Applied Materials CEO 2024 demand from foundry-logic customers to strengthen

CEO GaryDickerson states: “In 2024, we expect demand from our leading edge foundry-logic customers to be stronger year on year underpinned by higher PC, cloud, and AI data center spending as well as the initial build-out of Gate-All-Around nodes. We see demand for our ICAPS business being lower mainly due to softness in the industrial automation and Automotive end markets. In DRAM, both pricing and utilization are improving for our customers and we see demand for Applied’s products remaining strong. And we believe NAND spending will be up year on year but still far below 2022 and less than 10% of wafer fab equipment spending overall. We expect NAND to remain a lower percentage of the wafer fab equipment mix moving forward. In terms of the global trade environment, the October 2023 export control rule changes in the US were primarily focused on alignment with other countries. The rules are complex and while we are working with the government to clarify certain details, we see no incremental material impact to Applied at this time. As I look ahead, I strongly believe that Applied Materials has the right capabilities, strategy, and partnerships. In fiscal 2024, our major focus areas include driving R&D programs to further differentiate our portfolio and extend our leadership at the key inflections that enable future industry growth, continuing to make operational and supply chain improvements to better serve customers, capture economies of scale, and drive productivity across the enterprise, and ensuring that as we scale the company, we continue to reduce our environmental impact in line with Applied’s collaborative net zero playbook as announced earlier this year.” Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.