Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) vs. GCT Semiconductor (NYSE:GCTS) Financial Comparison

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

Risk & Volatility

Applied Materials has a beta of 1.53, meaning that its stock price is 53% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, GCT Semiconductor has a beta of 1.16, meaning that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Materials	26.41%	39.26%	21.92%
GCT Semiconductor	N/A	N/A	-27.81%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

80.6% of Applied Materials shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.1% of GCT Semiconductor shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Applied Materials shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of GCT Semiconductor shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Applied Materials and GCT Semiconductor”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Applied Materials	$27.18 billion	5.09	$7.18 billion	$8.61	19.75
GCT Semiconductor	$16.03 million	7.42	-$2.00 million	N/A	N/A

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than GCT Semiconductor.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Applied Materials and GCT Semiconductor, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Materials	1	6	15	0	2.64
GCT Semiconductor	0	0	1	0	3.00

Applied Materials currently has a consensus target price of $220.29, indicating a potential upside of 29.53%. GCT Semiconductor has a consensus target price of $8.00, indicating a potential upside of 221.29%. Given GCT Semiconductor’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe GCT Semiconductor is more favorable than Applied Materials.

Summary

Applied Materials beats GCT Semiconductor on 9 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 GCT Semiconductor

GCT Semiconductor Holding, Inc., operates as a fabless semiconductor company, designs, develops, and markets integrated circuits for the wireless semiconductor industry. The company provides RF and modem chipsets based on 4G LTE technology, including 4G LTE, 4.5G LTE Advanced, and 4.75G LTE Advanced-Pro. It also develops and sells cellular IoT chipsets for low-speed mobile networks such as eMTC/NB-IOT/Sigfox, and other network protocols; and 5G solutions. Its products and solutions are used in smartphones, tablets, hotspots, CPEs, USB dongles, routers, and M2M applications. The company sells its products directly or indirectly through distributors to original equipment manufacturers and original design manufacturers primarily in Taiwan, China, Korea and Japan, Europe, North America and South America. The company was formerly known as Global Communication Technology, Inc. GCT Semiconductor Holding, Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in San Jose, California.