AMAT vs WDC: Which Is the Better Buy?
Side-by-side comparison of Applied Materials, Inc. and Western Digital Corporation — fair value, conviction, valuation metrics, and QuantHub research signals.
Updated 2026-09-24.
Applied Materials, Inc. · Technology
$474.38
-3.5% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
High Quality
VS
Western Digital Corporation · Technology
$441.36
-16.8% upside to fair value
Med Conviction
Grade C
QuantHub Verdict
AMAT has more upside to fair value
(-3.5%).
These are model outputs — not personalized investment advice.
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Valuation & Fundamentals
| Metric |
AMAT |
WDC |
| Current Price |
$474.38 |
$441.36 |
| Fair Value Estimate |
$457.95 |
$367.30 |
| Upside to Fair Value |
-3.5%
|
-16.8%
|
| Market Cap |
$376.6B |
$152.1B |
| Forward P/E |
—
|
—
|
| EV / EBITDA |
33.1x
|
17.4x
|
| Price / Sales |
12.2x
|
11.8x
|
| Price / FCF |
67.0x
|
47.3x
|
| Revenue Growth YoY |
+24.8%
|
+43.8%
|
| Gross Margin |
49.4%
|
48.9%
|
| Operating Margin |
30.5%
|
34.9%
|
| Return on Equity |
40.4%
|
118.6%
|
| Dividend Yield |
0.42% |
0.12% |
| FCF Yield |
1.49%
|
2.12%
|
| Analyst Consensus |
Strong Buy
|
Strong Buy
|
Investment Thesis
Applied Materials is the largest supplier of wafer fabrication equipment, providing deposition, etch, ion implantation, and process-control tools alongside a growing Applied Global Services aftermarket business to semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. The business quality is high: TTM gross margin of 49.4%, TTM operating margin of 30.5%, TTM net margin of 30.1%, and ROE of 40.4% reflect a durabl…
Western Digital designs and manufactures hard disk drives and flash-based storage for data centers, client devices, and consumer markets, and it is currently enjoying an extraordinary demand surge tied to AI infrastructure buildouts. In the most recent quarter, revenue grew 43.8% year over year and earnings grew 1143.2% year over year, while trailing twelve-month gross margin reached 48.9%, opera…
Accumulation Zones
| Metric |
AMAT |
WDC |
| Zone Low |
$343.46 |
$275.48 |
| Zone High |
$389.26 |
$312.20 |
| In Buy Zone? |
No
|
No
|