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Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) is one of the best semiconductor equipment stocks to buy.

On May 11, the company announced a partnership with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited at Applied’s EPIC Center in Silicon Valley. The companies plan to work on materials, equipment, and process technologies needed to scale next-generation semiconductor devices, with the goal of moving breakthrough technologies from research into high-volume manufacturing more quickly. That ties Applied Materials directly to the AI-chip manufacturing bottleneck rather than just the broader equipment cycle.

The advanced packaging angle became clearer earlier in the month. On May 3, Applied Materials announced the acquisition of ASMPT’s NEXX business, adding electrochemical deposition technology used in panel-level advanced packaging. Applied said the NEXX team and products broaden its portfolio of panel-level packaging technologies designed to help chipmakers and systems companies build larger-body AI accelerators with better energy efficiency.

Together, the TSMC partnership and NEXX acquisition give Applied a more specific story around AI scaling, advanced packaging, and process technology, rather than a generic “chip equipment demand is good” setup.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) provides materials engineering solutions, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, services, and software for producing chips, advanced displays, and related electronic devices.

While we acknowledge the potential of AMAT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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