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 better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends and media sentiment.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of AMAT or LRCX?

80.6% of Applied Materials shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 84.6% of Lam Research shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Applied Materials shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Lam Research shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is AMAT or LRCX more profitable?

Lam Research has a net margin of 29.07% compared to Applied Materials' net margin of 24.06%. Lam Research's return on equity of 58.17% beat Applied Materials' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Applied Materials	24.06%	40.15%	22.42%
Lam Research	29.07%	58.17%	26.42%

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 1.0%. Lam Research pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Applied Materials pays out 22.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Lam Research pays out 22.1% 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.

Do analysts recommend AMAT or LRCX?

Applied Materials currently has a consensus price target of $204.09, indicating a potential upside of 8.27%. Lam Research has a consensus price target of $107.09, indicating a potential upside of 1.90%. Given Applied Materials' higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Applied Materials is more favorable than Lam Research.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Applied Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	17 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68
Lam Research	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	19 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73

Which has higher earnings and valuation, 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	$27.18B	5.57	$7.18B	$8.22	22.93
Lam Research	$18.44B	7.29	$5.36B	$4.16	25.26

Does the media prefer AMAT or LRCX?

In the previous week, Applied Materials had 6 more articles in the media than Lam Research. MarketBeat recorded 74 mentions for Applied Materials and 68 mentions for Lam Research. Lam Research's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat Applied Materials' score of 1.25 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	56 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	11 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Lam Research	54 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, AMAT or LRCX?

Applied Materials has a beta of 1.7, indicating that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lam Research has a beta of 1.65, indicating that its share price is 65% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Lam Research beats Applied Materials on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.