Affected by the demand for artificial intelligence and memory shortages, Applied Materials' performance is expected to exceed expectations, and the company's stock price surged after hours.

On Thursday, Applied Materials Inc. forecasted that its second-quarter revenue and profit will be higher than market expectations, as the company bets on the growth in demand for artificial intelligence processors and global memory shortages to help drive sales of its chip manufacturing equipment. The rapid construction of artificial intelligence infrastructure - the main driver for Applied Materials - has absorbed most of the global memory chip supply, increasing production capacity and further promoting the company's sales. The company's stock price rose by over 12% in after-hours trading. With Applied Materials' optimistic outlook boosting market sentiment, shares of Lam Research and KLA also rose by nearly 3% after the closing bell. Data shows that Applied Materials expects second-quarter sales to be around $7.65 billion, plus or minus $500 million, compared to the expected $7.01 billion. CEO Dickson stated in a statement that "Industry investments in artificial intelligence computing have accelerated the company's performance growth." He added, "The demand for higher performance and more energy-efficient chips has driven the rapid growth of advanced logic, high-bandwidth memory, and advanced packaging."