Lam Research (LRCX) Competitors

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, risk, community ranking, profitability and dividends.

Is AMAT or LRCX more profitable?

Lam Research has a net margin of 26.49% compared to Applied Materials' net margin of 22.95%. Lam Research's return on equity of 51.86% beat Applied Materials' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Materials	22.95%	39.50%	22.12%
Lam Research	26.49%	51.86%	22.97%

Do analysts recommend AMAT or LRCX?

Applied Materials currently has a consensus target price of $199.48, suggesting a potential upside of 24.27%. Lam Research has a consensus target price of $91.56, suggesting a potential upside of 10.90%. Given Applied Materials' higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Applied Materials is more favorable than Lam Research.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Materials	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	16 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68
Lam Research	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	18 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer AMAT or LRCX?

Applied Materials received 511 more outperform votes than Lam Research when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 75.81% of users gave Lam Research an outperform vote while only 72.01% of users gave Applied Materials an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Applied Materials	Outperform Votes 1937 72.01%	Underperform Votes 753 27.99%
Lam Research	Outperform Votes 1426 75.81%	Underperform Votes 455 24.19%

Which has more risk and volatility, AMAT or LRCX?

Applied Materials has a beta of 1.71, indicating that its share price is 71% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lam Research has a beta of 1.64, indicating that its share price is 64% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher valuation and earnings, AMAT or LRCX?

Applied Materials has higher revenue and earnings than Lam Research. Applied Materials is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lam Research, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Applied Materials	$28.09B	4.64	$7.18B	$8.22	19.53
Lam Research	$17.14B	6.16	$3.83B	$3.59	23.00

Does the media favor AMAT or LRCX?

In the previous week, Applied Materials had 42 more articles in the media than Lam Research. MarketBeat recorded 104 mentions for Applied Materials and 62 mentions for Lam Research. Lam Research's average media sentiment score of 1.45 beat Applied Materials' score of 0.67 indicating that Lam Research is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Applied Materials	44 Very Positive mention(s)	9 Positive mention(s)	22 Neutral mention(s)	11 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Lam Research	47 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in AMAT or LRCX?

80.6% of Applied Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.6% of Lam Research shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Applied Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Lam Research shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is AMAT or LRCX a better dividend stock?

Applied Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Lam Research pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials pays out 22.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lam Research pays out 25.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Applied Materials has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years and Lam Research has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. Applied Materials is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Lam Research beats Applied Materials on 13 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.