Sifting through countless of stocks in the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., a semiconductor foundry, provides range of mainstream wafer fabrication services and technologies in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers semiconductor devices, including microprocessors, mobile application processors, baseband processors, network processors, radio frequency modems, microcontrollers, and power management units. The company also provides quantum technology solutions. GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. has a strategic partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission to accelerate scientific discovery through artificial intelligence and advanced computing. The company was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in Malta, New York.

Applied Materials, Inc. provides materials engineering solutions, equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor and related industries in the United States, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Semiconductor Systems and Applied Global Services (AGS) segments. The Semiconductor Systems segment includes semiconductor capital equipment to enable materials engineering steps, including etch, rapid thermal processing, deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, metrology and inspection, wafer packaging, and ion implantation. The AGS segment offers integrated solutions to optimize equipment and fab performance and productivity comprising spares, upgrades, services, and 200 millimeter and other equipment and factory automation software for semiconductor and other products. It serves manufacturers of semiconductor wafers and chips, and other electronic devices. Applied Materials, Inc. was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

Latest Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment and GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials, Inc. Stock News

As of September 1, 2026, GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. had a $24.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment median of $4.6 million. GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.’s stock is up 25.9% in 2026, down 3.7% in the previous five trading days and up 31.57% in the past year.

Currently, GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 34.3. GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $6.9 billion with a 10.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 5.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.956 per share for the current fiscal year. GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. currently has a 1.1% dividend yield.

As of September 1, 2026, Applied Materials, Inc. had a $350.7 billion market cap, putting it in the 99th percentile of all stocks. Applied Materials, Inc.’s stock is up 70.6% in 2026, down 8.6% in the previous five trading days and up 174.85% in the past year.

Currently, Applied Materials, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 38.1. Applied Materials, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $30.8 billion with a 30.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 24.8%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $12.794 per share for the current fiscal year. Applied Materials, Inc. currently has a 0.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.	GFS	D
Applied Materials, Inc.	AMAT	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. has a Value Score of 36, which is Expensive. Applied Materials, Inc. has a Value Score of 9, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.	GFS	B
Applied Materials, Inc.	AMAT	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. has a Quality Score of 72, which is Strong. Applied Materials, Inc. has a Quality Score of 84, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Applied Materials, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Applied Materials, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Applied Materials, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.	GFS	C
Applied Materials, Inc.	AMAT	A

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. has a Momentum Score of 51, which is Average. Applied Materials, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 91, which is Very Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Applied Materials, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Applied Materials, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Applied Materials, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Momentum and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials or Inc. Stock?

Overall, GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. stock has a Value Score of 36, Momentum Score of 51 and Quality Score of 72.

Applied Materials, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 9, Momentum Score of 91 and Quality Score of 84.

Comparing GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc., Applied Materials and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.