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Both companies sell semiconductor factory equipment to chipmakers, and both rely on customers’ spending on new fabs and upgrades. Lam focuses on deposition, etch, and clean tools, which overlap with parts of Applied Materials’ wafer fabrication equipment business, so they often compete for the same chipmaking budgets.
As of May 4, 2026
For informational purposes only.
Today Applied Materials inched up about half a percent to roughly $391 on slightly lighter-than-usual trading. After a wild, up-and-down stretch in April, this was more of a “catch your breath” kind of day: buyers had a small edge, volatility stayed low, and the stock sat in the middle of its recent range rather than making a big move in either direction.
So what does that mean for you? In plain terms: nothing big changed today. The key story is still that the stock has run very far, very fast, and the market is now deciding whether that big price jump is truly backed by future growth.
Over the past year the share price has surged about 150%, but revenue only grew a little over 2%. An article last week pointed out that the P/E ratio — the price investors pay for each dollar of past earnings — has more than doubled from around 19× to over 42×. In everyday language, the market is now paying a “premium price tag” for this stock.
Today’s small gain, with low volatility and normal-ish volume, suggests investors aren’t rushing for the exits, but they are also not chasing it higher right this second. The stock is trading well above its longer-term average price, which still says “uptrend,” but over the last week it’s drifted slightly down, which says “taking a pause.”
