Applied Materials is a manufacturer of equipment and provider of services and software that enables the manufacture of semiconductor, LCD displays, and solar products, among others.
The company was founded in 1967 by Michael A. McNeilly.
Applied Materials grew by acquisition, buying Opal Technologies and Orbot Instruments in 1996, Etec Systems in 2000, Baccini in 2008, Semitool Inc. in 2009, and Varian Semiconductor in 2011.
Today Applied Materials is the largest manufacturer of semiconductor equipment in the world. The company also manufactures equipment used in making solar power cells.
Applied Materials is traded publicly on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol AMAT, is a member of the S&P 500, is #350 in the Fortune 500, has 13,700 employees, and had $8.08 billion in revenue in 2013.
