Applied Materials Tops Second-Quarter Views Amid Computing Infrastructure Growth

Applied Materials' (AMAT) fiscal second-quarter results exceeded Wall Street's estimates as the semiconductor equipment maker capitalized on mounting demand for computing infrastructure.

Adjusted earnings per share increased to $2.86 during the quarter ended April 26 from $2.39 a year ago, topping the FactSet-polled consensus of $2.68. Revenue grew 11% to $7.91 billion, ahead of the Street's $7.68 billion view.

"The rapid global build-out of (artificial intelligence) computing infrastructure combined with Applied's strong leadership positions in leading-edge logic, (dynamic random access memory) and advanced packaging provide an exceptionally strong foundation for sustained, multi-year revenue and profit growth," Chief Executive Gary Dickerson said in a statement late Thursday.

Sales in the semiconductor systems segment rose to $5.97 billion from $5.40 billion, while applied global services advanced to $1.67 billion from $1.42 billion.

RBC Capital Markets expected Applied Materials to beat second-quarter estimates and provide an above-consensus third-quarter outlook amid robust DRAM and high-bandwidth memory spending trends.

Applied Materials expects adjusted EPS of $3.36 a share, plus or minus $0.20, for the ongoing quarter. Revenue is pegged at $8.95 billion, plus or minus $500 million. The consensus on FactSet is for non-GAAP EPS of $2.89 and sales of $8.14 billion.

"We now expect our semiconductor equipment business to grow more than 30% in calendar 2026," Dickerson said.

Applied Materials shares were up 3.8% in after-hours trading. The stock is up 71% so far this year as of Thursday close.

Tech Gains Lift Nasdaq, S&P 500 to New Highs

The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 hit new peaks on Thursday, buoyed again by gains in the technology sector.The Nasdaq rose 0.9% to 26,635.2, while the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to 7,501.4 -- both logging record closing highs for the second straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.8% to settle at 50,063.5.Six of the 11 sectors were in the green, led by tech's 1.9% jump, while materials saw the biggest drop. The tech sector rallied yesterday too, ahead of high-stakes talks between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.Cisco Systems (CSCO) shares rallied 13%, the biggest gainer on the S&P 500 and the Dow. Late Wednesday, Cisco's fiscal third-quarter results exceeded Wall Street's estimates, while the networking equipment maker announced a restructuring plan that involved thousands of layoffs.Cisco's expanded hyperscaler partnerships are paying dividends for the company, as evidenced by management expectations for a surge in artificial intelligence orders, Morgan Stanley said in a note e-mailed Thursday.Nvidia (NVDA) followed Cisco on the Dow, up 4.4%. IBM (IBM), Salesforce (CRM) and Microsoft (MSFT) also closed higher.About 10 Chinese companies have secured US clearance to purchase Nvidia's H200 AI chip, Reuters reported, citing unnamed sources."Despite this approval, however, H200s still have not made their way to China given the apparent reluctance of Beijing to support Chinese firms' purchase of American made accelerators," Wedbush Securities analyst Matt Bryson said in a report. "We view this week's talks between the US and China as a chance to possibly shift this dynamic."Trump arrived in China on Wednesday, along with Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang and other executives of major American companies. China's Xi told Huang and CEOs of companies including Apple (AAPL) and Tesla (TSLA) that China will "open wider" to doing business, news outlets reported.Boeing (BA) is set to get an order for 200 jets from China, Fox News reported, citing Trump. The US planemaker's shares declined 4.7%, the biggest drop on the Dow.US Treasury yields were higher in Thursday late-afternoon trade, with the 10-year rate up 1.4 basis points at 4.48% and the two-year rate rising 2.1 basis points to 4.01%.West Texas Intermediate crude was last up 1% at $102.07 a barrel, while Brent rose 0.9% to $106.55.Xi and Trump agreed that the crucial Strait of Hormuz should remain open, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a White House readout of the Trump-Xi talks."The market could be pinning too much hope on the US-China talks yielding some positive results on Iran," ING Bank said in a note. "Some hope that China could exert pressure on Iran to reach a deal with the US, to end the war and lead to a resumption of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz."In other company news, Cerebras Systems (CBRS) surged 68% in its public market debut on Thursday, after the artificial intelligence chipmaker priced its initial public offering at well above the top end of the projected range.In economic news, US retail sales in April rose for the third straight month, with analysts saying the increase largely reflected higher prices as the war in Iran kept fuel costs elevated.Inflation has become the "most pressing risk" to the US economy, Kansas City Fed President Jeff Schmid said Thursday."While inflation has moderated significantly from its peak, in my discussions with business leaders across the Tenth District, it is clear that it is still too high," Schmid said in prepared remarks for a conference.Gold was last down 1.1% at $4,654.70 per troy ounce, while silver tumbled 6.2% to $83.84 per ounce.

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Cerebras Soars in Nasdaq Debut After Pricing IPO Above Range

Cerebras Systems (CBRS) soared in its public market debut on Thursday after the artificial intelligence chipmaker priced its initial public offering at well above the top end of the projected range.The company set an IPO price of $185 per share for 30 million shares, higher than its prior upgraded range of $150 to $160, Cerebras said late Wednesday. It granted the underwriters an option to buy a maximum of 4.5 million additional shares.The IPO could yield up to $6.38 billion' calculations showed, assuming that underwriters exercise their over-allotment option in full.The stock opened trading on the Nasdaq at $350 on Thursday. Cerebras' share price was most recently up 75% at $324, giving it a market capitalization of more than $70 billion, Yahoo Finance data showed.The offering is anticipated to close on Friday.Cerebras, which competes with companies including Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in the hardware category, reported 2025 net income of $1.38 per share on revenue of $510 million. That compares with a loss of $9.90 per share and revenue of $290.3 million in 2024.It also competes with cloud service providers such as Amazon (AMZN) Web Services and Microsoft's (MSFT) Azure.Last month, the company said it had raised $2.85 billion in capital over a period of eight months, including a new credit facility for up to $850 million. Cerebras in October 2025 dropped plans to go public.Earlier this year, Cerebras agreed to deploy 750 megawatts of its wafer-scale systems for OpenAI's customers. The deal was valued at more than $20 billion.Price: $315.43, Change: $+130.43, Percent Change: +70.50%

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New-Home Buyer Can Save $25,000-Plus Over Decade Amid Lower Operating Costs, Realtor.com Says

Buyers of new US homes gain a financial advantage during the first decade of ownership, compared with those purchasing existing houses, as energy efficiency and lower maintenance costs help reduce expenses, a report by News Corp's (NWS, NWSA) Realtor.com showed Thursday.A buyer of an average new home can expect to save $25,335 over the first 10 years of ownership, compared with the purchaser of a 20-year-old house. The savings in a newly constructed home are driven by fewer major repairs and lower energy bills, according to a report by the online real estate portal."Homeownership is not a one-time expense, and the ongoing costs of owning a home are where new construction really shines," Realtor.com Senior Economist Joel Berner said.In 16 of the top 300 US metropolitan areas, the cost savings of purchasing new construction over a decade surpass the pricing gap between the median new-construction listing and the median existing-home listing, according to the report."These savings estimates are actually conservative," Berner said. "Builder warranties frequently cover (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) repairs in the early years, meaning new construction buyers often pay nothing out of pocket."Massachusetts leads the list with $38,927 in new-construction savings over a 10-year period, as New England's strict building codes and harsh winters outperform Southern markets in energy efficiency gains, the report said.Considering the mortgage rate buydowns builders have been offering -- which can translate to about $30,000 in savings over a decade -- the total financial advantage of purchasing new homes becomes "even more substantial," Berner said.Price: $29.97, Change: $-0.72, Percent Change: -2.33%

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