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AMAT vs FORM
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Applied Materials (AMAT) vs. FormFactor (FORM) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Both AMAT and FORM operate in the semiconductor equipment sector and have benefited from AI-related demand for advanced manufacturing and testing solutions in recent market activity.
- AMAT reported record fiscal Q3 2026 revenue of $9.115 billion, up 25% year-over-year, with strong visibility into multi-year AI-driven orders, though the stock experienced a pullback amid elevated expectations.
- FORM delivered Q2 2026 revenue of $258.2 million, up 32% year-over-year, with positive guidance reflecting demand in high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and advanced packaging.
- Recent performance shows both stocks posting substantial year-to-date gains followed by corrections in the past month, with AMAT demonstrating greater scale and FORM exhibiting higher volatility.
- Sector exposure centers on AI infrastructure buildout, creating shared growth drivers but differing risk profiles tied to company size and market positioning.
- Market sentiment remains constructive for both amid ongoing semiconductor capital expenditure, though relative stability favors larger players in uncertain near-term conditions.
Introduction
This comparison examines AMAT (Applied Materials, Inc.) and FORM (FormFactor, Inc.), two companies providing essential technology for semiconductor production and testing. Both stand to gain from sustained investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, which has accelerated demand for advanced chip fabrication and validation tools. The analysis focuses on recent performance trends, business fundamentals, and relative positioning within the broader semiconductor equipment landscape. Institutional investors, active traders, and those evaluating sector-specific opportunities may find this side-by-side review useful for assessing diversification or tactical allocation decisions in a market environment shaped by technology cycles and capital spending patterns.
AMAT Overview and Recent Performance
Applied Materials, Inc. supplies equipment, services, and software used in the manufacture of semiconductor chips and related display technologies. The company holds a leading position among global semiconductor equipment providers, with offerings spanning deposition, etch, and inspection processes critical to advanced logic and memory production. In recent market activity, shares have reflected strong underlying demand tied to AI compute expansion, evidenced by fiscal third-quarter 2026 results showing revenue of $9.115 billion, a 25% year-over-year increase, and record non-GAAP earnings per share. Management highlighted multi-year visibility through rolling eight-quarter forecasts and expectations for continued growth in AI-related segments. Despite these fundamentals, the stock has experienced a correction in recent weeks following a substantial year-to-date advance, consistent with broader sector rotation amid valuation considerations. Sentiment has been supported by analyst target increases and a newly announced quarterly dividend.
FORM Overview and Recent Performance
FormFactor, Inc. designs and manufactures probe cards, analytical probes, and metrology systems used to test semiconductor devices during development and production. Its solutions support high-bandwidth memory, foundry logic, and systems applications, positioning the company within the semiconductor test equipment niche. Recent financial results underscore expanding demand, with second-quarter 2026 revenue reaching $258.2 million, up 32% year-over-year, accompanied by record gross profit and earnings per share that exceeded consensus estimates. Guidance for the subsequent quarter points to continued sequential growth driven by DRAM, foundry, and advanced packaging trends. Like its peer, FORM has delivered outsized year-to-date returns followed by a pullback in recent market activity, reflecting the high-beta nature of smaller semiconductor suppliers. Sentiment has benefited from operational efficiency gains and capacity expansion plans aligned with long-term AI-related test complexity increases.
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Head-to-Head Comparison
Applied Materials operates at significantly larger scale, with market capitalization exceeding $360 billion compared to FormFactor’s approximately $9 billion, reflecting differences in revenue base and global footprint. Growth drivers overlap in AI-driven semiconductor demand, yet AMAT benefits from broader exposure across wafer fabrication equipment while FORM concentrates on testing solutions where complexity rises with advanced packaging and high-bandwidth memory. Recent momentum shows both stocks advancing sharply on year-to-date bases before correcting, though AMAT exhibits greater stability due to its size and diversified customer base. Risk factors include cyclical capital expenditure patterns and geopolitical influences on supply chains for both, with FORM displaying higher price volatility typical of smaller peers. Sector exposure remains concentrated in semiconductors, where market sentiment favors companies with clear AI linkages, creating trade-offs between established leadership and specialized agility.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Based on observable factors such as trend consistency, earnings stability, and relative positioning amid AI-driven demand, Tickeron’s AI models currently assign a probabilistic edge to AMAT. Its larger scale, record quarterly results, and extended visibility into customer commitments suggest more resilient performance characteristics in the current environment compared to the higher-volatility profile of FORM. This assessment reflects pattern recognition across recent data rather than certainty, as market conditions can shift with evolving capital spending or macroeconomic signals.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is AMAT is a Buy and FORM is a Buy.
AMAT | FORM | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 33 | 44 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 71 Overvalued | 76 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 37 | 33 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 25 | 67 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 37 | 34 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 9 | 13 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 85 | n/a |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
AMAT's Valuation (71) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is in the same range as FORM (76). This means that AMAT’s stock grew similarly to FORM’s over the last 12 months.
FORM's Profit vs Risk Rating (33) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is in the same range as AMAT (37). This means that FORM’s stock grew similarly to AMAT’s over the last 12 months.
AMAT's SMR Rating (25) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is somewhat better than the same rating for FORM (67). This means that AMAT’s stock grew somewhat faster than FORM’s over the last 12 months.
FORM's Price Growth Rating (34) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is in the same range as AMAT (37). This means that FORM’s stock grew similarly to AMAT’s over the last 12 months.
AMAT's P/E Growth Rating (9) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is in the same range as FORM (13). This means that AMAT’s stock grew similarly to FORM’s over the last 12 months.
| AMAT | FORM | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 78% | 2 days ago 78% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 74% | 2 days ago 78% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 77% | 2 days ago 80% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 78% | 2 days ago 90% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 77% | 2 days ago 80% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 79% | 2 days ago 83% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 4 days ago 79% | 3 days ago 79% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 17 days ago 65% | 18 days ago 70% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | N/A | 2 days ago 78% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 69% | 2 days ago 84% |
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is overvalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
AMAT’s FA Score shows that 2 FA rating(s) are green while FORM’s FA Score has 2 green FA rating(s).
- AMAT’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
- FORM’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
AMAT’s TA Score shows that 4 TA indicator(s) are bullish while FORM’s TA Score has 5 bullish TA indicator(s).
- AMAT’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 4 bearish.
- FORM’s TA Score: 5 bullish, 5 bearish.
Price Growth
AMAT (@Electronic Production Equipment) experienced а +11.61% price change this week, while FORM (@Electronic Production Equipment) price change was +15.03% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Electronic Production Equipment industry was +7.30%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +18.83%, and the average quarterly price growth was +32.78%.
Reported Earning Dates
AMAT is expected to report earnings on Nov 12, 2026.
FORM is expected to report earnings on Nov 04, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Electronic Production Equipment (+7.30% weekly)The electronic production equipment industry makes equipment used to produce semiconductors. Such equipment includes wafer fabrication, plasma etching and photo-resist processing equipment. The industry also makes chemical vapor deposition processing systems and photomasks, which are high-purity quartz plates that contain patterns to define integrated circuits layouts. Applied Materials, Inc., Lam Research Corporation, and KLA-Tencor Corporation are examples of electronic production equipment manufacturing companies.
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FORM and
Correlation & Price change
A.I.dvisor indicates that over the last year, FORM has been closely correlated with COHU. These tickers have moved in lockstep 76% of the time. This A.I.-generated data suggests there is a high statistical probability that if FORM jumps, then COHU could also see price increases.
| Ticker / NAME | Correlation To FORM | 1D Price Change % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORM | 100% | -0.58% | ||
| COHU - FORM | 76% Closely correlated | +3.23% | ||
| AMAT - FORM | 74% Closely correlated | +3.50% | ||
| RMBS - FORM | 74% Closely correlated | +0.50% | ||
| NVMI - FORM | 74% Closely correlated | +0.36% | ||
| SLAB - FORM | 73% Closely correlated | +0.42% | ||
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