Applied Materials vs. Broadcom: Comparing Sales Growth Trajectories for These Artificial Intelligence Companies
Key Points
Broadcom currently demonstrates higher revenue totals and a faster pace of year-over-year expansion compared to Applied Materials across recently reported financial periods.
Broadcom recorded continuous quarter-over-quarter revenue increases throughout the entire eight-quarter charting period, whereas Applied Materials experienced alternating cycles of sequential declines and advances before establishing a more recent upward trajectory.
Investors should monitor whether the widening revenue gap between the two companies continues its current trajectory or if the respective growth rates begin to narrow the difference in upcoming quarters.
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Applied Materials: Returning to a Positive Revenue Growth Trend
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) primarily develops specialized manufacturing equipment, engineering solutions, and factory automation software that it sells directly to global manufacturing clients who produce integrated circuits for consumer electronics and artificial intelligence systems.
While expanding its research ecosystem to eleven active industry engagements and announcing a joint development agreement to create optical lenses for smart glasses, it reported an operating margin of 34% for the quarter ended July 26, 2026.
Broadcom: Scaling Total Revenue Operations Across Recent Quarters
Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) designs, develops, and supplies a highly diverse portfolio of advanced semiconductor networking components and critical infrastructure software programs to large-scale global technology enterprises and telecommunications providers around the world.
While navigating ongoing workforce reductions and facing an urgent legal request from European cloud infrastructure providers to halt its termination of the VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, Broadcom generated an operating margin of 54% for the quarter ended Aug. 2, 2026.
Why Revenue Patterns Matter for Investors
Revenue shows the total capital a business brings in from all core operations before any administrative or manufacturing expenses are deducted. This helps investors accurately evaluate baseline organizational scale and a company's overall size, market footprint, and long-term trajectory.over extended time horizons.
Tracking Quarterly Revenue for Applied Materials and Broadcom
| Calendar quarter | Applied Materials Revenue | Broadcom Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2024 | $7.0 billion (quarter ended Oct. 27, 2024) | $14.1 billion (quarter ended Nov. 3, 2024) |
| Q4 2024 | $7.2 billion (quarter ended Jan. 26, 2025) | $14.9 billion (quarter ended Feb. 2, 2025) |
| Q1 2025 | $7.1 billion (quarter ended April 27, 2025) | $15.0 billion (quarter ended May 4, 2025) |
| Q2 2025 | $7.3 billion (quarter ended July 27, 2025) | $16.0 billion (quarter ended Aug. 3, 2025) |
| Q3 2025 | $6.8 billion (quarter ended Oct. 26, 2025) | $18.0 billion (quarter ended Nov. 2, 2025) |
| Q4 2025 | $7.0 billion (quarter ended Jan. 25, 2026) | $19.3 billion (quarter ended Feb. 1, 2026) |
| Q1 2026 | $7.9 billion (quarter ended April 26, 2026) | $22.2 billion (quarter ended May 3, 2026) |
| Q2 2026 | $9.1 billion (quarter ended July 26, 2026) | $29.6 billion (quarter ended Aug. 2, 2026) |
Data source: Company filings. Data as of Sept. 11, 2026.
Foolish Take
Examining the revenue trends for Applied Materials and Broadcom reveal key insights for investors. While both benefit from the arrival of artificial intelligence, Broadcom has experienced the stronger sales growth over time. Its revenue has risen every quarter in a sign of the massive customer demand for its AI offerings.
Applied Materials had uneven sales growth in 2025 as a result of U.S. government restrictions on semiconductor-related sales to China. The company rebounded in 2026, with record revenue of $9.1 billion in its fiscal third quarter, ended July 26. While this represented an excellent year-over-year increase of 25%, Broadcom's business is enjoying far more spectacular growth.
In its fiscal Q3 ended Aug. 2, Broadcom's record $29.6 billion in sales was an impressive 86% year-over-year jump. A key factor in the spectacular Q3 growth was the company's AI semiconductor revenue of $16.7 billion, which represents a jaw-dropping 221% increase compared to the previous year.
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Robert Izquierdo has positions in Broadcom. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Applied Materials and Broadcom. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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