Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc
🔔 Watch stock
Assessment
Our Rating
A journalistic assessment by our editorial team at the time of the deep dive — it rates the company, not the entry point. Not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell.
The business works in principle, but one material question is open. As long as it stays open, our findings do not carry a quality verdict.
Why this colour
Whoever buys today is betting that the cycle upswing carries at least into fiscal year 2027 and that neither export controls nor the three top customers interfere — and pays 39 times an estimated, not-yet-earned profit for it. Whoever waits may miss further momentum percent, but receives fresh evidence at every quarterly date — the next is scheduled for August 5, 2026: do bookings and ball bonding growth stay double-digit, does gross margin hold the 45 percent zone, and does the China concentration ease? The decision is yours.
What the thesis turns on
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
Kulicke & Soffa delivers the rare combination of a genuine, core-business-driven cycle turn (quarterly revenue up 49.8 percent, bookings up 74 percent) and a fortress balance sheet with almost half a billion dollars of net cash. Against that stand a price that pre-pays the continuation at 39 times estimated earnings, more than half of revenue with customers headquartered in China, three names as the load-bearing wall of the growth, an open CEO succession — and the certainty, documented in the company’s own annual report, that every aggressive customer investment phase so far has been followed by a phase of excess supply. Not investment advice.
Cycle turn & order intake
Revenue up 49.8 percent to $242.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal year 2026, ball bonding up 141.7 percent, memory revenue up elevenfold; fiscal 2025 bookings up 74 percent, backlog up 65 percent (10-Q as of 04/04/2026, 10-K FY 2025) — the turn comes from the core business.
Balance sheet & capital returns
$487.9 million in cash and investments against zero bank debt, a 72 percent equity ratio, Altman Z around 14; a $0.205 quarterly dividend and a $300 million buyback frame — though the buyback machine effectively stopped in the rally quarter ($0.1 million).
China & customer concentration
54.6 percent of quarterly revenue from customers headquartered in China, three customers at roughly 39 percent of first-half revenue, Huatian at 29.6 percent of receivables — squarely within the reach of U.S./China export-control policy (10-Q as of 04/04/2026; 10-K FY 2025, Item 1A).
Cyclicality & earnings history
Minus 57 percent of revenue from peak (FY 2021) to trough (FY 2025), fiscal 2025 net income of $213,000 shaped by one-offs in both directions (the $86.2 million walk-away payment, $87.5 million EA wind-down); an EPS rating of 6 out of 99 — the earnings base beneath the rally is young and thin.
Leadership & governance
CEO retirement effective December 1, 2025; since then CFO Lester Wong has led in a dual role as interim CEO, with the successor search open (10-K FY 2025, Note 18); plus an SEC comment letter of March 2026 about explanation gaps in the numbers work — routine, but no tailwind.
Valuation & technicals
31 hits in the momentum run (as of July 17, 2026), a stage-2 trend, relative strength of 97, about 3 percent below the all-time high — against a forward P/E around 39 (FY 2026 estimates) and a P/S around 9 (data as of July 8, 2026): the market pays for the upswing’s continuation in advance.
Worth Noting
KLIC reached the research list via the momentum/stage-2 run of our in-house stock scanner on July 17, 2026 (31 hits, including Stan Weinstein stage 2, RS leader ≥90, the Minervini trend template and pros 80 percent) — not via news flow or forum hype.
Scanner metrics (P/E, P/S, EPS rating, Piotroski, Altman Z) are computed on trailing twelve-month figures; they contain the one-off effects of the restructuring years (Project W reimbursement, EA wind-down) — and, by nature, not a possible further cycle push.
Price and valuation figures dated July 8, 2026 (about $131.50, roughly $6.9 billion market value); analyses are evergreen, daily prices are not a buy argument. The fiscal year ends in early October — all quarterly references carry the fiscal-year offset.
Stock Watch
This analysis is as of August 26, 2026. Stock Watch will tell you what's changed at KLIC since then.
Later $1 a month per stock — signing up is free, and you'll be the first to know when it launches.
Price history
Chart
Interactive price chart (TradingView).
52-week range: 35.30 $ to 133.80 $ · Last price: 81.90 $ (As of: September 17, 2026)
Key figures
Key figures at a glance
Every figure we hold for this stock, grouped by topic. The question mark next to a label explains what the number means.
Basics
Performance
Technical Indicators
Calculated from the price history · as of 09/18/2026
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Dividend
Quality & Screener
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.
Comparison
Industry comparison
The stock alongside the largest companies in the same group. The median row is the middle value of the companies shown above — not of the whole industry.
Industry: Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
| Company | Market cap ($B) | P/E | EV/EBITDA | Gross Margin % | EBIT Margin % | Sales Growth (Year) % | Perf. 1Y % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kulicke and Soffa Industries Inc KLIC | 4.3 | 75.2 | 22.7 | 52.6 | 15.9 | -7.4 | 101.7 |
| Lam Research Corp LRCX | 371.4 | 47.0 | 41.9 | 50.5 | 35.0 | 23.7 | 122.2 |
| Applied Materials Inc AMAT | 331.4 | 36.5 | 31.3 | 49.4 | 31.9 | 4.4 | 135.6 |
| KLA Corporation KLAC | 220.8 | 46.0 | 37.8 | 61.3 | 41.2 | 23.9 | 71.6 |
| Teradyne Inc TER | 57.6 | 59.4 | 34.3 | 59.2 | 37.6 | 13.1 | 209.5 |
| Qnity Electronics, Inc Q | 24.5 | 47.5 | 20.3 | 46.2 | 22.8 | 9.7 | 20.8 |
| Entegris Inc ENTG | 22.4 | 69.9 | 25.9 | 45.6 | 18.0 | -1.4 | 41.1 |
| Onto Innovation Inc ONTO | 13.7 | 109.7 | 49.6 | 55.5 | 16.8 | 1.8 | 115.5 |
| Amkor Technology Inc AMKR | 11.9 | 23.7 | 8.5 | 15.5 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 81.4 |
| Median of companies shown | 24.5 | 47.5 | 31.3 | 50.5 | 22.8 | 6.2 | 101.7 |
Based on the most recently reported figures. Only stocks from the same trading venue are lined up, so the market caps are counted in one currency. Compare in a chart →
Fiscal years
Annual Figures
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.
Revenue, operating income and net income per fiscal year $M
Revenue Operating income Net income
| Fiscal Year | Revenue ($M) | EBIT ($M) | Net Income ($M) | EPS ($) | Operating Cash Flow ($M) | Equity ($M) | Total Assets ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 627 | 54 | 48 | 0.68 | 68 | 807 | 982 |
| 2017 | 809 | 113 | 126 | 1.75 | 136 | 913 | 1,171 |
| 2018 | 889 | 167 | 57 | 0.80 | 124 | 880 | 1,186 |
| 2019 | 540 | 22 | 12 | 0.18 | 66 | 769 | 1,080 |
| 2020 | 623 | 59 | 52 | 0.83 | 94 | 758 | 1,055 |
| 2021 | 1,518 | 412 | 367 | 5.78 | 300 | 1,095 | 1,602 |
| 2022 | 1,504 | 470 | 434 | 7.09 | 390 | 1,195 | 1,589 |
| 2023 | 742 | 39 | 57 | 0.99 | 173 | 1,175 | 1,500 |
| 2024 | 706 | -93 | -69 | -1.24 | 31 | 944 | 1,240 |
| 2025 | 654 | -3 | 0 | 0.00 | 114 | 821 | 1,104 |
Quarters
Quarterly Figures
Each bar is one quarter, the last one is the most recent. Use the switch to step through the individual figures.
Revenue & Profit
Cash Flow
Balance Sheet
Margins
Per Share
Click the chart or tab into it, then use ← and → to step through the periods.
None of the selected stocks reports this metric. Pick another metric or switch between annual and quarterly.
· Total · per year
These companies report in different currencies — switch on “Indexed” or pick a margin for a fair comparison.
The figures could not be loaded right now.
Source: fundamental data
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 1.51 | 824.10 | 166 | -3.00 | 49.10 | 19 | 9 |
| 2025: Q1 | -1.59 | – | 162 | -5.90 | -52.20 | 80 | 78 |
| 2025: Q2 | -0.06 | -128.40 | 148 | -18.30 | -2.20 | 7 | 5 |
| 2025: Q3 | 0.12 | -44.90 | 178 | -2.10 | 3.60 | 7 | 4 |
| 2025: Q4 | 0.32 | -78.80 | 200 | 20.20 | 8.40 | -9 | -12 |
| 2026: Q1 | 0.66 | – | 243 | 49.80 | 14.50 | 10 | 6 |
| 2026: Q2 | 1.07 | 1,883.30 | 330 | 122.60 | 17.40 | 45 | 41 |
What Do These Terms Mean?
- 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.
Screening
Appears in These Scanners
This stock currently matches 34 of our scanner strategies — each hit links to the scanner.
Growth
- Ben Bennett: Focus List
- Ben Bennett: Power Screen
- Patrick Walker: 40, 40 Screen
- Ted Zhang: Super Stock Universe
Quality & Balance Sheet
Breakout & Setup
- Bullish Reversal Bar
- Oliver Kell: Bull Snorts
- Oops Reversal
- Pocket Pivot
- Strong DCR (≥80)
- Volume Surge
Momentum & Trend
- 21-EMA Trend
- Above the 50- & 200-SMA
- CANSLIM Type RS
- Chris Perruna: Within 15% of Highs
- Gary Antonacci: Dual Momentum (Stock Adaptation)
- High ADR (≥5%)
- Mark Minervini: Trend Criteria — 1 Month
- Mike Webster: Swing Trading List
- Near 52-Week High
- Oliver Kell: Doublers
- Oliver Kell: Strength on Down Day
- Power Trend
- Qullamaggie: Trend Intensity (13/65)
- RS Leader (≥90)
- RS New Highs
- Richard Moglen: Top Performers 3/6 Month
- Stage 2 Leader
- Stan Weinstein: Checklist
- Stan Weinstein: Stage 2
Research
Only genuine hits from verified scanners count; pure ranking metrics (P/E, P/S, and similar, which just sort the whole universe) don't count as a hit. View all scanners
Outlook
Analysts & Price Target
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.
Distribution of Recommendations
Estimates by Fiscal Year
| Fiscal Year | EPS Estimate ($) | EPS Range ($) | Revenue Estimate ($M) | Expected Growth | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09/30/2026 | 3.86 | 3.85 – 3.88 | 1,150 | 1,739.7% | 3 |
| 09/30/2027 | 5.90 | 4.80 – 6.75 | 1,517 | 52.8% | 3 |
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.
Valuation
What is priced in?
Instead of guessing what the stock is worth, we turn the question around: what free cash flow growth has to happen for today’s market value to add up? The assumptions behind it can be moved.
Today’s market value implies roughly 30.9% growth in free cash flow per year over ten years (assumptions: discount rate 10.0%, terminal growth 2.5%).
| Free cash flow (last twelve months) | $40.0M |
|---|---|
| Market cap | $4.29B |
| Free cash flow in year ten | $590.5M |
| Terminal value as a share of market value | 72.6% |
For comparison: over the past five years free cash flow grew by 3.1% per year.
It shows which assumption is built into today’s price, not whether that assumption will hold. Every assumption can be changed with the sliders; the figures move with them.
A simplified model calculation — not a forecast and not a recommendation.
AI classification
AI Rating
Geprüft am 17.07.2026: In den ausgewerteten SEC-Berichten von Kulicke and Soffa Industries (CIK 56978; 4×10-Q bis zum 04.04.2026 plus 10-K für die Geschäftsjahre 2025 und 2024, Geschäftsjahresende Anfang Oktober) findet sich kein wesentlicher KI-Bezug im Sinne des Kriterienkatalogs. Befund: Die 10-Q zum 04.04.2026, 03.01.2026 und 28.06.2025 enthalten keinerlei KI-Treffer. Der 10-Q zum 29.03.2025 nennt „artificial intelligence“ nur regulatorisch — im Abschnitt zu US-Exportkontrollen wird das BIS-„Framework for AI Diffusion“ referiert („a set of additional export controls on advanced computing chips and certain closed artificial intelligence (‚AI‘) model weights“), also fremde Regeln, kein eigenes KI-Geschäft. Die 10-K für die Geschäftsjahre 2025 und 2024 erwähnen KI ausschließlich als Cyber-Boilerplate („artificial intelligence (‚AI‘) may be used to generate cyberattacks with greater scale and efficacy“ bzw. „threat actors may leverage other means and technologies, including artificial intelligence, to circumvent controls and avoid detection“) — generische Angriffsvektor-Floskeln, nach dem Kriterienkatalog kein Bedroht-Beleg. Eine KI-Umsatzquelle (verkauft) oder ein belegter operativer KI-Einsatz (nutzt) findet sich nirgends; dass die Endnachfrage nach Advanced-Packaging-/Memory-Equipment auch von KI-Rechenzentren getrieben sein dürfte, wird in den Filings nicht als eigener KI-Bezug ausgewiesen und bleibt damit außen vor. Nach dem Kriterienkatalog: „neutral“ (dokumentierter Negativ-Befund).
View the full file — quotes, sources, reviewed filings
Filings Reviewed: 10-Q 2026-05-07 · 10-Q 2026-02-05 · 10-Q 2025-08-06 · 10-Q 2025-05-07 · 10-K 2025-11-20 · 10-K 2024-11-14
Rated on July 17, 2026 · How the Rating Is Built
Growth
Growth Score
Ten checks against the annual reports — each one passed counts a point.
- Revenue grows by more than 15% a year over three years -24.2%
- More than 10% revenue growth is expected for the coming year 17.6%
- Share count grows by less than 3% a year -4.6%
- Revenue growth plus cash-flow margin add up to at least 40 ("Rule of 40") 7.4%
- Gross margin at 40% or higher and without meaningful erosion 42.5%
- Goodwill from acquisitions does not grow faster than revenue 6.3%
- Net debt below twice EBITDA 472 m net cash
- Operating cash flow covers the profits of the last three years 330 m
- Return on capital at 15% or higher, or up versus two years ago -0.4%
- Insiders hold at least 10% or are net buyers 3.3%
A criterion without figures counts neither as passed nor as failed; a score is only produced from 7 judgeable criteria upwards. Source: fundamental data. All ten criteria in detail
Quality check
AAQS
4/10The AAQS (AlleAktien Quality Score) checks 10 quality criteria on growth, profitability, and balance-sheet strength — per the methodology developed and published by AlleAktien, calculated by us from our own fundamental data. A stock counts as a quality stock from 9 out of 10 points. Where a company has a shorter listing history, we calculate over the fiscal years available (at least five).
- Sales growth 10Y > 5% 0.5%
- Exp. sales growth 3Y > 5% 52.3%
- EBIT growth 10Y > 5% –
- Exp. EBIT growth 3Y > 5% 3,741.6%
- Net debt < 4x EBIT –
- EBIT positive, 10Y straight 8
- Max. EBIT decline < 50% 100.0%
- Return on equity > 15% 0.0%
- ROCE > 15% -0.4%
- Expected return > 10% 3,828.0%
View stocks with the full AAQS score · Read the methodology at AlleAktien
Source: fundamental data
Insiders
Insider Transactions
Reportable transactions by officers and major shareholders from SEC Form 4 filings. "Other" includes things like stock grants and option exercises without a buy/sell character.
| Date | Person | Role | Type | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | Wong Lester A | CFO | Other | 6,038 | 0.00 | – |
| Sep 1, 2026 | Talluri Rajendra K | CEO | Other | 89,697 | 0.00 | – |
| Jul 6, 2026 | Dignam Denise | Director | Other | 407 | 0.00 | – |
| Jul 6, 2026 | Yeo Mui Sung | Director | Other | 407 | 0.00 | – |
| Jul 6, 2026 | Kong Peter T M | Director | Other | 407 | 0.00 | – |
| Jul 6, 2026 | Olson Jon A | Director | Other | 407 | 0.00 | – |
| Jul 6, 2026 | Richardson David Jeffrey | Director | Other | 407 | 0.00 | – |
| Jul 6, 2026 | Milzcik Gregory F | Director | Other | 407 | 0.00 | – |
The company
About the Company
Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. entwirft, fertigt und verkauft Investitionsgüter und Verbrauchsmaterialien in China, den USA, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, den Philippinen, Korea, Hongkong und international.
- Employees
- 2,551
- Headquarters
- Singapore, Singapore
- Address
- 23A Serangoon North Avenue 5, 554369 Singapore, Singapore
- Phone
- 65 6880 9600
- Website
- kns.com
- IPO Date
- 03/26/1990
- ISIN
- US5012421013
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 08/01/2000
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 07/31/1995
- Stock Split
- 2:1 on 05/23/1983
Management
| Name | Title | Birth Year |
|---|---|---|
| Lester A. Wong J.D. | Executive VP of Finance & IT and CFO | 1966 |
| Robert Nestor Chylak | Senior VP of Central Engineering & CTO | 1959 |
| Mun Pun Wong | Senior Vice President of Global Sales & Supply Chain | 1961 |
| Fusen Ernie Chen Ph.D. | Advisor | 1959 |
| Rajendra Talluri Ph.D. | President, CEO & Director | 1963 |
| Joseph Elgindy | Senior Director of Investor Relations & Strategic Planning | – |
| Zi Yao Lim | VP of Legal Affairs, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary | 1988 |
| Lisa Lim | Vice President of Global Human Resources | – |
| Meng Kwong Han | Senior Vice President of Aftermarket Products & Services and Advanced Dispensing Solutions | – |
Executives per the latest required filings; titles kept in their original language. Source: fundamental data.
Filings
Company Filings (8-K)
An 8-K is the filing a US company must use to disclose material events immediately — takeovers, changes at the top, major contracts or payment troubles, for instance. The links open the original document at the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- 08/17/2026 KULICKE & SOFFA INDUSTRIES INC (KLIC): Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers; Regulation FD Disclosure; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
- 08/05/2026 KULICKE & SOFFA INDUSTRIES INC (KLIC): Results of Operations and Financial Condition; Financial Statements and Exhibits SEC ↗
Data as of: September 17, 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.