Taiwan Semi Supplier Applied Materials Under Scrutiny, Gets Subpoenas For Potential Violation Of Export Restrictions to China

The U.S.-China geopolitical tensions gained traction, with Applied Materials Inc AMAT receiving another subpoena from the U.S. Department of Commerce in May seeking more information on China shipments.

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co TSM supplier received an SEC subpoena and two from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, Reuters reports. 

In November 2023, the Commerce Department sent a subpoena seeking information relating to specific China customer shipments.

Applied Materials is under U.S. criminal investigation for potentially evading export restrictions on China’s top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), Reuters cited familiar sources in November.

According to reports, China accounted for 43% of Applied Materials’ second-quarter revenue.

The Justice Department is investigating Applied Materials for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment to SMIC via South Korea without export licenses. 

Some Analysts recently hailed Applied Materials as a long-term share gainer, citing the recovery in the Logic/Foundry and DRAM markets, which is backed by the data center market. TSMC just projected a 10% annual revenue growth in the global semiconductor industry, excluding memory chips. It is expected that second-quarter sales will grow by up to 30%.

Applied Materials’ second-quarter revenue was $6.646 billion, flat year over year, beating the analyst consensus of $6.537 billion. The company reported adjusted EPS of $2.09, beating analyst consensus of $1.99.

Applied Materials stock gained over 79% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via First Trust Nasdaq Semiconductor ETF  FTXL and Pacer BlueStar Engineering The Future ETF BULD.

Price Action: AMAT shares were trading higher by 0.45% at $218.93 premarket at the last check on Friday.