Applied Materials, Inc. vs Vale SA — how do they compare? Applied Materials, Inc. trades at $572.12 (market cap $478.36B), while Vale SA trades at $14.46 (market cap $60.94B). The key difference: Applied Materials, Inc. is far larger — about 7.8× Vale SA's market cap, and Vale SA pays the higher dividend (8.7%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| AMAT | VALE | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $478.36B | $60.94B |
Sector | Technology | Basic Materials |
52-Week High | $723.00 | $17.82 |
52-Week Low | $156.25 | $9.53 |
Enterprise Value | $477.39B | $77.86B |
Dividend Yield | 0.35% | 8.7% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Applied Materials (AMAT) trades at $602.50, up 2.35% recently, with strong technical support near $573 and resistance at $617. The company demonstrates robust fundamentals, including a 29.31% net income margin and consistent earnings beats, while benefiting from AI-driven semiconductor demand highlighted in recent CEO commentary (CNBC, 2026-05-28).
Outlook remains positive given analyst consensus of $644.33 price target and 76.9% buy ratings, though elevated P/E of 56.68 poses valuation risk. Key opportunities include AI infrastructure growth, while risks involve cyclical semiconductor demand and execution challenges in scaling operations.
VALE trades at $14.46, up 1.69% with mixed earnings performance including a Q3 2025 beat but recent misses. Technical indicators show bearish momentum with oversold RSI signals. The company maintains solid cash flow generation ($2.42B net in 2025) despite declining profit margins from 42.85% in 2022 to 6.12% in 2025. Recent news highlights $2.56B decarbonization investments and governance developments.
VALE presents a cautious opportunity with analyst consensus at $17.50 (21% upside) but faces margin compression and debt increases. The stock's value proposition hinges on commodity price recovery and successful execution of efficiency initiatives amid competitive and macroeconomic pressures.
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 →Vale is the world's largest iron ore miner and one of the largest diversified miners, along with BHP and Rio Tinto. Earnings are dominated by the bulk materials division, primarily iron ore and iron ore pellets, with minor contributions from iron ore proxies, including manganese and coal. The base metals division is much smaller, primarily consisting of nickel mines and smelters with a small contribution from copper.
Read more on VALE →