Press release
Applied Materials Increases Cash Dividend by 25 Percent
SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a 25-percent increase
About this update from Applied Materials, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applied Materials, Inc. today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a 25-percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend from $0.32 to $0.40 per share. The dividend is payable on June 13, 2024 to shareholders of record as of May 23, 2024. “Our latest dividend increase reflects our confidence in Applied Materials’ ability to generate profitable growth and strong free cash flow,” said Brice Hill, Senior Vice President and CFO. “We believe Applied can continue to outperform the semiconductor equipment market in the years ahead, and we expect our services business to deliver double-digit growth and more than enough operating profit to support a growing dividend.” The quarterly cash dividend is a key component of Applied’s capital allocation strategy. Today’s announcement marks the seventh consecutive year that Applied has raised its dividend. In March 2023, Applied announced a 23.1-percent increase in the quarterly cash dividend from $0.26 to $0.32 per share and indicated its intention to increase the dividend at an accelerated rate over the next several years, which would double the previous dividend per share. With the increase announced today, Applied has grown its quarterly dividend paid per share at a 15-percent compound annual growth rate over the past 10 years. Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements, including those regarding our ability to generate growth and free cash flow and to increase the dividend at an accelerated rate, and other statements that are not historical facts. These statements and their underlying assumptions are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements include, without limitation: the level of demand for our products, our ability to meet customer demand, and our suppliers’ ability to meet our demand requirements; global economic, political and industry conditions, including rising inflation and interest rates; the implementation and interpretation of new export regulations and license requirements, and their impact on our ability to export products and provide services to customers and on our results of operations; global trade issues and changes in...