Brice Hill
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Global Information Services at 
APPLIED MATERIALS INC /DE
APPLIED MATERIALS INC /DEExecutive
About Brice Hill
Brice Hill is Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Global Information Services at Applied Materials, appointed effective March 7, 2022; he was 55 at the time of appointment, with 25 years in finance leadership roles at Intel and service as CFO of Xilinx prior to its acquisition by AMD . He holds an MBA in finance and strategy from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s in finance and economics from the University of Washington . Under Hill’s finance leadership, Applied delivered record FY2024 non-GAAP EPS of $8.65 versus a $5.55 hurdle, and grew segment revenues to $19.9B in Semiconductor Systems and $6.2B in Applied Global Services; multi-year PSUs for executives vested above target due to outperformance on margin and TSR metrics . Applied’s five-year TSR substantially outperformed the S&P 500, reflecting strong value creation, and executive equity awards remain tied to multi-year operating margin/TSR, shifting to economic profit for FY2025–FY2027 PSUs to strengthen capital efficiency alignment .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xilinx, Inc. | Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer | Apr 2020–Feb 2022 | CFO through acquisition by AMD; led finance during strategic transition |
| Intel Corporation | Corporate VP; CFO & COO, Technology, Systems & Core Engineering; Corporate Strategy & Business Unit Finance | 25 years (dates not disclosed) | Finance leadership across manufacturing, R&D, product engineering; strategy across data center, PC, IoT |
| General Motors | Finance positions | Not disclosed | Early-career finance roles |
External Roles
No current external directorships or committee roles disclosed in the 2025 proxy or appointment 8-K for Mr. Hill .
Fixed Compensation
| Year | Base Salary ($) | Target Bonus % of Base | Target Bonus ($) | Actual Annual Bonus ($) | All Other Compensation ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 744,616 | 135% | 1,012,500 | 1,149,947 | 63,641 (401k match $13,953; life $1,451; home office $300; relocation $47,937) | Bonus base used $750,000 for plan calculus |
| FY2023 | 708,846 | 135% (unchanged YoY per program) | Not disclosed | 1,019,304 | 324,136 | |
| FY2022 | 441,346 | 135% (per offer letter) | Not disclosed | 523,723 | 58,343 | $2,000,000 sign-on bonus paid; repayment conditions apply |
Performance Compensation
| Program | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Bonus (FY2024) | Initial hurdle: non-GAAP EPS | Prerequisite | $5.55 | Achieved $8.65 | Cash paid FY2024 |
| Annual Bonus (FY2024) | Corporate scorecard (financial/operational/strategic incl. sustainability) | Company modifier | 0.987–1.07 modifier range | Applied across NEOs | Cash paid FY2024 |
| Annual Bonus (FY2024) | Individual Performance Factor (IPF) | 1.1x for NEOs | 1.0 baseline | 1.1 achieved | Cash paid FY2024 |
| PSUs (Grant 12/7/2023; FY2024–FY2026) | 3-year non-GAAP operating margin | 50% | Pre-set goals | 0–200% payout range | Vests 12/19/2026 |
| PSUs (Grant 12/7/2023; FY2024–FY2026) | 3-year relative TSR vs S&P 500 | 50% | Pre-set goals | 0–200% payout range | Vests 12/19/2026 |
| PSUs (Grant 12/12/2022; FY2023–FY2025) | 3-year non-GAAP operating margin | 50% | Pre-set goals | 0–200% payout range | Vests 12/19/2025 |
| PSUs (Grant 12/12/2022; FY2023–FY2025) | 3-year relative TSR vs S&P 500 | 50% | Pre-set goals | 0–200% payout range | Vests 12/19/2025 |
| RSUs (Hire grant 3/7/2022) | Time-based | — | — | — | Vests 4/1/2023, 4/1/2024, 4/1/2025 |
| PSUs (FY2025–FY2027 new design) | 3-year non-GAAP economic profit | 50% | Cumulative EP goals | — | FY2027 (per award cycle) |
| PSUs (FY2025–FY2027 new design) | Relative TSR vs S&P 500 | 50% | Peer-relative TSR | — | FY2027 (per award cycle) |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (12/31/2024) | 16,419 shares; less than 1% of outstanding |
| Shares outstanding (12/31/2024) | 811,197,923 |
| Ownership % of SO | ~0.002% (16,419 ÷ 811,197,923) |
| Stock ownership guideline | Officers must hold ≥3x base salary; no sales if below threshold |
| Compliance status | All officers in compliance as of 12/31/2024 |
| Hedging/pledging | Prohibited for directors/NEOs; no margin or pledging allowed |
| Options outstanding | None disclosed; equity vehicles are RSUs and PSUs |
| Non-qualified deferred comp (FY2024) | Contributions $377,330; earnings $198,672; balance $959,328 |
| 401(k) participation | Eligible; matching provided; no executive pensions |
Vesting Schedules and Outstanding Awards (as of FY2024 Year-End)
| Grant Date | Instrument | Units Unvested (#) | Market Value ($) | Performance Units Target (#) | Vest Dates / Terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/7/2023 | RSUs | 18,533 | 3,456,775 | — | 1/3 vested 12/19/2024; next 12/19/2025, 12/19/2026 |
| 12/7/2023 | PSUs | — | — | 18,533 | Vests 12/19/2026; 0–200% based on goals |
| 12/12/2022 | RSUs | 15,240 | 2,842,565 | — | 1/2 vested 12/19/2024; remaining 12/19/2025 |
| 12/12/2022 | PSUs | — | — | 22,859 | Vests 12/19/2025; 0–200% based on goals |
| 3/7/2022 | RSUs (hire) | 23,766 | 4,432,834 | — | Vests 4/1/2025 |
| FY2024 Stock Vested | Shares Acquired on Vesting (#) | Shares Withheld for Taxes (#) | Value Realized ($) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brice Hill | 31,385 | 14,847 | 6,196,519 |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Appointment | CFO effective March 7, 2022 |
| Offer Letter Compensation | Base salary $675,000; target bonus 135% of base |
| Sign-on Bonus | $2,000,000; full or pro-rata repayment if voluntary resignation/termination for cause within 1–2 years |
| Hire RSU Grant | $8,500,000 value; vests in three equal installments on April 1, 2023, 2024, 2025 (shares determined by closing price on effective date) |
| Annual LTI Eligibility | No less than $4,250,000 in next regular annual equity cycle (terms per HRCC process) |
| Severance | Applied has no change-in-control agreements with NEOs; no severance for Hill; only CEO has a separate agreement |
| Equity Acceleration (CoC) | Double-trigger acceleration under Stock Plan; Hill’s estimated value: $18,452,610 if CoC and qualifying termination on 10/25/2024 |
| Clawback | Recovery policy (post-10/2/2023) for erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation; legacy clawback for misconduct-caused restatements |
| Tax Gross-ups | None, except relocation or expatriate assignments; Hill received relocation benefits in FY2024 |
| Relocation Benefits | Provided per policy to complete relocation |
Compensation Structure Notes
- Pay mix emphasizes performance-based equity and cash bonuses; other NEOs (including Hill) receive a 50/50 RSU/PSU long-term mix; CEO is 75% PSUs and 25% RSUs .
- Bonus determinations use a balanced corporate scorecard spanning five categories, plus an initial EPS hurdle and individual modifier; sustainability objectives are embedded .
- HRCC peers include semiconductor and large-cap tech companies (AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, KLA, Lam, IBM, etc.); peer group refined in 2023 and 2024 to maintain comparability and talent competition relevance .
Performance & Track Record
- FY2024 financial highlights: Semiconductor Systems revenue $19.9B; Applied Global Services revenue a record $6.2B; Display and Adjacent Markets $885M; record non-GAAP EPS $8.65 .
- Multi-year PSUs for executives vested above target for the FY2022–FY2024 cycle, reflecting strong non-GAAP operating margin and relative TSR performance; five-year TSR substantially outperformed S&P 500 .
Risk Indicators & Red Flags
- Hedging/pledging of company stock is prohibited for NEOs and directors, reducing misalignment risk; insiders may not hold AMAT securities in margin accounts or pledge as collateral .
- No executive pension plans; no tax gross-ups except limited relocation/expatriate contexts; compensation recovery (clawback) policies active .
- No separate severance or change-of-control agreements for Hill; equity acceleration is double-trigger under the Stock Plan, with disclosed acceleration values .
Equity Ownership & Alignment — Compliance and Potential Pressure
- Hill is compliant with stock ownership guidelines (≥3x base salary), as were all officers as of 12/31/2024 .
- Natural sell-to-cover dynamics occur at vesting (14,847 shares withheld for taxes in FY2024), but hedging and pledging are prohibited, and ownership must remain above guideline thresholds to sell .
Investment Implications
- Strong pay-for-performance alignment: Hill’s incentives are predominantly PSUs tied to multi-year operating margin/TSR, transitioning to economic profit in FY2025–FY2027, signaling HRCC focus on sustainable value creation and capital efficiency .
- Upcoming vesting dates (12/19/2025; 4/1/2025; 12/19/2026) and FY2024 vest activity ($6.2M realized; 31,385 shares) suggest periodic sell-to-cover flows, but prohibitions on hedging/pledging and ownership guidelines temper misalignment risk .
- Hill has no contractual severance or CoC cash benefits; only equity acceleration under double-trigger applies (estimated $18.45M), limiting golden parachute concerns while preserving retention through equity .
- Applied’s record FY2024 results, outperformance on TSR, and above-target PSU vesting support confidence in management execution; monitoring annual PSU target setting and corporate scorecard rigor remains key to evaluating future pay-for-performance integrity .