5 Best Long-Term Dividend Stocks to Invest In According to Billionaires

2. Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Number of Billionaire Holders: 34

Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh raised the firm’s price recommendation on Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) to $540 from $500 on May 27. He reiterated an Outperform rating on the shares. The firm also increased its wafer fab equipment spending forecast for 2026 to $153 billion from $142 billion and for 2027 to $190 billion from $163 billion. In a research note, Rakesh said the earnings estimates for Lam Research, Applied Materials, and MKS appear understated given the improving industry outlook. According to Mizuho, the wafer fab equipment market continues to benefit from NAND node transitions, spending by TSMC, and strength in DRAM and high-bandwidth memory pricing.

Earlier in the month, on May 19, Argus raised the firm’s price goal on Applied Materials to $500 from $420. It maintained a Buy rating following the company’s second-quarter earnings beat. Analyst Jim Kelleher said Applied Materials appears well-positioned for long-term growth, supported by a combination of cyclical, demographic, and secular trends. The analyst noted that some of the industry’s newest growth drivers include surging demand for large CPU and GPU configurations used to power large language models for generative AI and, more recently, agentic AI. Argus also pointed to the growing focus on domestic semiconductor manufacturing, which is increasingly viewed as a national security priority.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is a materials engineering solutions company that provides equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries.