AMAT vs SBUX: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Applied Materials, Inc. and Starbucks Corporation โ€” fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals. Updated 2026-05-20.
Applied Materials, Inc. ยท Technology
$406.91
-12.0% upside to fair value
Grade B- High Quality
VS
Starbucks Corporation ยท Consumer Cyclical
$96.60
-12.3% upside to fair value
Med Conviction Grade B+
QuantHub Verdict
AMAT has more upside to fair value (-12.0%). AMAT trades at a lower forward P/E (30.3x). These are model outputs โ€” not personalized investment advice. See all research โ†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric AMAT SBUX
Current Price $406.91 $96.60
Fair Value Estimate $358.00 $84.75
Upside to Fair Value -12.0% -12.3%
Market Cap $322.9B $110.1B
Forward P/E 30.3x 42.2x
EV / EBITDA 30.2x 22.5x
Price / Sales 10.2x 3.0x
Price / FCF 51.6x 45.1x
Revenue Growth YoY +11.0% +2.8%
Gross Margin 49.9% 24.2%
Operating Margin 31.9% 9.6%
Return on Equity 47.0% -22.9%
Dividend Yield 0.45% 2.55%
FCF Yield 1.94% 2.2%
Analyst Consensus Strong Buy Hold
Investment Thesis
AMAT โ€” Applied Materials, Inc.
Applied Materials is the world's leading semiconductor and display equipment company, and the May 14 Q2 fiscal 2026 print materially strengthened the operating story. Revenue grew 11 percent year over year to a record $7.91 billion, non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.86 beat consensus of $2.68, and management guided Q3 to a record $8.95 billion in revenue with non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.36 โ€ฆ
SBUX โ€” Starbucks Corporation
Starbucks is the world's largest specialty coffee retailer with over 39,000 stores across 86 markets, generating $37.2B in annual revenue. Under CEO Brian Niccol, now 19 months into his tenure after joining from Chipotle in September 2024, the company is executing the Back to Starbucks operational turnaround focused on service speed, menu simplification, and store experience reinvention. At P/S 2โ€ฆ
Accumulation Zones
Metric AMAT SBUX
Zone Low $268.50 $63.56
Zone High $304.30 $72.04
In Buy Zone? No No
โ† AMAT Research    SBUX Research โ†’    All Research