Applied Materials Set to Outperform as AI Drives Sustained Demand for Wafer Fab Equipment

Applied Materials presented its 2030 growth targets at SEMICON West, expecting wafer fab equipment spending to grow faster than the past decade. The company targets 54% non-GAAP gross margin and 40% non-GAAP operating margin by 2030, with plans to gain over 2 percentage points of WFE market share. Applied is investing $5 billion in its new EPIC Center in Silicon Valley and doubling R&D lab and manufacturing capacity by 2030 to capitalize on AI infrastructure expansion.