We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience.
This includes personalizing content and advertising.
By pressing "Accept All" or closing out of this banner, you consent to the use of all cookies and similar technologies and the sharing of information they collect with third parties.
You can reject marketing cookies by pressing "Deny Optional," but we still use essential, performance, and functional cookies.
In addition, whether you "Accept All," Deny Optional," click the X or otherwise continue to use the site, you accept our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, revised from time to time.
You are being directed to ZacksTrade, a division of LBMZ Securities and licensed broker-dealer. ZacksTrade and Zacks.com are separate companies. The web link between the two companies is not a solicitation or offer to invest in a particular security or type of security. ZacksTrade does not endorse or adopt any particular investment strategy, any analyst opinion/rating/report or any approach to evaluating individual securities.
If you wish to go to ZacksTrade, click OK. If you do not, click Cancel.
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Applied Materials, Shell and KLA
Read MoreHide Full Article
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – May 22, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT - Free Report) , Shell plc (SHEL - Free Report) and KLA Corp. (KLAC - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for Applied Materials, Shell and KLA
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Applied Materials, Inc., Shell plc and KLA Corp.. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
The daily 'Ahead of Wall Street' article is a must-read for all investors who would like to be ready for that day's trading action. The article comes out before the market opens, attempting to make sense of that morning's economic releases and how they will affect that day's market action. You can read this article for free on our home page and can actually sign up there to get an email notification as this article comes out each morning.
Applied Materials' shares have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry over the past six months (+84.4% vs. +34.1%). The company is benefiting from AI-driven demand that is shifting wafer fabrication equipment spending toward leading-edge foundry-logic, DRAM and advanced packaging, where it holds leading process positions.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, the company delivered record revenue and the highest gross margin in more than two decades, and management sees better multi-quarter visibility as customers share longer-range forecasts. New gate-all-around and packaging products, expanding EPIC collaborations, and a growing services attach rate support value-based pricing and operating leverage.
Offsetting these positives are high China exposure amid changing export rules, the inherently cyclical nature of capital spending, and intense competition across process steps.
Shares of Shell have gained +21.3% over the past six months against the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry's gain of +33.5%. The company benefits from its integrated energy model, where strength in LNG, trading, refining and downstream operations helped offset commodity volatility and geopolitical disruptions.
Shell continues to expand its LNG leadership, positioning it to benefit from long-term global gas demand growth. Shell also strengthened its production outlook with Montney assets while maintaining balance sheet flexibility. Operational execution remained solid, supported by high refining utilization, record Brazil output and ongoing cost reductions.
Rising dividends and aggressive share buybacks also reflect management's confidence in future cash flows. Considering its resilient earnings base, LNG growth visibility, disciplined capital allocation and improving long-term free cash flow profile, the outperform recommendation is well justified.
KLA's shares have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry over the past six months (+62.2% vs. +38.8%). The company continues to benefit from AI-driven spending in leading-edge foundry/logic, high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging, supporting market share gains in process control and steady services growth that helps anchor cash generation.
Management expects its advanced packaging portfolio revenue to rise to about $1 billion in 2026 and sees wafer equipment demand strengthening into 2027, with June quarter guidance calling for another step up in revenue. A high free cash flow profile supports ongoing dividends and repurchases, including a higher quarterly dividend and a new $7 billion authorization.
However, KLAC's prospects remain balanced for now given export control and tariff uncertainty, customer concentration, and gross margin sensitivity to elevated DRAM-related system costs expected to persist through at least 2026.
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.
Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)
Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report
predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.
View the Zacks #1 Rank List
Image: Bigstock
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Applied Materials, Shell and KLA
For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – May 22, 2026 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT - Free Report) , Shell plc (SHEL - Free Report) and KLA Corp. (KLAC - Free Report) .
Here are highlights from Thursday’s Analyst Blog:
Top Analyst Reports for Applied Materials, Shell and KLA
The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Applied Materials, Inc., Shell plc and KLA Corp.. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.
You can see all of today's research reports here >>>
Ahead of Wall Street
The daily 'Ahead of Wall Street' article is a must-read for all investors who would like to be ready for that day's trading action. The article comes out before the market opens, attempting to make sense of that morning's economic releases and how they will affect that day's market action. You can read this article for free on our home page and can actually sign up there to get an email notification as this article comes out each morning.
You can read today's AWS here >>> Claims, Starts & Walmart: Busy Pre-Market
Today's Featured Research Reports
Applied Materials' shares have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Semiconductors industry over the past six months (+84.4% vs. +34.1%). The company is benefiting from AI-driven demand that is shifting wafer fabrication equipment spending toward leading-edge foundry-logic, DRAM and advanced packaging, where it holds leading process positions.
In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, the company delivered record revenue and the highest gross margin in more than two decades, and management sees better multi-quarter visibility as customers share longer-range forecasts. New gate-all-around and packaging products, expanding EPIC collaborations, and a growing services attach rate support value-based pricing and operating leverage.
Offsetting these positives are high China exposure amid changing export rules, the inherently cyclical nature of capital spending, and intense competition across process steps.
(You can read the full research report on Applied Materials here >>>)
Shares of Shell have gained +21.3% over the past six months against the Zacks Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry's gain of +33.5%. The company benefits from its integrated energy model, where strength in LNG, trading, refining and downstream operations helped offset commodity volatility and geopolitical disruptions.
Shell continues to expand its LNG leadership, positioning it to benefit from long-term global gas demand growth. Shell also strengthened its production outlook with Montney assets while maintaining balance sheet flexibility. Operational execution remained solid, supported by high refining utilization, record Brazil output and ongoing cost reductions.
Rising dividends and aggressive share buybacks also reflect management's confidence in future cash flows. Considering its resilient earnings base, LNG growth visibility, disciplined capital allocation and improving long-term free cash flow profile, the outperform recommendation is well justified.
(You can read the full research report on Shell here >>>)
KLA's shares have outperformed the Zacks Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry over the past six months (+62.2% vs. +38.8%). The company continues to benefit from AI-driven spending in leading-edge foundry/logic, high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging, supporting market share gains in process control and steady services growth that helps anchor cash generation.
Management expects its advanced packaging portfolio revenue to rise to about $1 billion in 2026 and sees wafer equipment demand strengthening into 2027, with June quarter guidance calling for another step up in revenue. A high free cash flow profile supports ongoing dividends and repurchases, including a higher quarterly dividend and a new $7 billion authorization.
However, KLAC's prospects remain balanced for now given export control and tariff uncertainty, customer concentration, and gross margin sensitivity to elevated DRAM-related system costs expected to persist through at least 2026.
(You can read the full research report on KLA here >>>)
Free: Instant Access to Zacks' Market-Crushing Strategies
Since 2000, our top stock-picking strategies have blown away the S&P's +7.7% average gain per year. Amazingly, they soared with average gains of +48.4%, +50.2% and +56.7% per year.
Today you can tap into those powerful strategies – and the high-potential stocks they uncover – free. No strings attached.
Get all the details here >>
Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
support@zacks.com
https://www.zacks.com
Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.