NVMI vs MKSI vs AMAT Stock Comparison

Nova, Mks and Applied Materials Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
NVMI Nova Ltd.
$334.59 -13.1% 1M -4.8% 1Y
Market cap
$9.33B
P/E
34.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$937.50M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
1 win
MKSI Mks Inc
$216.17 -18.7% 1M +52.9% 1Y
Market cap
$13.52B
P/E
30.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.35B
Div. yield
0.00%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
3 wins
AMAT Applied Materials Inc /De
$421.66 -17.6% 1M +78.9% 1Y
Market cap
$310.24B
P/E
33.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.84B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
7 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Applied Materials leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Applied Materials 7, Mks 3, Nova 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionNVMIMKSIAMATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $9.33B $13.52B $310.24B AMAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.5x 30.7x 33.5x MKSI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.6x 16.0x 31.2x MKSI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.2% +16.3% +7.8% MKSI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 28.8% 10.1% 30.1% AMAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 8.9% 25.3% AMAT
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 3.2x -0.3x AMAT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.8% +52.9% +78.9% AMAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +25.3%/yr +7.6%/yr +25.3%/yr AMAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 59.4% 61.8% 60.6% NVMI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 55/100 56/100 AMAT

Percentile Scorecard

NVMIMKSIAMAT

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisNVMIMKSIAMAT
Valuation 56 #42 of 94 76 #23 of 94 50 #48 of 94
Growth 67 #31 of 92 73 #26 of 92 45 #51 of 92
Profitability 75 #23 of 88 62 #34 of 88 89 #11 of 88
Financial Health 15 #82 of 96 1 #95 of 96 48 #50 of 96
Shareholder Returns – 63 #27 of 72 49 #37 of 72
Overall 53 55 56
  • NVMI ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • MKSI ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • AMAT ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodNVMIMKSIAMATSPY
1 month -13.1%-18.7%-17.6% +0.7%
3 months -15.1%-26.3%-16.0% +3.7%
6 months -33.1%-23.8%+6.9% +7.1%
Year to date +1.9%+35.3%+64.1% +12.8%
1 year -4.8%+52.9%+78.9% +11.9%
3 years +259.8%+230.9%+221.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +53.3%+49.1%+47.7% +22.8%
5 years +208.0%+44.1%+208.6% +67.6%
5 years, per year +25.3%+7.6%+25.3% +10.9%
10 years +2,667.5%+335.4%+1,371.2% +262.0%
10 years, per year +39.4%+15.9%+30.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureNVMIMKSIAMATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 59.4%61.8%60.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 67.6%65.8%62.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.902.822.78 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.080.861.30 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -52.8%-67.5%-55.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -44.8%-51.4%-41.7% -1.2%
52-week high $605.65$444.80$723.00 $779.14
52-week low $275.78$137.20$220.23 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleNVMIMKSIAMAT
P/E now vs peer median 37.3xmedian 46.4x 33.2xmedian 46.4x 36.1xmedian 46.4x
P/S now vs peer median 11.3xmedian 7.8x 3.4xmedian 7.8x 10.9xmedian 7.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 34.5xmedian 27.5x 17.2xmedian 27.5x 34.3xmedian 27.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 43.4xmedian 40.1x 32.1xmedian 40.1x 59.5xmedian 40.1x
P/B now vs peer median 7.3xmedian 4.7x 4.9xmedian 4.7x 13.1xmedian 4.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.51median 2.10 1.08median 2.10 2.43median 2.10

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsNVMIMKSIAMAT
Revenue $937.50M $4.35B $30.84B
Gross profit $535.50M $2.04B $15.23B
Operating income $271.61M $681.00M $9.14B
Net income $270.51M $439.00M $9.27B
Free cash flow $244.83M $455.00M $5.62B
R&D $151.05M $310.00M $3.97B
EPS (diluted) $8.24 $6.05 $11.58
Cash & equivalents $124.85M $611.00M $7.04B
Total debt – $3.94B $26.11B
Shares (diluted) 32.80M 72.70M 800.00M
Enterprise value $6.50B $10.97B $275.69B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricNVMIMKSIAMAT
P/E 37.3x 33.2x 36.1x
P/FCF 43.4x 32.1x 59.5x
P/Operating cash flow 47.0x 23.0x 39.9x
P/S 11.3x 3.4x 10.9x
P/B 7.3x 4.9x 13.1x
P/Tangible book 7.5x 15.0x 13.2x
EV/EBITDA 34.5x 17.2x 34.3x
EV/EBIT 36.9x 26.4x 36.3x
EV/Revenue 10.7x 4.1x 10.8x
EV/FCF 40.9x 39.4x 59.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 44.2x 28.3x 39.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.51 1.08 2.43

Growth

14 metrics
MetricNVMIMKSIAMAT
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.2% 16.3% 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 19.5% 4.2% 5.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 16.2% 15.4% 9.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 20.0% 6.7% 7.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 16.3% 33.5% 6.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 24.6% 35.4% 6.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 15.2% 64.4% 35.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 25.8% 31.0% 12.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 12.8% 52.8% 36.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 24.6% 30.7% 14.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -1.4% -1.6% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.7% 20.7% 1.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.4% -13.3% -3.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.2% 22.9% -7.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricNVMIMKSIAMAT
Gross margin 57.1% 47.0% 49.4%
EBITDA margin 31.0% 24.0% 31.4%
Operating margin 29.0% 15.7% 29.6%
Pretax margin 34.1% 11.2% 34.8%
Net margin 28.8% 10.1% 30.1%
FCF margin 26.1% 10.5% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 24.1% 14.6% 27.2%
Return on equity 19.0% 15.2% 37.4%
Return on assets 11.0% 5.0% 22.1%
Return on invested capital – 8.9% 25.3%
Return on capital employed 17.9% 10.6% 29.0%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.5x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 1.4x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 2.8% 1.3% 2.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricNVMIMKSIAMAT
Debt / assets – 44.1% 15.0%
Debt / equity – 1.3x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – 3.2x -0.3x
Debt / FCF – 8.7x 1.2x
Liabilities / assets 41.1% 66.6% 41.1%
Equity / assets 58.9% 33.4% 58.9%
Interest coverage – 3.7x 33.0x
Current ratio 1.6x 1.1x 2.4x
Quick ratio 0.9x 0.6x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.3x 0.9x
Altman Z-score – 2.40 15.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricNVMIMKSIAMAT
Dividend yield – 0.4% 0.5%
Net buyback yield – – 0.6%
Shareholder yield – 0.4% 1.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 14.4% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 13.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 6.8% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 3.4% –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusNVMIMKSIAMAT
Forward P/E 29.6xFY2026 16.0xFY2026 31.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.30FY2026 $13.48FY2026 $13.50FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +31.1%FY2026 +71.1%FY2026 +43.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +17.2% +34.9% +32.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.15BFY2026 $5.43BFY2026 $32.74BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +30.3%FY2026 +38.1%FY2026 +15.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +23.9% +8.0% +38.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersNVMIMKSIAMAT
Held by institutions 69.0% 100.0% 83.6%
Institutions holding 343 776 3,507
Change in shares held, QoQ -4.1% +2.8% +6.0%
Institutions buying 175 455 1,790
Institutions selling 129 253 1,350
Buyers to sellers 1.36 1.80 1.33

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

NVMIMKSIAMAT
NVMI 1.00 0.77 0.80
MKSI 0.77 1.00 0.82
AMAT 0.80 0.82 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, NVMI, MKSI and AMAT?

Applied Materials (AMAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Nova (NVMI) $9.33B, Mks (MKSI) $13.52B, Applied Materials (AMAT) $310.24B.

Which stock is cheaper, NVMI, MKSI and AMAT?

Mks (MKSI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Nova (NVMI) 34.5x, Mks (MKSI) 30.7x, Applied Materials (AMAT) 33.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mks (MKSI) is cheapest (Nova (NVMI) 29.6x, Mks (MKSI) 16.0x, Applied Materials (AMAT) 31.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mks (MKSI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Nova (NVMI) +16.2%, Mks (MKSI) +16.3%, Applied Materials (AMAT) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Applied Materials (AMAT) has the highest net margin (Nova (NVMI) 28.8%, Mks (MKSI) 10.1%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 30.1%). On return on invested capital, Applied Materials (AMAT) leads (Mks (MKSI) 8.9%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 25.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Materials (AMAT) returned the most: Nova (NVMI) -4.8%, Mks (MKSI) +52.9%, Applied Materials (AMAT) +78.9%. Over five years, Applied Materials (AMAT) compounded fastest (Nova (NVMI) +25.3%/yr, Mks (MKSI) +7.6%/yr, Applied Materials (AMAT) +25.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Nova (NVMI) 0.00%, Mks (MKSI) 0.00%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 0.00%. Nova (NVMI) and Applied Materials (AMAT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nova (NVMI) has been the steadiest (Nova (NVMI) 59.4%, Mks (MKSI) 61.8%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 60.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, NVMI, MKSI and AMAT?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Applied Materials (AMAT) leads on 7. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.