Applied Materials Profit Rises On Soaring AI Computing Demand

By Katherine Hamilton

Applied Materials logged higher profit in the fiscal first quarter as artificial intelligence computing demand soars.

The semiconductor-equipment maker on Thursday posted a profit of $2.03 billion, or $2.54 a share, in the quarter ended in January, compared with $1.19 billion, or $1.45 a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were $2.38, ahead of the $2.21 anticipated by analysts, according to FactSet.

Revenue fell 2% to $7.01 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast revenue of $6.87 billion.

Applied Materials expects revenue in the current quarter to be $7.15 billion to $8.15 billion. It anticipates adjusted earnings per share in a range from $2.44 to $2.84.

Wall Street was projecting $7.01 billion in second-quarter revenue and $2.28 in adjusted earnings per share.

The company's results were boosted by the acceleration of industry investments in AI computing, Chief Executive Gary Dickerson said. The need for higher performing and more energy-efficient chips is driving growth rates for memory and packaging, he said.

Dickerson said Applied Materials' semiconductor equipment business will grow more than 20% this calendar year.

The company has nearly doubled its system manufacturing capability and increased inventories to keep up with demand, Chief Financial Officer Brice Hill added.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 12, 2026 16:37 ET (21:37 GMT)