ACLS vs KLAC Stock Comparison

Axcelis Technologies and Kla Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ACLS Axcelis Technologies Inc
$113.64 -7.7% 1M +36.5% 1Y
Market cap
$3.50B
P/E
37.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$866.07M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
3 wins
KLAC Kla Corp
$153.66 -18.2% 1M +26.5% 1Y
Market cap
$208.29B
P/E
43.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.58B
Div. yield
0.01%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Kla leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Kla 6, Axcelis Technologies 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACLSKLACLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.50B $208.29B KLAC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 37.7x 43.1x ACLS
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.9x 27.1x ACLS
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -3.3% +11.7% KLAC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.7% 35.6% KLAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 40.7% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.7x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +36.5% +26.5% ACLS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +16.1%/yr +34.1%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 69.7% 61.4% KLAC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 59/100 KLAC

Percentile Scorecard

ACLSKLAC

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

AxisACLSKLAC
Valuation 71 #28 of 94 39 #58 of 94
Growth 4 #88 of 92 52 #45 of 92
Profitability 46 #49 of 90 97 #4 of 90
Financial Health 63 #37 of 99 20 #79 of 99
Shareholder Returns 89 #9 of 73 86 #11 of 73
Overall 55 59
  • ACLS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • KLAC ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodACLSKLACSPY
1 month -7.7%-18.2% -0.2%
3 months -5.3%-19.5% +3.9%
6 months -15.2%-15.1% +8.2%
Year to date +41.4%+26.5% +12.9%
1 year +36.5%+26.5% +12.3%
3 years -17.7%+235.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year -6.3%+49.8% +23.3%
5 years +110.5%+332.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year +16.1%+34.1% +10.9%
10 years +754.4%+1,956.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +23.9%+35.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureACLSKLACSPY
Volatility, 1Y 69.7%61.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 71.3%65.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.802.80 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.520.43 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -78.8%-51.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -40.7%-49.1% -1.2%
52-week high $191.60$301.71 $779.14
52-week low $74.12$109.71 $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.

MultipleACLSKLAC
P/E now vs peer median 37.7xmedian 45.6x 41.7xmedian 45.6x
P/S now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 7.7x 14.8xmedian 7.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 29.0xmedian 29.0x 33.9xmedian 29.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 53.5xmedian 40.6x 53.3xmedian 40.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 4.6x 31.6xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median -1.73median 2.28 2.81median 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 monthsACLSKLAC
Revenue $866.07M $13.58B
Gross profit $372.51M $8.32B
Operating income $89.42M $5.66B
Net income $92.79M $4.83B
Free cash flow $65.55M $3.77B
R&D $112.26M $1.53B
EPS (diluted) $2.98 $3.66
Cash & equivalents $155.00M $1.65B
Total debt – $5.89B
Shares (diluted) 31.13M 1.32B
Enterprise value $1.91B $200.46B

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
MetricACLSKLAC
P/E 37.7x 41.7x
P/FCF 53.5x 53.3x
P/Operating cash flow 46.6x 48.5x
P/S 4.1x 14.8x
P/B 3.3x 31.6x
P/Tangible book 3.3x 33.0x
EV/EBITDA 29.0x 33.9x
EV/EBIT 34.7x 36.2x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 15.1x
EV/FCF 47.4x 54.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 41.3x 49.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.73 2.81

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACLSKLAC
Revenue growth (1Y) -3.3% 11.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -5.4% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -7.4% 12.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -5.2% 9.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) -44.0% 12.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -26.4% 12.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -41.5% 18.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -23.4% 12.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -40.0% 20.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -21.8% 14.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -45.5% 1.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -33.3% 4.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -46.5% 0.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -35.2% 4.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACLSKLAC
Gross margin 43.0% 61.3%
EBITDA margin 12.4% 44.6%
Operating margin 10.3% 41.7%
Pretax margin 12.3% 41.3%
Net margin 10.7% 35.6%
FCF margin 7.6% 27.7%
Operating cash flow margin 8.7% 30.5%
Return on equity 8.8% 79.3%
Return on assets 6.7% 27.7%
Return on invested capital – 40.7%
Return on capital employed 7.6% 43.2%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 2.5% 2.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACLSKLAC
Debt / assets – 32.8%
Debt / equity – 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.7x
Debt / FCF – 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 23.1% 64.6%
Equity / assets 76.9% 35.4%
Interest coverage 17.2x 19.9x
Current ratio 4.9x 2.9x
Quick ratio 2.8x 1.1x
Cash ratio 2.0x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 8.61 13.01

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACLSKLAC
Dividend yield – 0.5%
Net buyback yield 1.6% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 1.6% 1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 21.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 28.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 17.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 13.1%

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.

ConsensusACLSKLAC
Forward P/E 26.9xFY2026 27.1xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $4.22FY2026 $5.67FY2027
EPS growth, next FY -13.5%FY2026 +50.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% +16.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $920.94MFY2026 $19.18BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +9.8%FY2026 +41.2%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACLSKLAC
Held by institutions 100.0% 91.0%
Institutions holding 441 2,478
Change in shares held, QoQ -5.0% +4.2%
Institutions buying 234 1,285
Institutions selling 142 982
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.31

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.

ACLSKLAC
ACLS 1.00 0.71
KLAC 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACLS and KLAC?

Kla (KLAC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) $3.50B, Kla (KLAC) $208.29B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACLS and KLAC?

Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 37.7x, Kla (KLAC) 43.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) is cheapest (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 26.9x, Kla (KLAC) 27.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kla (KLAC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) -3.3%, Kla (KLAC) +11.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest net margin (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 10.7%, Kla (KLAC) 35.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) returned the most: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) +36.5%, Kla (KLAC) +26.5%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) +16.1%/yr, Kla (KLAC) +34.1%/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%, Kla (KLAC) 0.01%. Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kla (KLAC) has been the steadiest (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 69.7%, Kla (KLAC) 61.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ACLS and KLAC move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.71, a strong positive relationship. Holding both adds little diversification.

Which is the better stock, ACLS and KLAC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Kla (KLAC) leads on 6. 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.