ACMR vs AMAT: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: AMAT is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ACMR and AMAT share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ACMR and AMAT exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

ACM Research designs and sells production equipment for chip manufacturing, with a core in single-wafer wet cleaning tools that lift yield, plus a broadening lineup spanning electrochemical plating (ECP), stress-free polishing, furnace, PECVD and advanced wafer-level and panel-level packaging tools. Although the parent is US-headquartered and NASDAQ-listed, the large majority of revenue flows through its ACM Research (Shanghai) subsidiary serving Chinese fabs, where domestic equipment substitution policy has been a strong tailwind. The company has been diversifying its product mix and pushing beyond mainland China, including a first single-wafer cleaning delivery to a Singapore foundry and packaging-tool orders from North American and Southeast Asian customers.

Full ACMR guide

Applied Materials is the largest semiconductor equipment company in the world by revenue. The company manufactures the wafer fabrication equipment that semiconductor fabs use to deposit, etch, polish, and inspect silicon wafers. AMAT does not make lithography systems (ASML has that monopoly) but is essentially everywhere else in the fab equipment market.

Full AMAT guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ACMR drivers: China domestic substitution; Product-line diversification.
• AMAT drivers: Leading-edge logic and memory capex; Trailing-edge capacity expansion.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The overwhelming risk is geopolitical: with most revenue tied to China, US export controls, entity-list actions or a broader trade rupture could sharply cut ACMR's addressable market. For AMAT, semiconductor capex is cyclical.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ACMR if you believe its drivers more; AMAT if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ACMR and AMAT guides.

ACMR. As of June 2026, ACMR carried a trailing P/E near 67x on TTM EPS of about $1.31, a rich multiple that reflects its rapid growth and thin float rather than a value profile. The company reaffirmed 2026 revenue guidance of roughly $1.08B to $1.175B (about 21% to 30% growth) and held roughly $1.25B in cash and short-term deposits at the end of Q1. The stock has been volatile, with a 52-week range spanning roughly $22 to $94.

AMAT. AMAT trades at a more modest multiple than fabless designers or NVIDIA, reflecting the cyclical nature of equipment spending. The premium versus the S&P 500 average comes from the structural growth in semiconductor capex and the service revenue durability.

Headline figures (approximate, JUNE 2026): ACMR shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.0B, 2026 revenue guidance ~$1.08B to ~$1.175B, q1 2026 revenue growth (yoy) ~34%, gross margin (q1 2026) ~46%; AMAT shows revenue (ttm) ~$28 billion, operating margin ~30%, net income (ttm) ~$8 billion, eps (ttm) ~$9.50.

ACMR and AMAT are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ACMR and AMAT exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.