On November 16, 2023, after market closing, Reuters reported that “Semiconductor equipment maker Applied Materials is under U.S. criminal investigation for potentially evading export restrictions on China’s top chipmaker SMIC, according to three people familiar with the matter.” According to Reuters, Applied Materials “is being probed by the Justice Department for sending equipment to SMIC via South Korea without export licenses, the sources said.”

Following the publication of the article, Applied Materials stock dropped more than 7% in afterhours trading.