Price movement over the last 24 hours
AES Corp vs Applied Materials, Inc. — how do they compare? AES Corp trades at $14.66 (market cap $10.43B), while Applied Materials, Inc. trades at $570.08 (market cap $440.25B). The key difference: Applied Materials, Inc. is far larger — about 42.2× AES Corp's market cap, and AES Corp pays the higher dividend (4.81%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AES | AMAT | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $10.43B | $440.25B |
Sector | Utilities | Technology |
52-Week High | $17.28 | $723.00 |
52-Week Low | $11.07 | $156.25 |
Enterprise Value | $39.77B | $439.28B |
Dividend Yield | 4.81% | 0.38% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
AES trades at $14.62, up 0.27% on the day, with strong fundamentals including a P/E of 7.59 and net income margin of 10.82%. Recent quarters show consistent earnings beats, while technical indicators signal bearish momentum. The company's pending $33.4 billion acquisition by a BlackRock/EQT consortium, approved by stockholders on June 26, 2026, caps near-term upside at $15 per share but provides a stable exit pathway.
The investment case hinges on the acquisition closing, offering a 2.6% gain to the $15 buyout price plus dividend yield. Risks include deal completion uncertainty and shareholder litigation. With no sell-side analysts recommending sell, the stock presents a low-risk arbitrage opportunity with defined upside and limited downside if the transaction proceeds as planned.
Applied Materials (AMAT) trades at $592.79, down 1.78% on the day, amid a broader bullish technical trend. The stock has consistently beaten earnings expectations in recent quarters, with Q1 2026 EPS of $2.86 surpassing the $2.68 estimate. Strong profitability is evident with a net income margin of 29.31% and ROE of 39.69%. Recent news highlights the company's positioning in the AI-driven semiconductor equipment boom, with the CEO calling it 'the greatest time in the history of our industry' (CNBC, 2026-05-28).
The outlook remains positive, supported by robust analyst sentiment (76.92% buy ratings) and a consensus price target of $622.57, offering potential upside. Key risks include high valuation multiples (P/E of 55.77) and dependence on sustained semiconductor capital expenditure cycles. The stock presents an opportunity for growth investors aligned with the AI infrastructure theme, but requires monitoring of execution and market cyclicality.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
AES is a global power company operating across 14 countries and 4 continents. Its current generation portfolio as of year-end 2021 consists of over 31 gigawatts of generation, with the generation mix composed of renewables (43%), gas (32%), coal (23%), and oil (2%). The company has 3.5 gigawatts of generation under construction. AES has majority ownership and operates six electric utilities distributing power to 2.6 million customers.
Read more on AES →Applied Materials is the world's largest supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, providing materials engineering solutions to help make nearly every chip in the world. The firm's systems are used in nearly every major process step with the exception of lithography. Key tools include those for chemical and physical vapor deposition, etching, chemical mechanical polishing, wafer- and reticle-inspection, critical dimension measurement, and defect-inspection scanning electron microscopes.
Read more on AMAT →