ARM vs AMAT Stock Comparison

Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares vs Applied Materials, Inc.

Data as of Sep 2, 2026· market close· Technology· Coverage 54/66 fields· Moderate confidence
AIQ VerdictFragileAIQ Comparison Conviction 3/10

AMAT leads

AMAT leads by 2 AIQ points, primarily on Quality and Risk Resilience. Wall Street currently favors ARM on target upside.

Fragile: 3 of 6 evidence groups support AMAT, and its current signal state is conflicted.

Evidence agreement: 3 of 6Comparison trend: Stable
ARM

Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares

AIQ Score
43/100
AIQ Edge Score
3/10
AMAT

Applied Materials, Inc.

Leads
AIQ Score
45/100
AIQ Edge Score
4/10

The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors AMAT over ARM, 45 versus 43 as of Sep 2, 2026. AMAT's advantage is driven primarily by stronger quality and risk resilience, while ARM holds the stronger momentum profile. AMAT also shows the weaker technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average, though analyst target upside currently favors ARM. 3 of 6 covered evidence groups favor AMAT today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: the AIQ gap is narrow at 2 points. AMAT lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 2 points over 30 sessions.

Compare Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares and Applied Materials, Inc. across the Algovestiq AIQ Score, valuation, quality, momentum, risk, technicals and analyst expectations.

AIQ Factor Divergence

Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.

ARM advantage
0
AMAT advantage
  • Momentum25%35 vs 16
    ARM +19
  • Quality30%72 vs 87
    AMAT +15
  • Risk Resilience15%39 vs 45
    AMAT +6
  • Value30%24 vs 28
    AMAT +4

3 of 6 evidence groups favor AMAT. AMAT’s edge is concentrated in quality and risk resilience; ARM keeps a meaningful momentum edge.

What changed since the last close

Latest scored session 2026-09-01, compared against the prior scored session 2026-08-31.

ARM0 AIQ

No factor moved materially.

No new signals fired.

AMAT0 AIQ

No factor moved materially.

No new signals fired.

AMAT's lead was unchanged in the latest snapshot.

Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — ARM and AMAT both carry a full feed there.

The central trade-off

AMAT (Applied Materials, Inc.): the stronger current systematic profile, led by quality and risk resilience.

ARM (Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares): the counter-case, on momentum, technicals, analyst expectations — but at materially higher volatility, 80.6% against 48.6%.

The AIQ Score and Wall Street therefore point in different directions on this pair.

Which one fits your objective

The same two names rank differently depending on what you are optimizing for. All six reads are shown at once — none of them is hidden behind a toggle.

Balanced

AMAT

AMAT on the overall AIQ Score, which weights Quality and Value at 30% each.

Growth

AMAT

AMAT on combined revenue and EPS growth.

Value

AMAT

AMAT on the peer-relative Value factor, by 4 points.

Momentum

ARM

ARM on the Momentum factor, by 19 points.

Lower downside

AMAT

AMAT on Risk Resilience, by 6 points.

Analyst upside

ARM

ARM on implied upside to the consensus price target.

AIQ vs Wall Street

The model and the Street disagree here: AIQ favors AMAT, analyst targets favor ARM. That disagreement is the most useful thing on this page.

MeasureARMAMATNote
Implied upside to target+54.7%+39.4%ARM has more room
Target dispersion+119.4%+69%Lower is tighter analyst agreement
ConsensusBuyBuyContext, not a primary driver
Analysts covering1223Higher coverage generally improves confidence

The two are measuring different things. The AIQ Score reads current fundamentals, valuation, trend and risk; analyst targets price forward expectations. A divergence of this kind is either a contrarian opportunity or a sign the model is missing something already priced in — it is worth resolving before acting on either.

Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions. Dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

AIQ Agreement Matrix

3 of 6 covered evidence groups favor AMAT. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.

Evidence groupFavorsReading
AIQ ScoreEven43 vs 45
FundamentalsAMATon balancerevenue growth -13.5% vs 15.2%; EPS growth -13.8% vs -9.3%; ROE 13% vs 39.8%; gross margin 95.3% vs 49%; operating margin 17.3% vs 29.5% — AMAT takes 4 of 5 decided legs, not all of them
ValuationAMATValue 24 vs 28
TechnicalsARMPrice vs 50-day -17.8% vs -20.3%; vs 200-day 21.1% vs 15.2%
Risk ResilienceAMATRisk Resilience 39 vs 45
Analyst expectationsARMTarget upside 54.7% vs 39.4%

✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of ARM and AMAT and are excluded from the count.

AIQ Decision Stability

Fragile

The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.

  • The AIQ gap is narrow at 2 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • Only 3 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
  • The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
  • Analyst targets on the leader are widely dispersed. (argues the conclusion is provisional)

Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on AMAT.

How the comparison changed

120 daily snapshots · Apr 20 Sep 1

AMAT lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 2 points over 30 sessions.

Apr 20ARM leads above the line · AMAT leads belowSep 1
Today
AMAT +2
43 vs 45
7 sessions ago
AMAT +3
44 vs 47
30 sessions ago
AMAT +4
49 vs 53
90 sessions ago
AMAT +19
46 vs 65

The lead changed hands 2 times in this window, most recently on May 4 when AMAT moved ahead of ARM.

AIQ Signal Divergence

Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.

ARMConflicted

1 bullish / 2 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted

  • Golden Cross Active bullish, trend, long horizon (42.10%)
  • Beta Spike Warning bearish, risk, long horizon
  • ATR Expansion - Breakout Mode neutral, volatility, short horizon (7.37%)
AMATConflicted

1 bullish / 2 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted

  • Golden Cross Active bullish, trend, long horizon (36.05%)
  • Beta Spike Warning bearish, risk, long horizon
  • ATR Expansion - Breakout Mode neutral, volatility, short horizon (5.72%)

AMAT leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.

Price vs model alignment

Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.

ARMNo material change

Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price -0.62%, AIQ 0 points).

AMATNo material change

Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price -1.15%, AIQ 0 points).

What would flip this result

A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.

  1. 1ARM closes the Quality gap — currently 15 points behind, the largest single contributor to AMAT's edge.
  2. 2ARM's Beta Spike Warning resolves — a bearish risk rule currently active against it.
  3. 3AMAT's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 bullish and 2 bearish rules at once.
  4. 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — the composite weights Quality and Value at 30% each, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.

The full evidence

Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.

Fundamentals

AMAT leads on balance
MetricARMAMAT
Revenue growth (YoY)-13.5%15.2%
EPS growth (YoY)-13.8%-9.3%
Gross margin95.3%49%
Operating margin17.3%29.5%
Return on equity13%39.8%
Debt to equity0.050.3

Technicals

ARM has the stronger structure
MetricARMAMAT
RSI (14)34.930.7
ADX (14)10.716.3
Price vs 50-day-17.8%-20.3%
Price vs 200-day21.1%15.2%
Volatility (1M, annualized)80.6%48.6%

Risk

AMAT is the more resilient
MetricARMAMAT
Beta3.32.76
Sharpe ratio1.021.96
Sortino ratio1.873.09
Max drawdown-48.8%-39.6%
Current drawdown-45%-36.6%
Annualized volatility76.2%59.3%
Value at risk (95%)-6.8%-5.7%

Straight answers

Each answer is regenerated from the current snapshot, not written once and left to age.

Which is better, ARM or AMAT?

On the Algovestiq AIQ Score, AMAT is the stronger of the two as of Sep 2, 2026, scoring 45 against ARM's 43. The edge comes from quality and risk resilience. ARM is not without a case — it holds the better momentum profile, which matters more if that is the objective you are optimizing for. This is a systematic score, not a recommendation: it ranks the two on the same evidence, it does not know your holding period or tax position.

Is ARM or AMAT the better buy right now?

AMAT carries the stronger systematic profile as of Sep 2, 2026, and the comparison is rated Fragile — 3 of 6 covered evidence groups agree. A Fragile rating means the conclusion is sensitive: the AIQ gap is narrow at 2 points. Treat the lead as provisional.

Why does the AIQ Score favor AMAT over ARM?

The composite weights Quality at 30%, Value at 30%, Momentum at 25% and Risk Resilience at 15%. ARM leads Momentum by 19 points; AMAT leads Quality by 15 points; AMAT leads Risk Resilience by 6 points. Where the two split, the factor with the larger weight carries the result.

Which has more analyst upside, ARM or AMAT?

Analyst price targets imply +54.7% upside for ARM and +39.4% for AMAT, so the Street currently favors ARM. That points the opposite way to the AIQ Score, which favors AMAT. The two are measuring different things: the model reads current fundamentals, valuation, trend and risk; the Street is pricing forward expectations. A divergence of this kind is either a contrarian opportunity or a sign the model is missing something the analysts have already priced — it is the single most useful row on this page to investigate. Analyst targets are expectations, not predictions, and dispersion matters as much as the midpoint.

Which is better value, ARM or AMAT?

AMAT is the better-valued of the two on the peer-relative Value factor. AMAT on the peer-relative Value factor, by 4 points. The Value factor reads valuation relative to sector peers and to the company's own fundamental quality, so it is not the same as simply having the lower multiple.

Which has stronger growth, ARM or AMAT?

AMAT on combined revenue and EPS growth. Growth here is measured on reported revenue and earnings, not on forward estimates — it describes what the businesses have delivered, not what the Street expects next.

Which has stronger momentum, ARM or AMAT?

ARM on the Momentum factor, by 19 points. Momentum carries 25% of the AIQ composite. It has documented persistence over three- to twelve-month horizons, which makes it a timing input rather than a reason to hold something indefinitely.

Which is riskier, ARM or AMAT?

AMAT is the more resilient of the two, so the other name carries the higher downside risk. AMAT on Risk Resilience, by 6 points. The Risk Resilience factor weights 15% of the composite; position sizing usually responds to it more usefully than the buy/avoid decision does.

Is ARM more profitable than AMAT?

The profitability evidence is mixed: gross margin 95.3% vs 49%; operating margin 17.3% vs 29.5%; roe 13% vs 39.8%. ARM leads on one measure and AMAT on two measures, and there is no single profitability composite that resolves the split — which of the two reads as "more profitable" depends on whether you weight pricing power or operating leverage.

Is AMAT's lead over ARM getting stronger or weaker?

AMAT lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 2 points over 30 sessions. This is measured from 120 daily comparison snapshots between 2026-04-20 and 2026-09-01. The lead has changed hands 2 times in that window, most recently on 2026-05-04, when AMAT moved ahead of ARM.

What would change the ARM vs AMAT verdict?

The result is a state, not a forecast, so it changes when the underlying evidence changes. Concretely: ARM closes the Quality gap — currently 15 points behind, the largest single contributor to AMAT's edge; ARM's Beta Spike Warning resolves — a bearish risk rule currently active against it; AMAT's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 1 bullish and 2 bearish rules at once; a regime shift changes factor weighting — the composite weights Quality and Value at 30% each, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.

What do the current signals say about ARM and AMAT?

ARM: 1 bullish / 2 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted. AMAT: 1 bullish / 2 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted. A conflicted state means bullish and bearish rules are active on the same name at once — the technical evidence is not pointing one way, and a decision taken on it carries more timing risk. The most decision-relevant rule on ARM is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon). On AMAT it is Golden Cross Active (bullish, long horizon).

Compare ARM and AMAT with others

How this comparison is scored

The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality (30%), Value (30%), Momentum (25%) and Risk (15%). Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.

The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.

How to use side-by-side comparison →

This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.