Here's How Much You'd Have If You Invested $1000 in Applied Materials a Decade Ago

For most investors, how much a stock's price changes over time is important. Not only can it impact your investment portfolio, but it can also help you compare investment results across sectors and industries.Another thing that can drive investing is the fear of missing out, or FOMO. This particularly applies to tech giants and popular consumer-facing stocks.What if you'd invested in Applied Materials (AMAT) ten years ago? It may not have been easy to hold on to AMAT for all that time, but if you did, how much would your investment be worth today?Applied Materials' Business In-DepthWith that in mind, let's take a look at Applied Materials' main business drivers.Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Applied Materials is a leading supplier of equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, flat panel displays and solar photovoltaic (PV) products. The company also provides deployment and support services for the tools it installs at customer fabs.Applied Materials currently reports results in three segments. Semiconductor Systems is the largest segment and includes equipment used in front-end semiconductor manufacturing, including the 200-millimeter equipment business, which was moved into Semiconductor Systems beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2026. Applied Global Services provides spares, upgrades, service contracts and other productivity solutions that help customers improve uptime, output and yield across a large installed base. Other primarily includes the Display business and certain corporate activities.Applied Materials’ semiconductor equipment portfolio supports front-end operations in the chipmaking process. These steps involve the deposition or implantation of multiple thin layers of electronically conductive, semiconductive and insulating materials onto and within a silicon wafer, using photomasks (reticles) to create multiple copies of integrated circuit devices.With over 33,000 systems installed, Applied Global Services supports customers through a mix of parts, upgrades and service programs.Applied Materials has developed technologies for larger-sized wafers made of materials other than silicon. This has expanded its portfolio into equipment for the thin film transistor (TFT) LCDs (made from glass) and OLED, which are used in smartphones, TVs and other consumer electronic devices. The company operates this business under Display, which is included in the Other category.Being a leading producer of specialized equipment, most of the competition comes from other large equipment makers, such as KLAC and LRCX. Bottom LineWhile anyone can invest, building a lucrative investment portfolio takes research, patience, and a little bit of risk. If you had invested in Applied Materials ten years ago, you're probably feeling pretty good about your investment today.A $1000 investment made in May 2016 would be worth $18,859.66, or a 1,785.97% gain, as of May 22, 2026, according to our calculations. Investors should note that this return excludes dividends but includes price increases.Compare this to the S&P 500's rally of 262.80% and gold's return of 248.33% over the same time frame.Looking ahead, analysts are expecting more upside for AMAT.Applied Materials is benefiting from AI-driven demand that is shifting wafer fabrication equipment spending toward leading-edge foundry-logic, DRAM and advanced packaging, where it holds leading process positions. In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, the company delivered record revenue and the highest gross margin in more than two decades, and management sees better multi-quarter visibility as customers share longer-range forecasts. New gate-all-around and packaging products, expanding EPIC collaborations, and a growing services attach rate support value-based pricing and operating leverage. Offsetting these positives are high China exposure amid changing export rules, the inherently cyclical nature of capital spending, and intense competition across process steps.The stock has jumped 5.81% over the past four weeks. Additionally, no earnings estimate has gone lower in the past two months, compared to 10 higher, for fiscal 2026; the consensus estimate has moved up as well.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks