Highlights

  • Applied Materials unveiled its EPIC Centre in October, adding shared research infrastructure for materials engineering and advanced semiconductor manufacturing.
  • The company's collaboration with KIOXIA covers future memory technologies, including advanced structures and chip stacking within the research programme.
  • Revenue increased 25% YoY in 3QFY26, with GAAP operating income and cash generation rising alongside demand for chipmaking equipment.
  • Management forecasts higher fourth-quarter revenue while prioritising leading logic, memory and advanced packaging technologies across its semiconductor equipment portfolio.

Collaborative memory research is gaining a larger physical base at Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT), the semiconductor materials engineering and equipment supplier. The October unveiling of its EPIC Centre followed a September partnership with KIOXIA and another quarter of higher revenue. Applied shares closed at USD 387.59, up 2.74%, after trading ended on 26 October 2026. The new centre is intended to bring equipment, materials and chip manufacturing work into a shared development environment, while management's near-term outlook anticipates further growth across the wider business.

EPIC Brings Equipment and Materials Development Together

Applied unveiled the EPIC Centre on 12 October as a USD 5bn investment in semiconductor research infrastructure in Silicon Valley. The facility spans approximately 600,000 square feet and includes around four acres of cleanroom space.

Its collaborative model brings participants closer together during the development of materials, equipment and manufacturing processes. The intention is to move work across those stages more quickly as semiconductor design and production requirements become increasingly complex.

The centre's opening establishes the research infrastructure. Its expected effect on development speed remains an objective for the collaboration model, rather than a separately reported financial contribution from the facility.

Applied's development priorities include leading logic, DRAM and advanced packaging. These areas connect the design of chips with the equipment and materials needed to manufacture them, including integration challenges associated with AI computing.

Memory Partnership Extends the Shared Research Programme

KIOXIA joined the EPIC research ecosystem through a collaboration announced on 29 September. The programme addresses next-generation memory technology, including advanced memory cell structures, chip stacking and materials engineering.

The partnership gives the centre a memory development focus alongside its broader semiconductor agenda. It is intended to combine device knowledge with equipment and materials capabilities, allowing participants to address manufacturing requirements earlier in the research process.

Applied describes collaboration as part of its approach to accelerating innovation. That involves developing processes together rather than treating materials, equipment and device requirements as independent steps. The memory work remains a research programme; the announcement does not assign a separate sales value or quantified near-term earnings contribution to the partnership.

Quarterly Results and Guidance Set the Financial Context

For 3QFY26, ended 26 July, revenue reached USD 9.12bn, increasing 25% YoY. GAAP operating income was USD 3.08bn, representing an operating margin of 33.7%, and diluted earnings were USD 3.17 per share.

Cash generated from operations totalled USD 3.04bn. Those completed-quarter figures provide the financial background to the later research announcements. The EPIC unveiling and KIOXIA collaboration occurred after the reporting period and are separate development milestones.

Management's 4QFY26 forecast calls for revenue of USD 10.25bn, plus or minus USD 500mn. Non-GAAP diluted earnings guidance is USD 4.02 per share, plus or minus USD 0.20. These remain forward-looking estimates for the wider company.

The immediate operating agenda involves serving equipment demand and delivering against the quarterly plan. Over a longer period, EPIC and the memory collaboration are intended to support future manufacturing technologies. The two programmes consequently operate on different timelines, even though both sit within Applied's focus on increasingly demanding semiconductor processes.