AMAT vs V: Which Is the Better Buy?

Side-by-side comparison of Applied Materials, Inc. and Visa Inc. 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
Visa Inc. ยท Financial Services
$304.36
+45.0% upside to fair value
High Conviction Grade A-
QuantHub Verdict
V has more upside to fair value (+45.0%). V trades at a lower forward P/E (23.7x). These are model outputs โ€” not personalized investment advice. See all research โ†’
Valuation & Fundamentals
Metric AMAT V
Current Price $406.91 $304.36
Fair Value Estimate $358.00 $441.32
Upside to Fair Value -12.0% +45.0%
Market Cap $322.9B $586.8B
Forward P/E 30.3x 23.7x
EV / EBITDA 30.2x 22.3x
Price / Sales 10.2x 14.2x
Price / FCF 51.6x 25.6x
Revenue Growth YoY +11.0% +11.3%
Gross Margin 49.9% 81.08%
Operating Margin 31.9% 59.18%
Return on Equity 47.0% 54.22%
Dividend Yield 0.45% 0.83%
FCF Yield 1.94% 3.91%
Analyst Consensus Strong Buy Strong Buy
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
V โ€” Visa Inc.
Visa is the world's dominant payment network with $40B in net revenue (FY2025), 50%+ net margins, and a capital-light toll-booth model processing $14.2T in annual payment volume across 257.5B transactions. The business compounds at 10-12% revenue CAGR with operating leverage pushing EPS growth to 12-15% over a cycle, funded by $21.6B in annual free cash flow against only $1.5B in capex. At 28.0x โ€ฆ
Accumulation Zones
Metric AMAT V
Zone Low $268.50 $330.99
Zone High $304.30 $375.12
In Buy Zone? No Yes
โ† AMAT Research    V Research โ†’    All Research