LRCX vs AMAT Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Lam Research and Applied Materials are both critical process equipment suppliers, with Lam's leadership in plasma etch and ALD for NAND memory contrasting with AMAT's broader multi-category portfolio serving logic, memory, and display. AMAT is the largest equipment company by revenue with the most diversified book; Lam has a more focused NAND etch leadership with a higher cyclical beta to memory spending.
LRCX vs AMAT is a choice between focused NAND etch leadership with a CSBG services buffer (Lam) and the broadest equipment portfolio serving the entire semiconductor industry (Applied Materials) — Lam has a deeper NAND moat while AMAT has more balanced exposure across chip types and customer types.
AMAT holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. AMAT leads on both 1-year return (+134.28%) and forward P/E quality (24.74x vs 26.12x for LRCX), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. LRCX leads on both revenue growth (30.00%) and operating margin (37.39%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for AMAT (+40.39%) than for LRCX (+22.95%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- prefer a focused leadership position in plasma etch for NAND flash memory and advanced logic applications
- value CSBG services revenue providing approximately 50% recurring income through equipment spending cycles
- want maximum leverage to the 3D NAND layer count scaling roadmap that increases etch steps per wafer
- are comfortable with higher NAND memory capex cycle exposure creating more revenue volatility than AMAT
- prefer the largest and most diversified semiconductor equipment company with exposure to all chip types and markets
- value materials engineering leadership at advanced transistor architecture nodes (GAA, CFET) as a differentiation point
- want a large-cap semiconductor equipment holding where multiple equipment categories balance individual end-market cycles
- are comfortable with broad China export restriction exposure and Tokyo Electron competition across all product lines
| Metric | LRCX | AMAT |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 81.8 | 80.3 |
| AI ranki | #10 | #14 |
| Latest closei | $288.11 | $444.57 |
| 1M returni | -6.21% | -10.40% |
| 6M returni | +23.13% | +24.46% |
| 1Y returni | +128.08% | +134.28% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | LRCX | AMAT |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $22.81K (+128.1%) started 2025-09-18 | $23.43K (+134.3%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $49.88K (+398.8%) started 2021-09-20 | $34.86K (+248.6%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $348.19K (+3381.9%) started 2016-09-19 | $178.36K (+1683.6%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | LRCX | AMAT |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $377.77B | $362.27B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 52.32 | 39.39 |
| Forward P/Ei | 26.12 | 24.74 |
| Price/Salesi | 6.45 | 4.76 |
| EV/Revenuei | 16.20 | 11.69 |
| Analyst targeti | $371.19 | $640.89 |
| Target upsidei | +22.95% | +40.39% |
| Metric | LRCX | AMAT |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 30.00% | 24.80% |
| Earnings growthi | 34.80% | 42.80% |
| EPS growthi | +34.80% | +42.80% |
| FCF margini | +13.30% | +9.97% |
| Operating margini | 37.39% | 33.74% |
| Profit margini | 31.27% | 30.05% |
| ROIC proxyi | 65.07% | 41.07% |
| Return on equityi | 65.07% | 41.07% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.44% | 0.46% |
| Payout ratioi | 18.06% | 16.48% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.86 | 1.60 |
| Debt/equityi | 33.05 | 28.67 |
| Current ratioi | 2.63 | 2.42 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.84 | 1.63 |
Over the past year, LRCX and AMAT have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.90), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | LRCX | AMAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +128.08% | +134.28% |
| CAGRi | +128.21% | +134.42% | |
| Volatilityi | 64.75% | 59.84% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.53 | 1.65 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 2.36 | 2.57 | |
| Max drawdowni | 41.76% | 42.55% | |
| Current drawdowni | 33.51% | 38.51% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.75% | 9.31% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 14.64% | 15.10% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.19% | 9.97% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 23.12% | 21.21% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +393.64% | +238.06% |
| CAGRi | +37.66% | +27.62% | |
| Volatilityi | 49.63% | 47.22% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.80 | 0.66 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.19 | 0.96 | |
| Max drawdowni | 56.85% | 55.14% | |
| Current drawdowni | 33.51% | 38.51% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 19.20% | 20.72% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 24.07% | 25.31% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.60% | 14.07% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 23.12% | 21.21% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +3198.33% | +1514.20% |
| CAGRi | +41.87% | +32.08% | |
| Volatilityi | 46.57% | 44.56% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.89 | 0.75 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.32 | 1.09 | |
| Max drawdowni | 56.85% | 55.14% | |
| Current drawdowni | 33.51% | 38.51% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.23% | 16.98% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 20.31% | 22.26% | |
| Max daily dropi | 18.43% | 20.36% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 29.82% | 25.36% |
| Category | LRCX | AMAT |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Lam Research Corporation | Applied Materials, Inc. |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductor Equipment & Materials | Semiconductor Equipment & Materials |
| Core business | Lam Research leads in plasma etch and ALD/CVD deposition for NAND flash, DRAM, and logic semiconductors. Its installed base generates CSBG recurring services revenue comprising approximately half of total sales. Lam's etch leadership is particularly strong for 3D NAND high-aspect-ratio structures where its Kiyo and Sense.i tools process multiple wafers simultaneously for high throughput. | Applied Materials is the world's largest semiconductor equipment company by revenue, with a diversified portfolio spanning CVD/PVD deposition, etch, ion implantation, thermal processing, CMP (chemical mechanical planarization), and process control. AMAT serves logic (TSMC, Intel, Samsung Foundry), memory (NAND, DRAM), and display markets. Its Materials Engineering division develops the most capital equipment categories of any semiconductor equipment vendor, making it the broadest-based equipment supplier. |
| Investor focus | Investors track NAND memory capital expenditure cycles (Lam's revenue is more NAND-weighted than AMAT), CSBG services revenue stability, China export restrictions, and etch/deposition intensity per wafer as layer counts increase in 3D NAND. | Investors focus on AMAT's position in advanced logic foundry (TSMC, Intel 18A), materials-enabled scaling advantage in new transistor architectures (GAA, CFET), and gross margin improvement as the services mix grows within AMAT's AGS (Applied Global Services) segment. |
- Dominant in plasma etch with proprietary high-aspect-ratio etch process recipes embedded in customer production flows
- CSBG services revenue (50% of total) provides stable recurring income regardless of new equipment cycles
- 3D NAND layer count growth structurally increases etch and deposition steps per wafer — directly benefiting Lam
- Broadest equipment portfolio in the industry across deposition, etch, implant, thermal, and CMP — essential for every chip type
- Materials engineering at the atomic layer differentiates AMAT in new transistor architecture transitions (FinFET to GAA) where new materials are required
- AGS (Applied Global Services) provides large and growing recurring revenue from an enormous installed base of equipment worldwide
- NAND flash concentration creates more revenue cyclicality than AMAT's more diversified equipment portfolio
- AMAT competes in CVD deposition and is investing in etch capabilities, creating competitive pressure on Lam's process boundaries
- China export restrictions have meaningfully reduced Lam's accessible Chinese memory customer universe
- Broadest portfolio means AMAT is more exposed to overall semiconductor industry capex cycles rather than having Lam's specific NAND etch moat
- China export restrictions have significantly impacted AMAT's China revenue, its historically largest geographic market
- Tokyo Electron competes across nearly all AMAT equipment categories, creating meaningful competition at every major chip type
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.
Full valuation workup with AI Score, Monte Carlo forecast, and bull/bear case — free preview, premium data from $3.99.