Key Highlights

  • Applied Materials reported fiscal third-quarter Revenue of $9.12bn, up 25%, while disclosing a $253m settlement with the US Commerce Department over export-controls compliance.
  • Lam Research reported record fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $6.72bn, up 30%, with a non-GAAP gross Margin of about 52%, described by management as a twenty-year high.
  • KLA Corporation reported quarterly revenue of $3.66bn and completed a ten-for-one Stock Split in June 2026 alongside a raised dividend.

Every AI chip begins life in a fabrication plant, and no fab runs without the machines that deposit, etch, pattern and inspect silicon at atomic scale. That makes semiconductor-equipment makers a leveraged, if less visible, bet on artificial intelligence, and it is why three S&P 500 companies, Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) and KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC), matter to the index's chipmaking future. They do not design AI chips themselves, but no such chip can be built without their machines. Their latest results show Demand rising sharply, but they also expose the geopolitical and cyclical risks that come with supplying the tools on which the entire industry depends.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT): Breadth and a China Drag

Applied Materials, the California equipment maker listed on the Nasdaq and the largest of the three, reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $9.12bn for the period ended 26 July 2026, up 25% year on year, with non-GAAP Earnings of $3.50 per share. Its core Semiconductor Systems segment generated $7.04bn. The company said AI adoption was driving unprecedented demand and raised its equipment-revenue expectations for calendar 2026.

Yet its exposure to China, once more than a third of sales, fell to 28%, and it disclosed a $253m settlement with the US Commerce Department over an export-controls compliance matter, a reminder that trade policy now shapes the sector directly. For the fourth quarter it guided to revenue of about $10.25bn and non-GAAP earnings of $4.02 per share, implying continued momentum into the close of its financial year.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX): Leverage to Memory

Lam Research, the Fremont-based specialist in etch and deposition also listed on the Nasdaq, is the most exposed of the three to memory chips, which are central to AI. For the fiscal fourth quarter ended 28 June 2026 it reported record revenue of $6.72bn, up 30%, with a non-GAAP gross margin of about 52%, a level management described as a twenty-year high. Full-year revenue reached $23.23bn.

Non-GAAP earnings were $1.82 per diluted share, and full-year earnings reached $5.82. The company guided to $8.1bn for the following quarter and said the setup was extraordinary, citing eight to ten new fabs coming online to support AI.

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC): Inspecting an Ever-Harder Problem

KLA Corporation, the process-control leader listed on the Nasdaq, makes the inspection and measurement tools that catch defects as chip designs grow more complex. For the quarter ended 30 June 2026 it reported revenue of $3.66bn and full-year revenue of $13.58bn. KLA completed a ten-for-one stock split in June 2026, so its reported per-share figures, including GAAP earnings of $3.66 for the full year, are split-adjusted and are not comparable with older data.

Chief executive Rick Wallace said KLA sat on the critical path of AI infrastructure expansion, as leading-edge designs and advanced packaging increase the need for its inspection tools. The company guided to first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of about $4.0bn and raised its Dividend alongside the split, signalling management confidence in the durability of demand.

Leverage That Cuts Both Ways

The equipment makers offer a way to invest in AI without picking a single winning chip, because every advanced fab needs their tools. But that leverage cuts both ways. Demand depends on Capital spending by a small number of leading-edge manufacturers, US-China export controls can remove markets at short notice, and the industry remains deeply cyclical.

Readers should monitor wafer-fab-equipment spending forecasts, the China revenue mix, the health of memory-maker investment, and whether the buoyant guidance for late 2026 and 2027 holds. The results above are reported figures, while the guidance reflects management expectations; a record quarter reflects orders already placed, not a guarantee of the next one.