KLA Corporation (KLAC)
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symbol.quality_heading
Business model, numbers and balance sheet hold up to our review. Whether the current price supports an entry is a separate question — it hangs on the price, not on the company.
Quality confirmed: a quasi-monopoly with a 60.9 percent gross margin, an operating margin around 41 percent and sixteen consecutive dividend increases rests on proven substance — nothing in the filings calls that quality into question. The China share and the customer concentration are earnings risks, not existential ones (the China share already fell from 43 to 33 percent without earnings breaking), and the documented cyclicality belongs to the business model, not to a substance defect. The annual report after June 30, 2026 is the next check of whether the operating figures hold. The rating says nothing about the entry price — that is what the metrics scanners answer.
symbol.quality_note
KLA builds the inspection and measurement technology without which no modern chip fab can run: a 60.9 percent gross margin, record revenue of $12.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, the sixteenth consecutive dividend increase. We read the annual and quarterly reports — and the other numbers are in there too: a third of revenue from China under tightening export controls, two customers accounting for 30 percent of revenue, and a valuation around 70 times earnings after the stock nearly doubled. Not investment advice — just the question of what perfection is allowed to cost.
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Stock Watch
This analysis is as of July 15, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at KLAC since then.
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Trading Day
Key levels of the most recently completed trading day — not a live quote.
52-Week Range
Current price 182.80 $ — 1% of the range above the low.
Lowest and highest closing price over the last 52 weeks. The marker shows where the current price sits within that range: close to the high speaks for strength, close to the low for weakness.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 08/03/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
AI Rating
Uses AIKLA baut KI-Fähigkeiten in die eigenen Inspektions-/Metrologie-Produkte und Betriebsabläufe ein und profitiert vom KI-Nachfrageboom der Chipindustrie — KI selbst ist laut Filings aber keine eigene Umsatzquelle (verkauft werden Prozesskontroll-Systeme und Service).
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
„We are increasingly incorporating AI capabilities into the development of technologies and our business operations, and into our products and services."
Wir integrieren zunehmend KI-Fähigkeiten in die Entwicklung von Technologien und unsere Geschäftsabläufe sowie in unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen.
„AI is a technology inflection point driving innovation and demand at the leading edge, and we believe our portfolio of products is uniquely positioned to support leading-edge demand and the ongoing AI buildout."
KI ist ein technologischer Wendepunkt, der Innovation und Nachfrage an der Spitze der Technologie antreibt, und wir glauben, dass unser Produktportfolio einzigartig positioniert ist, um die Nachfrage am Leading Edge und den laufenden KI-Ausbau zu unterstützen.
„The implementation of AI can be costly and there is no guarantee that our use of AI will enhance our technologies, benefit our business operations or produce products and services that are preferred by our customers."
Die Einführung von KI kann kostspielig sein, und es gibt keine Garantie, dass unser KI-Einsatz unsere Technologien verbessert, unseren Geschäftsabläufen nützt oder Produkte und Dienstleistungen hervorbringt, die von unseren Kunden bevorzugt werden.
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-04-30 · 10-Q 2026-01-30 · 10-Q 2025-10-31 · 10-Q 2025-05-01 · 10-K 2025-08-08 · 10-K 2024-08-05
Rated on July 10, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
What the Earnings Calls Reveal
Positive delivers reliablyWe reviewed ten KLA earnings call transcripts covering fiscal quarters 2024-Q3 through 2026-Q4. The picture is unusually consistent: revenue came in above the guidance midpoint in all ten quarters, the bottom called in April 2024 materialized, and the advanced packaging targets were raised repeatedly and met each time. Remaining criticisms are the discontinuation of the quarterly RPO order metric precisely during its weak phase and strongly fluctuating detail forecasts - both, however, communicated openly.
10 calls reviewed, 2024-Q3 through 2026-Q4 · As of August 2, 2026
Guidance beaten in all ten quarters, forecasts rather too cautious
In all ten reviewed calls from 2024-Q3 through 2026-Q4, quarterly revenue came in above the midpoint of prior guidance, and usually earnings per share did as well. The thesis stated in 2024-Q3 (April 2024) that the March 2024 quarter marked the revenue bottom was confirmed: from 2024-Q4 onward, revenue grew quarter after quarter from 2.36 to most recently 3.66 billion dollars in 2026-Q4. Annual forecasts tended to be too conservative: for calendar 2026, management still projected mid-single-digit revenue growth in 2026-Q2 (January 2026), raised this to high teens in 2026-Q3, and since 2026-Q4 expects roughly 20 percent second-half over first-half growth. In 2026-Q4 the CEO conceded with self-irony that the company is good at process control but bad at forecasting.
Advanced packaging: serially raised and delivered, but reference metric switched
The advanced packaging revenue target was raised serially over two years and met each time: from roughly 400 million dollars (2024-Q3) via more than 500 million for calendar 2024 (2024-Q4, confirmed in 2025-Q2) up to 850, 925 and finally 950 million dollars for calendar 2025 (2025-Q3 through 2026-Q2). The switch of reference is irritating: in 2026-Q2 management cited 950 million in total systems revenue for 2025, while in 2026-Q3 a figure of 635 million in pure process control revenue served as the base for the new billion-dollar 2026 target - both scopes were labeled, but they hamper comparability. The market forecast also swung widely: more than 20 percent growth (2026-Q1), then only mid-to-high teens (2026-Q2, challenged by analysts and answered only vaguely), then about 30 percent (2026-Q3) and most recently mid-to-high 30s (2026-Q4).
Quarterly RPO disclosure dropped during weakness, cited again on recovery
The RPO order metric fell from roughly 13 billion dollars at its peak via 9.9 billion (2024-Q3) and 8.9 billion (2025-Q3) to 7.9 billion dollars (2025-Q4). Precisely during this downtrend, KLA announced a disclosure change in 2025-Q3 and in 2026-Q1 declined to give the figure in response to a direct analyst question, citing the changed practice. In 2026-Q4, once backlog had risen back to roughly 12.5 billion dollars, the CFO volunteered the number unprompted. The rationale - better comparability with peers - is factually defensible and was announced a quarter in advance, but the timing raises questions about selective transparency.
Export controls: no speculation, but precise and stable quantification
Questions about potential new US export controls on China were repeatedly deflected in 2024-Q3, 2024-Q4 and 2025-Q1 with the note that management does not speculate on hypotheticals - while, according to an analyst question, at least one peer was baking a base case into guidance. Once the rules took effect in December 2024, however, management immediately quantified the calendar 2025 revenue impact at roughly 500 million dollars plus or minus 100 million (2025-Q2) and kept this estimate stable through the year (2025-Q3). The follow-on round of controls was sized in 2026-Q1 at 300 to 350 million dollars for the December quarter and calendar 2026. In our view this is discipline rather than evasion: the estimates were delivered and never quietly dropped.
Market definition broadened at a convenient time, more superlative tone in 2026
From 2026-Q1 and 2026-Q2 onward, KLA includes the advanced packaging market (11 to 13 billion dollars) in its market sizing and speaks of a total market of 135 to most recently above 150 billion dollars (2026-Q4) - precisely in the phase in which the company emphasizes its outperformance versus that market. The CFO justified this openly with the numerator-denominator argument: if you count your own packaging revenue, you must count the market too. That is legitimate, but it reduced comparability and in 2026-Q2 promptly triggered analyst questions about why KLA's market forecast sat well below a peer's. In parallel, the language in 2026 became noticeably more superlative, for example the repeated phrase of unprecedented demand visibility in 2026-Q3 and 2026-Q4.
Management promises
-
2024-Q3 kept
The March 2024 quarter marks the revenue bottom; growth resumes in the June quarter and continues through the calendar year.
Confirmed: from 2024-Q4 onward revenue grew sequentially every quarter, from 2.36 via 2.57 and 2.84 to 3.08 billion dollars by 2025-Q2.
-
2024-Q4 kept
Advanced packaging revenue reaches more than 500 million dollars in calendar 2024 (raised from about 400 million previously).
Reported as achieved in 2025-Q2 (roughly 500 million dollars) and confirmed as above 500 million in 2025-Q3; the target was subsequently raised again for 2025 and 2026 and beaten once more.
-
2025-Q1 kept
Investor Day on June 18, 2025 in New York.
Formally late, substantively delivered: transparently postponed in 2025-Q3 due to tariff and trade uncertainty, rescheduled in 2026-Q1 and held on March 12, 2026 with a new 2030 model (2026-Q3).
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2025-Q3 kept
Calendar 2025 gross margin at roughly 62.5 percent plus or minus 50 basis points, despite a tariff headwind of up to 100 basis points per quarter.
Delivered: for calendar 2025, KLA reported a 62 percent gross margin in 2026-Q2 - at the low end, but within the promised range.
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2026-Q2 open
The DRAM cost drag on gross margin (75 to 100 basis points) is transitory and improves toward the end of calendar 2026.
So far rather worse: raised to about 100 basis points in 2026-Q3, to slightly above that in 2026-Q4, and the drag is now expected to persist into calendar 2027 - the promised relief is still outstanding.
Based on public earnings call transcripts. Reviewed: 10 transcripts 2024-Q3 through 2026-Q4.
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Analysts & Price Target
The price target sits 26.3% above the current price.
- Consensus
- Sell
- Analyst Ratings
- 30
Combined picture of the price targets and recommendations of every analyst covering the stock. Price targets are expectations for the next 12 months, not promises — and they often follow the price rather than predict it.
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06/30/2027 | 5.45 | 5.05 – 5.86 | 18,100 | 44.9% | 23 |
| 06/30/2028 | 6.55 | 5.04 – 7.63 | 20,994 | 20.2% | 23 |
Average of the analyst estimates for the coming fiscal years. The range shows how far the most optimistic and the most cautious estimate sit apart — the wider it is, the less certain the expectation.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
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· Total · per year
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The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 0.61 | 43.50 | 3,077 | 23.70 | 26.80 | 850 | 757 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.82 | 84.40 | 3,063 | 30.00 | 35.50 | 1,072 | 987 |
| 2025: Q2 | 9.06 | 1,366.30 | 3,175 | 23.70 | 37.90 | 1,165 | 1,065 |
| 2025: Q3 | 8.47 | 1,107.40 | 3,210 | 13.00 | 34.90 | 1,162 | 1,066 |
| 2025: Q4 | 8.67 | 1,312.70 | 3,297 | 7.20 | 34.70 | 1,368 | 1,262 |
| 2026: Q1 | 9.12 | 1,016.40 | 3,415 | 11.50 | 35.20 | 708 | 622 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Annual Figures
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 3,480 | 1,276 | 926 | 0.59 | 1,080 | 1,326 | 5,532 |
| 2018 | 4,037 | 1,537 | 802 | 0.51 | 1,229 | 1,621 | 5,619 |
| 2019 | 4,569 | 1,389 | 1,176 | 0.75 | 1,153 | 2,659 | 9,009 |
| 2020 | 5,806 | 1,759 | 1,217 | 0.77 | 1,779 | 2,665 | 9,280 |
| 2021 | 6,919 | 2,488 | 2,078 | 1.34 | 2,185 | 3,378 | 10,271 |
| 2022 | 9,212 | 3,654 | 3,322 | 2.19 | 3,313 | 1,401 | 12,597 |
| 2023 | 10,496 | 3,995 | 3,387 | 2.42 | 3,670 | 2,920 | 14,072 |
| 2024 | 9,812 | 3,636 | 2,762 | 2.03 | 3,309 | 3,368 | 15,434 |
| 2025 | 12,156 | 5,014 | 4,062 | 3.04 | 4,082 | 4,692 | 16,068 |
| 2026 | 13,579 | 5,661 | 4,831 | 3.66 | 4,143 | 6,350 | 17,952 |
Fiscal years from the audited annual reports, oldest first. EBIT is the operating profit before interest and taxes; total assets are everything the company owns.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
A quasi-monopoly in process control: a 60.9 percent gross margin and about 41 percent operating margin in fiscal year 2025 (ended June 30, 2025); scanner hits in the EBIT margin ranking and the Magic Formula (data as of July 9, 2026).
Revenue +24 percent to $12.16 billion in fiscal year 2025, another +10 percent in the nine months through March 2026 with a record quarter ($3.42 billion); AI and memory investments drive it (Korea +80 percent in the latest quarter).
The sixteenth consecutive dividend increase, $2.15 billion of buybacks in fiscal year 2025, $10.31 billion of authorized buyback volume outstanding (March 31, 2026) on more than $4 billion of operating cash flow per year.
33 percent of fiscal 2025 revenue from China (2024: 43 percent) under continually tightened U.S. export rules; KLA itself warns in the annual report (10-K) of revenue losses and strengthened Chinese competition; since April 2025, China's rare-earth export controls add a supply-chain risk.
Two customers accounted for about 19 and 11 percent of revenue in the January–March 2026 quarter (TSMC above 10 percent for years), orders carry no long-term purchase obligation; fiscal year 2024 documents the cyclicality: revenue −7 percent, net income −18 percent.
About 70 times earnings and 26 times revenue after the stock nearly doubled in six months (data as of July 9, 2026); long-term debt at roughly equity level; CEO and CFO sales of a combined $17 million or so in June/July 2026 (insider filings, Form 4).
KLA is the rare combination of a quasi-monopoly, dream margins and reliable capital returns — operationally there is little to criticize. What you pay for it, however, is a price that presupposes friction-free perfection: 70 times the earnings of a demonstrably cyclical business with a third of its revenue from China under political reservation and two dominant major customers. Not investment advice.
- The fiscal year ends on June 30: "fiscal year 2025" = July 2024 through June 2025. All quarterly figures in the text carry an explicit period.
- The 10-for-1 stock split took effect on June 11, 2026 (current report, 8-K dated June 12, 2026) — per-share figures before and after the split are not directly comparable; valuation multiples (P/E, P/S) are unaffected by it.
- The return on equity of about 95 percent and the price-to-book ratio around 58 are distorted by the buyback-driven small equity base and only meaningful to a limited extent (data as of July 9, 2026).
- Insider sales (CEO June 11, 2026; CFO July 2, 2026) are frequently pre-planned routine at U.S. corporations (Form 4) — they prove no knowledge of coming price declines, but they fit the stretched valuation.
About the Company
KLA Corporation entwickelt, fertigt und vermarktet weltweit Lösungen für Prozesskontrolle, Prozessunterstützung und Ausbeutemanagement für die Halbleiter- und verwandte Elektronikindustrie. Es ist in drei Segmenten tätig: Semiconductor Process Control, Specialty und weitere.
| CEO Insider Trades (12 Mo.) | selling own stock |
|---|---|
| Employees | 15,000 |
| Headquarters | Milpitas, CA |
| Address | One Technology Drive, 95035 Milpitas, United States |
| Phone | 408 875 3000 |
| Website | kla.com |
| IPO Date | 8. Oct 1980 |
| ISIN | US4824801009 |
| Stock Split | 10:1 on 06/12/2026 |
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Richard P. Wallace | President, CEO & Executive Director | 1960 |
| Bren D. Higgins | Executive VP & CFO | 1970 |
| Mary Beth Wilkinson | Executive VP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | 1973 |
| Ahmad A. Khan | President of Semiconductor Products & Customers | 1974 |
| Brian W. Lorig | Executive Vice President of KLA Global Services | 1974 |
| Virendra A. Kirloskar | Senior VP & Chief Accounting Officer | 1963 |
| Ben Bin-Ming Tsai | CTO & Executive VP of Corporate Alliances | 1959 |
| Kevin M. Kessel C.F.A. | Vice President of Investor Relations | – |
| Randi Polanich | Senior VP & Chief Communications Officer | – |
| John Van Camp | Executive VP & Chief Human Resources Officer | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
Data as of: July 31, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.