% to $2.5 billion. Semiconductor systems brought in $5.9 billion of revenue, with applied global services adding $1.66 billion.
One number stood out on the wrong side. Free cash flow dropped to $210 million from $1.06 billion in the same quarter last year.
Analyst sentiment heading into earnings is broadly positive. The consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $603.23, which implies roughly 12% upside from current levels.
Susquehanna raised its target from $575 to $900 with a “positive” rating. Wells Fargo lifted its target to $740 with an “overweight” rating. Morgan Stanley moved its target up to $647, though it kept an “equal weight” rating.
Erste Group Bank was the lone downgrade, cutting from “buy” to “hold.” Among 34 analysts tracked by MarketBeat, one has a Strong Buy, 26 have Buy ratings, and seven have Hold ratings.
CEO Gary Dickerson sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $735.22 on June 30, totaling $14.7 million. SVP Timothy Deane sold 8,621 shares at $590.76 on June 15, worth around $5.1 million.
In total, insiders sold 278,088 shares worth roughly $169.7 million over the past three months. Insiders now own 0.30% of the company. Institutional investors hold 80.56%.
Applied Materials also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, payable September 10 to shareholders of record on August 20.
The stock also appeared on a reported short list from Michael Burry, who has flagged concerns about a potential market pullback. That has added some negative pressure on sentiment around AMAT and other chip-related names.
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