Applied Materials sinks ~8% at investor day as CEO declines to give WFE forecast
What happened
Applied Materials shares sank about 7.7-8.5% on Tuesday during the company's investor day, closing toward $459, after CEO Gary Dickerson declined to provide a forecast for the wafer-fab equipment (WFE) industry — the key demand gauge investors wanted. The event itself was not all negative: Applied Materials outlined plans to return 80-100% of free cash flow to shareholders by 2030, raise its WFE market share by more than two percentage points by 2030, and target adjusted gross margin of approximately 54% and adjusted operating margin of around 40% through 2030. But Dickerson offered only general confidence about a strong compound annual growth rate for WFE, and that was not enough for investors. The stock broke decisively below its 50-day moving average near $489 and retreated toward its 200-day average near $436, a level it has not closed below since September 2025.
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- AMAT (Applied Materials): worst performer in the Nasdaq 100 and second-worst in the S&P 500 on Tuesday, down ~8% to ~$459, sixth straight decline, -14% over six sessions. KLAC (KLA): fellow chip-equipment maker down ~4%, testing support at its 200-day moving average. Semiconductor-equipment group: worst of 142 industry groups tracked by IBD, down more than 4% on a market-value-weighted basis. Broader chip complex (SOXX, SMH): SOXX down a further ~1% after falling 2.5% Monday
- SMH down 1.3% intraday but holding above its rising 50-day average.