AMAT
Applied Materials, Inc.
AMAT has the edge over QCOM overall, supported by stronger modeled upside and stronger fundamentals.
QCOM
QUALCOMM Incorporated
QCOM offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
AMAT Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
AMAT's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
QCOM Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
QCOM's profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, and its revenue is stable.
AMAT PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 16x | $205 | -46% |
| Forward | 20x | $381 | — |
| Fair | 21x | $263 | -31% |
| Expensive | 29x | $365 | -4.1% |
| Current | 30x | $381 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
AMAT's PE is 30x, but its earnings don't support one, so it isn't a reliable read right now.
QCOM PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 14x | $175 | -1.1% |
| Current | 14x | $177 | — |
| Fair | 20x | $248 | +40% |
| Expensive | 26x | $333 | +88% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
QCOM has the edge over AMAT in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
AMAT Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for AMAT, with profitability improving.
QCOM Forward outlook
There aren't enough analyst estimates for QCOM to show an outlook.
AMAT Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $18.83 | +49% |
| Q4 2026 | $12.62 | +46% |
AMAT's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $12.62 over the past year, up 46% from the year before, and higher year over year every quarter since late 2026. Its recent earnings include one-off gains.
QCOM Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $12.70 | +153% |
| Q2 2026 | $8.76 | -15% |
| Q1 2026 | $9.32 | -4.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.96 | -47% |
| Q3 2025 | $5.01 | -44% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.35 | +34% |
| Q1 2025 | $9.80 | +32% |
| Q4 2024 | $9.34 | +35% |
QCOM has the edge over AMAT in the latest year-over-year earnings comparison.
AMAT Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | $10.4B | +53% |
| Q3 2026 | $9.1B | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $7.9B | +11% |
| Q1 2026 | $7B | -2.1% |
AMAT has the edge over QCOM on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 34% | +3.2 points |
| Q2 2026 | 32% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2026 | 26% | -4.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 25% | N/A |
| Q3 2025 | 31% | N/A |
| Q2 2025 | 31% | N/A |
| Q1 2025 | 30% | N/A |
AMAT has the edge over QCOM on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
QCOM Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $10.3B | -8.4% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.9B | -4% |
| Q1 2026 | $10.6B | -3.5% |
| Q4 2025 | $12.3B | +5% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $10.4B | +10% |
| Q1 2025 | $11B | +17% |
| Q4 2024 | $11.7B | +17% |
QCOM's revenue grew through 2024 and has held roughly level since: $10.3B last quarter, down 8.4% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 13% | -13 points |
| Q2 2026 | 16% | -10 points |
| Q1 2026 | 22% | -6.6 points |
| Q4 2025 | 27% | -3 points |
| Q3 2025 | 26% | +0.7 points |
| Q2 2025 | 27% | +3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 28% | +3.5 points |
| Q4 2024 | 30% | +1 points |
QCOM's operating margin was 13% last quarter, down 13 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the bottom of its range since 2019.
AMAT Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $2.3B | +14% |
| Q2 2026 | $210M | -80% |
| Q1 2026 | $1B | +91% |
AMAT has the edge over QCOM in the latest year-over-year cash flow comparison.
QCOM Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.8B | -49% |
| Q2 2026 | $495M | -81% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.9B | -18% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.4B | +2.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.6B | +50% |
| Q2 2025 | $2.6B | -3.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.3B | -31% |
| Q4 2024 | $4.3B | +58% |
QCOM's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $8.7B over the past year, down 33% from the year before.
AMAT Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.1% | +1M shares |
| 1 year | -0.2% | -2M shares |
AMAT has 800M diluted shares, about the same as a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $440M |
| Q2 2026 | $400M |
| Q1 2026 | $337M |
| Q4 2025 | $851M |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B |
| Q2 2025 | $1.7B |
| Q1 2025 | $1.3B |
AMAT spent $2B buying back its own shares over the past year.
QCOM Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +0.4% | +4M shares |
| 1 year | -2.9% | -32M shares |
| 3 years | -4.7% | -53M shares |
| 5 years | -6.6% | -76M shares |
| Available history | -7.4% | -86M shares |
QCOM has the edge over AMAT on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1B |
| Q2 2026 | $1.4B |
| Q1 2026 | $2.8B |
| Q4 2025 | $2.7B |
| Q3 2025 | $2.4B |
| Q2 2025 | $2.8B |
| Q1 2025 | $1.7B |
| Q4 2024 | $1.8B |
QCOM spent $7.8B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 11% from the year before.
AMAT Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | 0.2x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
AMAT has the edge over QCOM on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
QCOM Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 1.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.4x | Very low |
QCOM's net debt is about a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA), up from less than a year a year ago.
AMAT Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 42.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 13.8 | Oversold |
AMAT's weekly RSI is 43 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 14 (oversold).
QCOM Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 50.8 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 40.2 | Neutral |
QCOM's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 40 (neutral).
AMAT PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | AMAT | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 30x | 28x | 8.4% above |
| PE % | 85 | 35 | 50 pts above |
AMAT is trading at 30x earnings, in line with the Technology sector's median of 28x, though its earnings don't support one.
QCOM PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | QCOM | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 14x | 28x | 50% below |
| PE % | 17 | 35 | 18 pts below |
QCOM has the edge over AMAT on valuation relative to its sector.
AMAT Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $427.8 | 11% below |
| 20 week MA | $477.9 | 20% below |
| 50 week MA | $418.0 | 8.9% below |
| 100 week MA | $298.5 | 28% above |
| 200 week MA | $232.1 | 64% above |
AMAT has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 64% above its 200-week average.
QCOM Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $177.2 | 0% below |
| 20 week MA | $172.8 | 2.5% above |
| 50 week MA | $170.7 | 3.8% above |
| 100 week MA | $164.3 | 7.8% above |
| 200 week MA | $155.1 | 14% above |
QCOM has the edge over AMAT on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
AMAT Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $61.2 | $85.3 | +39% |
| 2021 | $85.3 | $155.5 | +82% |
| 2022 | $155.5 | $97.2 | -37% |
| 2023 | $97.2 | $162.1 | +67% |
| 2024 | $162.1 | $166.8 | +2.9% |
| 2025 | $166.8 | $261.9 | +57% |
| 2026 YTD | $261.9 | $381.0 | +45% |
AMAT has the edge over QCOM on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
QCOM Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $88.8 | $148.8 | +68% |
| 2021 | $148.8 | $182.7 | +23% |
| 2022 | $182.7 | $110.8 | -39% |
| 2023 | $110.8 | $144.6 | +30% |
| 2024 | $144.6 | $157.2 | +8.7% |
| 2025 | $157.2 | $174.8 | +11% |
| 2026 YTD | $174.8 | $177.1 | +1.3% |
QCOM has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 1.3% so far in 2026.