Dividend Challengers 2025: Top 25

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

Dividend Yield as of April 29: 1.23%

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) ranks 21st on our dividend challengers list. The semiconductor equipment manufacturing company supplies critical tools for creating advanced chips used in AI, data centers, automotive technology, and other sectors. The company operates a highly diversified business that spans areas like etch and deposition, metrology, and ion implantation equipment, supporting a wide range of logic and memory chips. It is especially well-positioned in critical technologies required for manufacturing next-generation AI chips, including gate-all-around transistors and backside power delivery systems.

In the first quarter of 2025, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) reported revenue of $7.17 billion, which grew by 7% from the same period last year. The revenue also beat analysts’ estimates by $7.02 million. It is playing a key role in advancing major shifts in device architecture that are essential for energy-efficient AI. The company’s emphasis on fast-paced co-innovation is also opening up distinctive opportunities for collaboration.

Though Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) showed growth on various fronts, the company couldn’t meet its cash generation expectations. The company’s free cash flow for the quarter was $544 million, down 74% from the prior-year period. Its operating cash flow of $925 million also fell from $2.3 billion in Q1 2024. However, this cash position was sufficient to pay $326 million worth of dividends during the quarter.

On March 10, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) declared a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.46 per share. This was the company’s eighth consecutive year of dividend growth. The stock has a dividend yield of 1.23%, as of April 29.