Applied Materials, the world's largest semiconductor equipment maker, is headquartered in Santa Clara and trades on the Nasdaq — here's what that means.
When people picture the companies that make computer chips possible, they usually think of the chipmakers themselves — Intel, TSMC, Samsung. Fewer think about the machines that make those chips in the first place. That's where Applied Materials comes in, and yes, it is an American company.
Rooted in Santa Clara
Applied Materials is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, right in the heart of Silicon Valley. That location isn't incidental — it places the company at the geographic center of America's semiconductor industry, surrounded by the customers, engineers, and suppliers who depend on the equipment it builds.
A Public American Stock
The company trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker AMAT, which means anyone can buy shares through an ordinary U.S. brokerage account. Applied Materials first went public back in October 1972, giving it more than five decades of history as a publicly traded American business.
Long Track Record
That 1972 IPO date matters because it shows staying power. Few companies survive the boom-and-bust cycles of the semiconductor industry for that long, let alone lead it.
What the Company Actually Does
Applied Materials makes the specialized machines used to manufacture semiconductor wafers — the thin discs of silicon that become computer chips. It's the largest semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment manufacturer in the world, with a broad portfolio that touches nearly every corner of the wafer fabrication equipment ecosystem.
Strength in Deposition
Within that portfolio, the company holds leading market share in deposition, the process of layering new materials onto a wafer during manufacturing. This is a foundational step in chipmaking, and it's an area where Applied Materials has built a particularly strong position.
Serving the Biggest Names in Chips
Applied Materials is especially tied to general-purpose logic chips made at integrated device manufacturers and foundries. Its customer list includes the largest chipmakers on Earth — TSMC, Intel, and Samsung among them — which underscores how central its equipment is to the global chip supply chain, even as those customers themselves operate internationally.
Scale of the Business
The numbers tell a story of a large, established enterprise. In fiscal year 2025, Applied Materials generated $28.4 billion in revenue and $7.0 billion in net income. Its total assets stood at $36.3 billion, and its market capitalization reached $425.8 billion — figures that put it among the more significant industrial and technology companies listed on U.S. exchanges.
An American Workforce
Applied Materials employs approximately 36,500 people. While the facts on hand don't break down exactly where each employee is based, the company's headquarters and public listing anchor its corporate identity firmly in the United States.
Verified in the Directory
Applied Materials is listed in the americancompanies.com directory of US-based companies, a reflection of its Santa Clara headquarters and its status as a publicly traded American business.
The Bottom Line
Between its California headquarters, its Nasdaq listing dating back to 1972, and its identity as the world's largest maker of semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment, Applied Materials checks every box of an American company — one whose machines quietly shape the chips inside nearly every modern device.
