APPLIED MATERIALS INC /DE vs Micron Technology, Inc., two Semiconductors stocks. A side-by-side on valuation, growth, margins, returns, and what each price is betting.
Micron's margins right now read like a misprint: 84.6% gross, 80.4% operating, 55.9% net, the full fury of an AI memory cycle, next to Applied Materials' steady 50% and 32%. The market's response is the interesting part: it pays 58.7 times for the toolmaker's earnings and only 25.6 times for the memory maker's, precisely because it believes one set of margins is a structure and the other is weather. Both balance sheets are nearly unlevered. Applied Materials sells the shovels every fab needs whichever memory vendor wins; Micron owns this stretch of the gold vein while prices hold. The multiples are the market's forecast of which lasts.
Comparison updated 2026-07-10.
| Metric | AMAT | MU |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $624.00 | $1129.73 |
| Market cap | $498.6B | $1.29T |
| Sector | Semiconductors | Semiconductors |
| Stage | Mature | Growth |
| Implied growth (priced in) | — | +35.4% |
| P/E | 58.7 | 25.6 |
| P/B | 20.85 | 12.84 |
| P/S | 17.18 | 14.33 |
| EV/EBITDA | 58.3 | 18.6 |
| Revenue growth | +3.4% | +161.2% |
| Gross margin | 49.9% | 84.6% |
| Operating margin | 31.9% | 80.4% |
| Net margin | 27.3% | 55.9% |
| Return on equity | 33.1% | 50.1% |
| Return on assets | 19.6% | 37.6% |
| Return on invested capital | 23.8% | 46.2% |
| FCF yield | 1.1% | 2.0% |
| Dividend yield | 0.3% | 0.0% |
| Debt / equity | 0.27 | 0.01 |
| Current ratio | 2.51 | 3.42 |
| Altman Z (solvency) | 9.39 | 8.90 |
| Piotroski F (quality) | 6 / 9 | 7 / 9 |
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The stronger value is highlighted per metric where one is strictly better on that single number; it is not an overall verdict on either company. For informational and research purposes only. Not investment advice. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. boothcheck is not a registered investment adviser. Past performance does not guarantee future results.