Applied Materials jumps as AI demand drives chipmaking tool orders

Feb 13 (Reuters) - Applied Materials' ‌shares jumped 11% ​on ​Friday after the chipmaking equipment company forecast stronger-than-expected quarterly results, boosted by soaring AI-driven spending and a tightening memory ‌market.

If gains hold, the Santa Clara, California-based company is on ⁠track to add more than $33 billion to its market valuation of $260.65 billion.

The largest U.S. ‌semiconductor equipment maker is positioned ‌to capitalize on robust AI chip demand, which is consuming global memory supplies and driving chipmakers to expand capacity, a trend analysts ​say could support multi-year growth.

Applied Materials CEO Gary Dickerson said the outlook was "fueled by the acceleration of industry investments in AI computing," ⁠adding that AI workloads were driving demand for higher-performance, more energy efficient chips.

The company projected second-quarter ​revenue of about $7.65 billion, plus or minus $500 million, above analysts' average estimate of $7.01 billion, according to LSEG data.

It forecast ​adjusted profit of $2.64 per share, plus ‌or minus 20 cents, compared with estimates of $2.28.

The surge comes as AI data center expansion from hyperscalers and rising ⁠demand for high-bandwidth memory are tightening chip supply chains and driving fresh spending on wafer-fab and packaging equipment.

In December, industry group SEMI forecast sales of ⁠equipment used to make computer chip wafers will rise about 9% to $126 billion in ​2026 and a further 7.3% to $135 billion in 2027.

"We expect a massive wafer fabrication equipment growth cycle over the next three years," William Kerwin, senior equity analyst ‌at Morningstar said.

"Artificial intelligence infrastructure demand is immense, and supply is scarce."

Applied Materials' forecast lifted other chip-equipment stocks. ‌The outlook pushed shares of U.S. peer Lam Research up 2.7%, while KLA ⁠gained more than 1%.

At least ‌22 brokerages raised their ​price target on Applied Materials following the results.

(Reporting by Rashika Singh and Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Tasim Zahid)

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