Applied Materials, Inc. vs Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Limited — how do they compare? Applied Materials, Inc. trades at $536.9 (market cap $417.31B), while Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Limited trades at $11.77 (market cap $3.53B). The key difference: Applied Materials, Inc. is far larger — about 118.2× Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Limited's market cap, and Applied Materials, Inc. pays a 0.4% dividend while Kingsoft Cloud Holdings Limited pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AMAT | KC | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $417.31B | $3.53B |
Sector | Technology | Technology |
52-Week High | $723.00 | $18.21 |
52-Week Low | $156.25 | $8.58 |
Enterprise Value | $416.34B | $3.84B |
Dividend Yield | 0.4% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Applied Materials (AMAT) trades at $525.61, down 2.51% on the day, amid a neutral technical signal with key support at $510 and resistance at $546. The company shows strong fundamentals with a 29.31% net income margin and consistent earnings beats, including Q1 2026 EPS of $2.86 versus $2.68 expected. Recent news highlights CEO Gary Dickerson's optimism on AI-driven semiconductor demand, calling it the 'greatest time in the history of the industry' (CNBC, 2026-05-28).
Outlook remains positive with a consensus price target of $662.82, implying 26% upside, supported by 76.9% analyst buy ratings. Risks include high valuation multiples like a P/E of 49.12 and cyclical semiconductor equipment demand. The stock offers growth exposure to AI infrastructure but faces volatility from tech sector shifts.
Kingsoft Cloud (KC) trades at $12.33, up 1.48% with a bullish technical signal despite negative profitability. The company shows strong revenue growth momentum with Q1 2026 revenue increasing 37% year-over-year, though net margins remain negative at -9.39%. Recent analyst coverage is overwhelmingly positive with 70% buy ratings, driven by AI cloud growth where AI now represents over half of public cloud revenue.
The outlook remains cautiously optimistic as KC trades at attractive valuations (P/S 2.26x) with significant AI-driven growth potential, but investors face execution risks from heavy capital expenditures and persistent profitability challenges. The upcoming Q2 2026 earnings report on August 19 will be critical for validating the AI growth narrative.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
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 →Kingsoft Cloud is a leading independent cloud service provider in China. It offers a comprehensive suite of cloud products and solutions tailored for industries like gaming, video streaming, and financial services.
Read more on KC →