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Applied Materials, Inc.
3050 Bowers Avenue Santa Clara, California 95054
(408) 727-5555 |
January 25, 2023
Dear
Fellow Shareholders:
On behalf of the Board of Directors, we are pleased to invite you to attend Applied Materials 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders,
which will be held on Thursday, March 9, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Time at our corporate offices at 3050 Bowers Avenue, Building 1, Santa Clara, California 95054.
We encourage you to read this Proxy Statement because it contains important information for voting your shares and sets forth how the Board oversaw your investment over
the past year. This years Proxy Statement reflects our continued focus on our business strategy, an engaged and effective Board, sound corporate governance and executive compensation practices, our Environmental, Social, and Governance
strategy, and our regular dialogue with and responsiveness to our shareholders.
Financial Performance and Business Strategy
In fiscal 2022, Applied Materials achieved record performance while continuing to navigate COVID-related restrictions, supply chain shortages, and a
challenging geopolitical and macroeconomic environment. Our revenues increased 12% and earnings per share increased 16% year-over-year.
As we look ahead, we remain
very positive about our long-term growth opportunities. Semiconductors are the foundation of digital transformation that will affect nearly every sector of the global economy in the coming years. Applied Materials has the industrys broadest
portfolio of products and technologies that enable improvements in chip power, performance, area, cost, and time-to-market (PPACt). Our highly differentiated materials engineering solutions accelerate our customers technology roadmaps and create exciting growth opportunities for Applied.
Making Possible a Better Future
We also
continued to make strong progress towards our 10-year sustainability roadmap, which we introduced in 2020. Our strategy considers our direct impact and how we run our business (1X), our industrys impact
and those of our customers and suppliers (100X), and how our technology can be used to advance sustainability on a global scale (10,000X). Among our other achievements, we continued to increase our usage of renewable energy, reduce our operational
greenhouse gas emissions in line with our 2030 goals, strengthen our culture of inclusion, and accelerate sustainable innovation, including improving the energy efficiency and longevity of our products.
An Independent, Diverse and Experienced Board
We
continue to have an active and ongoing Board refreshment process, as a result of which we have added two new directors over the last three years, each of whom benefits Applied as the company continues to scale its operations to support future growth
and furthers our Boards commitment to maintain a composition that aligns with the Companys evolving business and strategic needs. With a balance of tenures, a diversity of personal characteristics and experiences, and a range of skills
including relevant subject matter expertise our Board is well-positioned to oversee Applieds management team and support Applieds long-term strategy.
Shareholder Engagement and Demonstrated Responsiveness
We are committed to effective corporate governance that is informed by our shareholders, promotes the long-term interests of our company and its shareholders, and
strengthens the Boards and managements accountability.
We have a robust shareholder outreach program that focuses on issues of interest to our
shareholders, particularly in the areas of governance, compensation, environmental sustainability, and human capital matters such as diversity and inclusion. Shareholder feedback continues to directly inform the Boards decision-making on a
variety of important matters, and this Proxy Statement includes enhancements that are direct responses to this feedback.
Thank you for your continued investment in
and support of Applied Materials.
Sincerely,
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Thomas J. Iannotti
Chairman of the Board |
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Gary E. Dickerson
President and Chief Executive Officer |