On November 17, 2023, Reuters published an article reporting that “[s]emiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials … is under U.S. criminal investigation for potentially evading export restrictions on China’s top chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (“SMIC”)[.]” Citing “three people familiar with the matter”, the article reported that Applied Materials “is being probed by the Justice Department for sending equipment to SMIC via South Korea without export licenses.”
On this news, Applied Materials’ stock price fell $6.22 per share, or 4%, to close at $148.59 per share on November 17, 2023.
