ACLS vs AMAT vs KLIC Stock Comparison

Axcelis Technologies, Applied Materials and Kulicke & Soffa Industries Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ACLS Axcelis Technologies Inc
$113.64 -7.7% 1M +36.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.51B
P/E
37.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$866.07M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
AMAT Applied Materials Inc /De
$395.93 -18.4% 1M +71.2% 1Y
Market cap
$328.48B
P/E
35.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.84B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Applied Materials leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Applied Materials 5, Kulicke & Soffa Industries 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACLSAMATKLICLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.51B $328.48B $4.19B AMAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.8x 35.4x 36.2x AMAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.9x 29.3x 19.2x KLIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -3.3% +7.8% +44.4% KLIC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.7% 30.1% 12.2% AMAT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 25.3% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.3x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +36.5% +71.2% +91.9% KLIC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.1%/yr +23.8%/yr +6.6%/yr AMAT
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 69.7% 60.5% 58.8% KLIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 58/100 57/100 AMAT

Percentile Scorecard

ACLSAMATKLIC

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisACLSAMATKLIC
Valuation 71 #28 of 94 55 #43 of 94 65 #34 of 94
Growth 4 #88 of 92 46 #50 of 92 66 #32 of 92
Profitability 46 #49 of 90 89 #11 of 90 56 #40 of 90
Financial Health 63 #37 of 99 48 #52 of 99 59 #41 of 99
Shareholder Returns 89 #9 of 73 53 #35 of 73 39 #45 of 73
Overall 55 58 57
  • ACLS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • AMAT ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • KLIC ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodACLSAMATKLICSPY
1 month -7.7%-18.4%-14.1% -0.2%
3 months -5.3%-16.9%-13.8% +3.9%
6 months -15.2%+3.9%-5.6% +8.2%
Year to date +41.4%+54.1%+71.9% +12.9%
1 year +36.5%+71.2%+91.9% +12.3%
3 years -17.7%+201.5%+84.8% +87.4%
3 years, per year -6.3%+44.5%+22.7% +23.3%
5 years +110.5%+191.1%+37.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +16.1%+23.8%+6.6% +10.9%
10 years +754.4%+1,271.9%+490.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year +23.9%+29.9%+19.4% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureACLSAMATKLICSPY
Volatility, 1Y 69.7%60.5%58.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 71.3%62.2%63.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.802.772.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.521.181.56 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -78.8%-55.4%-59.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -40.7%-45.2%-41.5% -1.2%
52-week high $191.60$723.00$133.81 $779.14
52-week low $74.12$220.23$35.29 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleACLSAMATKLIC
P/E now vs peer median 37.7xmedian 45.6x 33.9xmedian 45.6x 35.4xmedian 45.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 7.7x 10.2xmedian 7.7x 4.3xmedian 7.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 29.0xmedian 29.0x 32.2xmedian 29.0x 25.3xmedian 29.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 53.5xmedian 40.6x 55.9xmedian 40.6x 99.7xmedian 40.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 4.6x 12.3xmedian 4.6x 4.5xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median -1.73median 2.28 2.28median 2.28 4.38median 2.28

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsACLSAMATKLIC
Revenue $866.07M $30.84B $950.21M
Gross profit $372.51M $15.23B $457.82M
Operating income $89.42M $9.14B $125.54M
Net income $92.79M $9.27B $115.74M
Free cash flow $65.55M $5.62B $41.13M
R&D $112.26M $3.97B $161.53M
EPS (diluted) $2.98 $11.58 $2.17
Cash & equivalents $155.00M $7.04B $368.57M
Total debt – $26.11B –
Shares (diluted) 31.13M 800.00M 53.43M
Enterprise value $1.92B $293.92B $2.19B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricACLSAMATKLIC
P/E 37.7x 33.9x 35.4x
P/FCF 53.5x 55.9x 99.7x
P/Operating cash flow 46.6x 37.4x 74.4x
P/S 4.1x 10.2x 4.3x
P/B 3.3x 12.3x 4.5x
P/Tangible book 3.3x 12.4x 4.5x
EV/EBITDA 29.0x 32.2x 25.3x
EV/EBIT 34.7x 34.1x 28.5x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 10.1x 3.8x
EV/FCF 47.4x 55.4x 87.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 41.3x 37.1x 65.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.73 2.28 4.38

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACLSAMATKLIC
Revenue growth (1Y) -3.3% 7.8% 44.4%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.4% 5.1% 4.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -7.4% 9.8% 61.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.2% 7.3% 5.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) -44.0% 6.0% 8,922%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -26.4% 6.0% 12.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -41.5% 35.6% 1,845%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -23.4% 12.9% 5.5%
EPS growth (1Y) -40.0% 36.0% 1,818%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -21.8% 14.9% 8.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -45.5% 9.0% -59.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -33.3% 1.6% -36.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -46.5% -3.4% -65.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -35.2% -7.0% -37.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACLSAMATKLIC
Gross margin 43.0% 49.4% 48.2%
EBITDA margin 12.4% 31.4% 14.9%
Operating margin 10.3% 29.6% 13.2%
Pretax margin 12.3% 34.8% 15.2%
Net margin 10.7% 30.1% 12.2%
FCF margin 7.6% 18.2% 4.3%
Operating cash flow margin 8.7% 27.2% 5.8%
Return on equity 8.8% 37.4% 13.1%
Return on assets 6.7% 22.1% 9.2%
Return on invested capital – 25.3% –
Return on capital employed 7.6% 29.0% 13.5%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.7x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 0.9x 0.5x
Stock comp / revenue 2.5% 2.3% 2.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACLSAMATKLIC
Debt / assets – 15.0% –
Debt / equity – 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.3x –
Debt / FCF – 1.2x –
Liabilities / assets 23.1% 41.1% 30.9%
Equity / assets 76.9% 58.9% 69.1%
Interest coverage 17.2x 33.0x 836.9x
Current ratio 4.9x 2.4x 3.4x
Quick ratio 2.8x 1.6x 2.6x
Cash ratio 2.0x 0.9x 1.6x
Altman Z-score 8.61 14.32 9.14

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACLSAMATKLIC
Dividend yield – 0.5% 1.0%
Net buyback yield 1.6% 0.6% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 1.6% 1.1% 1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 37.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 104.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – -1.9%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 1.2%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusACLSAMATKLIC
Forward P/E 26.9xFY2026 29.3xFY2026 19.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.22FY2026 $13.50FY2026 $4.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY -13.5%FY2026 +43.3%FY2026 +1,838.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% +32.7% +38.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $920.94MFY2026 $32.74BFY2026 $1.19BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.8%FY2026 +15.4%FY2026 +82.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +38.2% +24.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACLSAMATKLIC
Held by institutions 100.0% 83.6% 92.8%
Institutions holding 441 3,505 464
Change in shares held, QoQ -5.0% +6.0% +1.6%
Institutions buying 234 1,789 267
Institutions selling 142 1,349 150
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.33 1.78

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ACLSAMATKLIC
ACLS 1.00 0.69 0.64
AMAT 0.69 1.00 0.67
KLIC 0.64 0.67 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACLS, AMAT and KLIC?

Applied Materials (AMAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) $3.51B, Applied Materials (AMAT) $328.48B, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) $4.19B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACLS, AMAT and KLIC?

Applied Materials (AMAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 37.8x, Applied Materials (AMAT) 35.4x, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 36.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) is cheapest (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 26.9x, Applied Materials (AMAT) 29.3x, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 19.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) -3.3%, Applied Materials (AMAT) +7.8%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +44.4%.

Which company is more profitable?

Applied Materials (AMAT) has the highest net margin (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 10.7%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 30.1%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 12.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) returned the most: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) +36.5%, Applied Materials (AMAT) +71.2%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +91.9%. Over five years, Applied Materials (AMAT) compounded fastest (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) +16.1%/yr, Applied Materials (AMAT) +23.8%/yr, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +6.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 0.00%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 0.00%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 0.01%. Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) and Applied Materials (AMAT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) has been the steadiest (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 69.7%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 60.5%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 58.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACLS, AMAT and KLIC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Applied Materials (AMAT) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.