Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) spent $2 billion on share repurchases and $421 million on dividends in its fiscal fourth quarter ended October 25, 2026. Those payments nearly matched the semiconductor-equipment maker’s $2.616 billion in non-GAAP free cash flow, according to results released on November 12 and furnished to the SEC.
The company generated $3.3 billion in operating cash and spent $684 million on capital expenditures. Subtracting that spending produces its reported free-cash-flow measure. This is cash after capital investment, not net income, and it does not deduct shareholder distributions.
Buybacks and dividends together totaled $2.421 billion, leaving a calculated difference of $195 million against free cash flow. That difference is not an increase in cash on hand: the cash-flow statement separately includes investment transactions, share-issuance proceeds and $133 million of tax withholding on vested equity awards.
The quarter shows how closely these shareholder payments tracked cash generated after capital spending. It does not establish that the same buyback pace will recur, or that this comparison captures every demand on the company’s cash.
Sources: Applied Materials Form 8-K, November 12, 2026 · SEC Exhibit 99.1: Applied Materials fiscal 2026 results · Applied Materials investor-relations earnings release.
Structural research, not investment advice.
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