Random fact:
My dad was perhaps the best engineer applied materials ever had.
In fact - he invented the Endura (their most successful product).
He was never a businessman and never cared about stocks - he just wanted to build great products.
As an employee, he never owned any of his patents, of course.
He had a good run, but the stock didn’t start to really spike under after he left.
I’m proud that he helped build the foundation of what the company later became.
My dad joined Applied Materials in 1988.
He worked day and night, came up with lots of patents that remain pivotal to some of the company’s main products, and was one of the engineers that made it great.
He had a good run, and retired in 2012 - as many others joined what they thought was a mature company with a steady paycheck and a boring stock.
Sometimes life is just about timing.