Intel (INTC) Competitors

Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) are both large-cap computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, community ranking, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership and earnings.

Is INTC or AMAT more profitable?

Applied Materials has a net margin of 26.41% compared to Intel's net margin of -29.42%. Applied Materials' return on equity of 39.26% beat Intel's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intel	-29.42%	-1.71%	-0.97%
Applied Materials	26.41%	39.26%	21.92%

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of INTC or AMAT?

64.5% of Intel shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.6% of Applied Materials shares are held by institutional investors. 0.0% of Intel shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Applied Materials shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more volatility & risk, INTC or AMAT?

Intel has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its stock price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Applied Materials has a beta of 1.56, meaning that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is INTC or AMAT a better dividend stock?

Intel pays an annual dividend of $0.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Applied Materials pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Intel pays out -13.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Applied Materials pays out 18.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Intel is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media refer more to INTC or AMAT?

In the previous week, Applied Materials had 37 more articles in the media than Intel. MarketBeat recorded 101 mentions for Applied Materials and 64 mentions for Intel. Intel's average media sentiment score of 0.91 beat Applied Materials' score of 0.55 indicating that Intel is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Intel	40 Very Positive mention(s)	10 Positive mention(s)	13 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Applied Materials	40 Very Positive mention(s)	9 Positive mention(s)	17 Neutral mention(s)	18 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer INTC or AMAT?

Intel presently has a consensus target price of $30.12, indicating a potential upside of 25.43%. Applied Materials has a consensus target price of $219.81, indicating a potential upside of 28.93%. Given Applied Materials' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Applied Materials is more favorable than Intel.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intel	5 Sell rating(s)	25 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	1.87
Applied Materials	0 Sell rating(s)	7 Hold rating(s)	15 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.68

Which has better earnings and valuation, INTC or AMAT?

Applied Materials has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Intel. Intel is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Applied Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intel	$54.23B	1.91	$1.69B	-$3.72	-6.45
Applied Materials	$27.18B	5.17	$7.18B	$8.61	19.80

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer INTC or AMAT?

Intel received 828 more outperform votes than Applied Materials when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 71.98% of users gave Applied Materials an outperform vote while only 65.12% of users gave Intel an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Intel	Outperform Votes 2742 65.12%	Underperform Votes 1469 34.88%
Applied Materials	Outperform Votes 1914 71.98%	Underperform Votes 745 28.02%

Summary

Applied Materials beats Intel on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.