AMAT vs AMD: How Applied Materials and Advanced Micro Devices Compare (2026)
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
AMAT (Applied Materials) and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) share investment themes but are different businesses. The right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme.
AMAT vs AMD: the tie-breaker metrics
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.
| Metric | AMAT | AMD | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward P/E | 30.03 | 34.45 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 47.85 | 158.72 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 1.57 | 2.47 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 60% of range | 75% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 16.86 | 12.04 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Before you buy: how AMAT and AMD affect your concentration
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. AMAT and AMD 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 AMAT and AMD 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.
What does Applied Materials (AMAT) do?
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.
What does Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) do?
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) designs CPUs, GPUs, and adaptive computing chips. The company has two main client-facing CPU lines: Ryzen for consumer PCs and EPYC for data center servers. EPYC has gained significant share against Intel Xeon in cloud and enterprise data centers over the past five years. The Instinct GPU line (MI300X, MI325X, MI350, MI400) is AMD's AI accelerator platform and the primary direct competitor to NVIDIA's data center GPUs.
AMAT vs AMD: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- AMAT drivers: Leading-edge logic and memory capex; Trailing-edge capacity expansion.
- AMD drivers: Instinct AI GPU ramp; EPYC server share gains.
Which fits which kind of investor
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: Semiconductor capex is cyclical. For AMD, nVIDIA's structural advantages in AI (CUDA ecosystem, manufacturing capacity allocations from TSMC, customer relationships) make AI GPU share gains harder than the hardware comparison alone suggests.
AMAT or AMD: which should you pick?
AMAT vs AMD: the full fundamentals
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.
AMD. AMD trades at a premium P/E reflecting the AI accelerator growth story and EPYC share gains. The valuation depends on continued execution against NVIDIA in AI; multiple compresses quickly if Instinct share gains stall.
Headline figures (approximate, early 2026): AMAT shows revenue (ttm) ~$28 billion, operating margin ~30%, net income (ttm) ~$8 billion, eps (ttm) ~$9.50; AMD shows revenue (ttm) ~$30 billion, operating margin ~25% (improving as data center mix grows), net income (ttm) ~$4 billion (GAAP; higher non-GAAP), eps (ttm) ~$2.50.
The bottom line: AMAT vs AMD
AMAT and AMD 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 AMAT and AMD exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how AMAT or AMD fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Applied Materials with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how AMAT fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between AMAT and AMD?
+
Applied Materials is the largest semiconductor equipment company in the world by revenue. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) designs CPUs, GPUs, and adaptive computing chips. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is AMAT or AMD the better stock?
+
Neither is universally better; they suit different views and risk levels. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, AMAT or AMD?
+
On forward P/E (as of August 2026), AMAT trades at 30.03x and AMD at 34.45x, so AMAT is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both AMAT and AMD?
+
Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of AMAT vs AMD?
+
AMAT: Semiconductor capex is cyclical. China exposure (where export controls have already cut some revenue) is the largest single near-term risk; further restrictions could expand. AMD: NVIDIA's structural advantages in AI (CUDA ecosystem, manufacturing capacity allocations from TSMC, customer relationships) make AI GPU share gains harder than the hardware comparison alone suggests. Intel's eventual recovery in server CPUs is a multi-year risk.
Related comparisons
Browse all stock comparisons.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell AMAT or AMD; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.