Applied Materials Stock and 2 U.S. Manufacturers Riding Chip Onshoring Demand

Tariff talks are heating up again, with fresh signals on semiconductor duties, a renewed Trump era trade agenda, and louder promises of long term AI infrastructure spending. Together, these shifts could reshape where factories get built, how supply chains evolve, and which U.S. onshoring and tariff protected manufacturers attract investor attention. This article walks through three stocks exposed to these trends and how each might fit into your watchlist.

The three stocks below are just a sample from this onshoring and tariff protected theme, with the full screen surfacing 28 more U.S. manufacturers with equally compelling narratives that are not covered here. If you want to identify and analyze potential highest conviction ideas in this space, head straight to the U.S. Onshoring and Tariff-Protected Manufacturers screener.

Ichor Holdings (ICHR)

Ichor Holdings is a Fremont based manufacturer that builds the fluid delivery subsystems inside semiconductor equipment, which places it squarely in the U.S. onshoring and tariff focused manufacturing theme. The company generates essentially all of its roughly US$1.01b in revenue from semiconductor equipment and services, selling gas and chemical delivery systems and precision components to major chip tool makers. With a market cap of about US$2.0b, it sits firmly in mid cap territory for investors tracking U.S. aligned semiconductor supply chains.

Ichor Holdings provides direct exposure to the plumbing of the AI and reshoring story, since its gas and chemical delivery systems are critical for the etch, deposition and cleaning steps inside new fabs that policy makers want built onshore. Analysts cite government incentives, proprietary new products and expanding internal manufacturing as potential supports for revenue and margins. At the same time, the company is working through thin margins, recent losses and execution risks around hiring and leadership changes. For investors evaluating whether the onshoring and tariff theme can offset those pressures, Ichor’s recent capacity expansion, demand commentary extending into 2027 and upgraded outlook may make it a stock to monitor more closely.

Ichor’s expanding capacity and updated outlook suggest a revenue story that investors may not have fully priced in yet. Before you decide how it fits your watchlist, review the 3 key rewards and 2 important warning signs (1 is major!)

Applied Materials (AMAT)

Applied Materials is a U.S. headquartered semiconductor equipment manufacturer whose tools are central to building onshore chip fabs that policy makers want inside tariff protected supply chains. The bulk of its revenue comes from its Semiconductor Systems business at about US$22.4b, with a further US$7.2b from Applied Global Services, which services and upgrades the installed base. With a market cap around US$363.8b, Applied Materials is one of the largest companies in the U.S. Onshoring and Tariff-Protected Manufacturers screener universe.

For investors tracking how AI data center buildouts and potential new U.S. semiconductor tariffs could channel more spend into domestic fabs, Applied Materials offers exposure to the tools those projects rely on, along with a sizeable services business that aims to smooth industry ups and downs. The flip side is meaningful exposure to export controls and policy decisions around regions like China, as well as reliance on a concentrated group of leading edge customers. Investors who want to understand how that trade off between AI and onshoring demand on one side and policy and customer concentration risk on the other might look at Applied Materials more closely.

Applied Materials sits at the crossroads of AI spending, export controls and customer reliance, yet many investors may still be missing a key angle in its story. Get the full picture through the 4 key rewards and 2 important warning signs

Penguin Solutions (PENG)

Penguin Solutions is a Fremont based enterprise hardware and services company tied into the U.S. Onshoring and Tariff-Protected Manufacturers theme through its role in designing, building and managing high performance computing and AI infrastructure that domestic facilities may need as they localize data center capacity. The business currently leans most on Integrated Memory at about US$715 million in revenue, followed by Advanced Computing at roughly US$543 million and Optimized LED at around US$244 million. With a market cap near US$2.5b, Penguin Solutions gives you exposure to AI data center buildouts, memory rich infrastructure and tariff exposed LED manufacturing in a single mid cap.

Investors looking for exposure to AI driven infrastructure that could benefit from U.S. onshoring may want to keep Penguin Solutions on the radar. The company pitches itself as a full stack AI factory platform. Advanced Computing and Integrated Memory are aimed at GPU heavy, latency sensitive workloads that new domestic data centers may require, and inclusion in NVIDIA’s partner ecosystem supports its technical credentials. At the same time, tariff costs tied to its China linked Optimized LED operations, lumpy project based computing deals and long dated R&D investments in next generation memory all add meaningful execution risk. For investors assessing whether the trade off between potential AI related upside and tariff and project volatility fits their portfolio, the deeper story behind Penguin’s growth mix, cash generation and contract pipeline is likely to be a key focus.

Penguin Solutions is pitching a full stack AI factory story, yet the real hinge for investors is how that mix of Advanced Computing, Integrated Memory and Optimized LED could play out in the analyst forecasts for Penguin Solutions that most are not modelling in yet

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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