Bernstein's latest report highlights that semiconductor equipment stocks may not necessarily follow the memory sector's performance trends, despite recent market concerns. Since June 2025, the memory sector has outperformed semiconductor equipment by 661 percentage points, raising questions about potential corrections. However, Bernstein's analysis of a decade's worth of data shows that equipment and memory are not highly correlated, with equipment historically outperforming during periods of memory sector weakness. The report notes two significant divergence periods, each lasting about two years, where equipment achieved substantial relative gains. From 2019 to mid-2025, memory underperformed equipment for six years, only catching up in February 2026. With memory's recent surge, Bernstein suggests that if mean reversion occurs, equipment could see relative gains. The firm rates Applied Materials, Lam Research, and ASML as Outperform, with target prices of $525, $340, and €2300, respectively.