"The industries we serve are bigger and more attractive, our opportunity set is larger, our customer relationships are stronger, and we're excited about our new product pipeline." At its annual analyst day on Sept. 21, Applied detailed multiple growth drivers. It expects to benefit from the evolution of 3D Nand chips, the transition to 10- and 7-nanometer nodes, increasing semiconductor factory investments in China, and accelerated adoption of OLED displays. Applied Materials is a member of IBD's Electronics-Semiconductor Equipment industry group, which is ranked No. 11 out of 197 industry groups. Applied is ranked No. 3 out of 34 stocks in the group. Other top-performing stocks in the sector include MKS Instruments ( MKSI ), Advanced Energy Industries ( AEIS ), Cabot Microelectronics ( CCMP ) and KLA-Tencor ( KLAC ).