Financial Analysis: SEALSQ (NASDAQ:LAES) vs. Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT)

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and SEALSQ (NASDAQ:LAES) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares Applied Materials and SEALSQ’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Materials	24.67%	39.26%	22.13%
SEALSQ	N/A	N/A	N/A

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.6% of Applied Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 1.3% of SEALSQ shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Applied Materials shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Applied Materials and SEALSQ”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Applied Materials	$28.37 billion	9.95	$7.00 billion	$8.68	40.96
SEALSQ	$10.98 million	61.96	-$21.20 million	N/A	N/A

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than SEALSQ.

Risk & Volatility

Applied Materials has a beta of 1.7, meaning that its stock price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SEALSQ has a beta of -12.12, meaning that its stock price is 1,312% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Applied Materials and SEALSQ, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Materials	0	6	28	0	2.82
SEALSQ	1	1	1	0	2.00

Applied Materials currently has a consensus target price of $361.03, indicating a potential upside of 1.55%. SEALSQ has a consensus target price of $7.50, indicating a potential upside of 95.57%. Given SEALSQ’s higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe SEALSQ is more favorable than Applied Materials.

Summary

Applied Materials beats SEALSQ on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc. engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits. This segment also offers various technologies, including epitaxy, ion implantation, oxidation/nitridation, rapid thermal processing, physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, chemical mechanical planarization, electrochemical deposition, atomic layer deposition, etching, and selective deposition and removal, as well as metrology and inspection tools. The Applied Global Services segment provides integrated solutions to optimize equipment and fab performance and productivity comprising spares, upgrades, services, remanufactured earlier generation equipment, and factory automation software for semiconductor, display, and other products. The Display and Adjacent Markets segment offers products for manufacturing liquid crystal displays; organic light-emitting diodes; and other display technologies for TVs, monitors, laptops, personal computers, electronic tablets, smart phones, and other consumer-oriented devices. It operates in the United States, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. The company was incorporated in 1967 and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

About SEALSQ

SEALSQ Corp, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, and markets semiconductor chips in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers semiconductors, such as VaultIC secure elements, secure arm platform, and smart card reader chips; identity provisioning services, such as IoT device provisioning and chip provisioning; and managed PKI for IoT solutions and trust services. The company provides device-to-cloud authentication, device attestation for matter, GSMA root certificate, device-to-device authentication, data protection, anti-counterfeiting and brand protection, security access, device ID provisioning, identity lifecycle management, and satellite IoT connectivity solutions. Its products are used in various applications, such as smart energy, smart home, automotive EV charging, consumer IoT, aerospace and military, telecommunications, logistics, medical, luxury, and other industrial applications. SEALSQ Corp was founded in 2022 and is based in Cointrin, Switzerland.