What it does
Applied Materials states that it designs, develops, produces and services wafer-fabrication tools used to manufacture semiconductors. Its Semiconductor Systems segment supplies equipment across materials engineering, process control and advanced packaging, including patterning, transistor and interconnect fabrication, metrology, inspection, review and packaging technologies. The company also manufactures equipment for the display industry, whose results are reported in Corporate and Other. The filing describes the served end markets as including personal computing, mobile phones, AI and data-center servers, automobiles, connected devices, industrial applications and consumer electronics.
Source: Applied Materials, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
How it makes money
The company reports two segments, with Semiconductor Systems identified as its largest contributor to net revenue. This segment sells equipment used to fabricate semiconductor chips. Applied Global Services (AGS) provides services, spares and factory-automation software to customer fabrication plants; its transactional and subscription service offerings are intended to support the company’s installed base and plant operations. The filing also reports Corporate and Other results, including the display business. The segment table below provides the corresponding revenue detail. The filing explains that backlog includes accepted orders or shipped products not yet recognized as revenue, plus contractual service revenue and maintenance fees.
Source: Applied Materials, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Customers and geography
Applied Materials sells Semiconductor Systems products to customers serving foundry, logic and other markets, as well as DRAM and NAND memory markets. The company markets and sells worldwide almost entirely through a direct sales force, while AGS supports customer sites through global distribution and field engineers located near those sites. The filing says business activity is concentrated in certain geographic areas, though it does not identify those areas in this excerpt. During fiscal 2025, two customers accounted for approximately 19% and 15%, respectively, of net revenue; the filing does not name them.
Source: Applied Materials, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Competition
The filing describes the industries in which Applied Materials operates as highly competitive and subject to rapid technological change. It says competition exists across all segments, from smaller companies competing in one region to global, diversified companies, and notes potential increased competition from domestic equipment manufacturers in China. In AGS, competition includes third-party service providers and customers that perform their own service. The filing does not name specific competing companies. It identifies technical capability and differentiation, productivity, cost-effectiveness, and global support as significant competitive factors.
Source: Applied Materials, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov
Key risks
- The industries served can be volatile and difficult to predict, including changes in demand for semiconductor chips and electronic devices.
- Global trade issues, export regulations, sanctions, tariffs and international trade disputes could disrupt supply, manufacturing, deliveries or demand.
- Limited availability of critical materials and minerals, quality parts, semiconductor components, transportation capacity or import and export approvals could affect operations.
- Technology transitions, more complex chip architectures and changing customer requirements could diminish the value of current technologies and products.
- Customer capital requirements, factory utilization, financing and semiconductor manufacturers’ capital-expenditure levels affect demand for capital equipment.
- Competitive factors, including total cost of manufacturing system ownership and challenges securing customer tool-of-record positions, could affect market position.
Source: Applied Materials, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1A — sec.gov
People and operations
As of October 26, 2025, Applied Materials employed 36,500 regular full-time employees across 25 countries. The company states that approximately 46% were in Asia-Pacific, 42% in North America and 12% in Europe/Middle East. Its manufacturing activities primarily consist of assembly, integration and testing of proprietary and commercial parts, components and subassemblies. The filing describes a distributed manufacturing model spanning the United States, Singapore, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Israel and other countries in Asia and Europe. It uses qualified vendors, including contract manufacturers, for parts, services and product support.
Source: Applied Materials, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Item 1 — sec.gov