Applied Materials announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.53 per share, payable on September 10, 2026, to shareholders of record as of August 20, 2026. This dividend continues a trend of nine consecutive years of increases, with a 15% raise announced in March 2026. The company has grown its dividend at an 18% compound annual rate over the past decade and returned nearly 90% of free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and buybacks. Applied Materials remains committed to returning value to shareholders as part of its capital allocation strategy.
In 2026, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) has outperformed the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) by capturing a broader range of semiconductor stocks, especially equipment makers, resulting in an 86.78% gain versus SMH's 64.11%. SOXX's index favors ...
Applied Materials has expanded its manufacturing and R&D operations in Singapore with a new $500 million Tampines Campus to support growing global demand for AI chips. The facility doubles the company's cleanroom capacity in Singapore and integrates ...
The SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) and the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX) differ mainly in weighting: XSD uses equal weighting across semiconductor firms, while SOXX concentrates on the largest companies like NVIDIA and Broadcom. SOXX has outperf...
A curated list of 50 high-quality dividend growth stocks has been tracked since September 1, 2024, focusing on valuation and future return potential. Year-to-date, this group underperformed broad indexes but included standout performers like LRCX and...
The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) has gained 77.13% in just over five months, far outpacing the S&P 500's 10.61% return year-to-date. This surge is driven by strong AI-related capital expenditures across the semiconductor supply chain, including chi...
