ACLS vs MKSI vs KLAC Stock Comparison

Axcelis Technologies, Mks and Kla Prices as of Nov 5, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MKSI Mks Inc
$176.63 -37.2% 1M +26.2% 1Y
Market cap
$11.94B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.77B
Div. yield
0.55%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
7 wins
KLAC Kla Corp
$129.80 -34.3% 1M +5.8% 1Y
Market cap
$169.12B
P/E
32.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.51B
Div. yield
0.36%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Mks leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Mks 7, Kla 5). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionACLSMKSIKLACLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.78B $11.94B $169.12B KLAC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.6x 19.9x 32.2x MKSI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.3x 13.1x 22.9x MKSI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.3% +24.6% +15.8% MKSI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 11.7% 12.6% 36.2% KLAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 10.8% 43.4% KLAC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 2.5x 0.6x KLAC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 0.55% 0.36% MKSI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +6.6% +26.2% +5.8% MKSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.1%/yr +2.0%/yr +25.5%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 70.7% 63.0% 63.7% MKSI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 61/100 60/100 MKSI

Percentile Scorecard

ACLSMKSIKLAC

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

AxisACLSMKSIKLAC
Valuation 72 #27 of 94 82 #18 of 94 42 #55 of 94
Growth 9 #84 of 92 84 #16 of 92 51 #46 of 92
Profitability 44 #51 of 90 63 #34 of 90 97 #4 of 90
Financial Health 64 #37 of 101 1 #100 of 101 21 #80 of 101
Shareholder Returns 75 #21 of 81 74 #22 of 81 88 #11 of 81
Overall 53 61 60
  • ACLS ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • MKSI 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

PeriodACLSMKSIKLACSPY
1 month -36.2%-37.2%-34.3% -5.9%
3 months -34.1%-39.4%-32.8% -4.6%
6 months -43.3%-41.3%-26.4% +0.2%
Year to date +12.0%+10.5%+6.8% +7.5%
1 year +6.6%+26.2%+5.8% +8.2%
3 years -30.4%+160.2%+160.2% +68.3%
3 years, per year -11.4%+37.6%+37.6% +19.0%
5 years +47.4%+10.2%+211.5% +56.5%
5 years, per year +8.1%+2.0%+25.5% +9.4%
10 years +679.2%+263.4%+1,641.8% +251.5%
10 years, per year +22.8%+13.8%+33.1% +13.4%

Risk

MeasureACLSMKSIKLACSPY
Volatility, 1Y 70.7%63.0%63.7% 13.6%
Downside volatility, 1Y 73.5%67.5%69.6% 14.2%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.542.682.78 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.090.420.09 0.60
Max drawdown, 5Y -78.8%-67.5%-57.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -53.0%-60.3%-57.0% -5.9%
52-week high $191.60$444.80$301.71 $779.14
52-week low $74.12$138.49$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.

MultipleACLSMKSIKLAC
P/E now vs peer median 26.6xmedian 35.6x 19.9xmedian 35.6x 32.2xmedian 35.6x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 5.8x 2.5xmedian 5.8x 11.7xmedian 5.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 21.1xmedian 21.9x 12.2xmedian 21.9x 26.3xmedian 21.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 46.4xmedian 30.7x 21.6xmedian 30.7x 41.9xmedian 30.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.5xmedian 3.5x 3.6xmedian 3.5x 25.9xmedian 3.5x
PEG now vs peer median -1.22median 1.25 0.61median 1.25 1.53median 1.25

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 monthsACLSMKSIKLAC
Revenue $890.24M $4.77B $14.51B
Gross profit $381.13M $2.26B $8.92B
Operating income $91.75M $869.00M $6.19B
Net income $104.56M $602.00M $5.26B
Free cash flow $59.93M $552.00M $4.04B
R&D $117.80M $314.00M $1.57B
EPS (diluted) $3.36 $8.30 $4.01
Cash & equivalents $190.77M $676.00M $1.53B
Total debt – $3.78B $5.72B
Shares (diluted) 31.11M 72.50M 1.31B
Enterprise value $1.16B $9.41B $161.70B

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
MetricACLSMKSIKLAC
P/E 26.6x 19.9x 32.2x
P/FCF 46.4x 21.6x 41.9x
P/Operating cash flow 39.6x 16.4x 37.5x
P/S 3.1x 2.5x 11.7x
P/B 2.5x 3.6x 25.9x
P/Tangible book 2.5x 9.1x 26.8x
EV/EBITDA 21.1x 12.2x 26.3x
EV/EBIT 25.1x 17.3x 28.0x
EV/Revenue 2.6x 3.2x 11.9x
EV/FCF 38.5x 27.3x 42.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.9x 20.6x 38.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -1.22 0.61 1.53

Growth

14 metrics
MetricACLSMKSIKLAC
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.3% 24.6% 15.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -6.4% 7.7% 12.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 0.0% 25.3% 16.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -6.3% 9.5% 13.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) -33.4% 67.1% 18.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -27.7% 37.8% 17.8%
Net income growth (1Y) -23.1% 115.8% 24.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -23.4% 33.0% 19.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -22.2% 101.2% 25.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -21.7% 32.5% 21.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -49.0% 7.5% 6.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -31.0% 31.4% 8.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -51.7% 4.2% 4.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -33.0% 37.1% 7.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricACLSMKSIKLAC
Gross margin 42.8% 47.3% 61.5%
EBITDA margin 12.3% 25.8% 45.4%
Operating margin 10.3% 18.2% 42.6%
Pretax margin 12.6% 14.5% 42.2%
Net margin 11.7% 12.6% 36.2%
FCF margin 6.7% 11.6% 27.8%
Operating cash flow margin 7.9% 15.3% 31.1%
Return on equity 9.6% 19.2% 81.7%
Return on assets 7.3% 6.6% 28.9%
Return on invested capital – 10.8% 43.4%
Return on capital employed 7.8% 13.4% 45.4%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.7x 1.2x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 2.6% 1.2% 2.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricACLSMKSIKLAC
Debt / assets – 40.9% 31.1%
Debt / equity – 1.1x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA – 2.5x 0.6x
Debt / FCF – 6.8x 1.4x
Liabilities / assets 24.7% 64.4% 64.6%
Equity / assets 75.3% 35.6% 35.4%
Interest coverage 15.7x 5.1x 22.0x
Current ratio 4.4x 1.2x 2.8x
Quick ratio 2.5x 0.6x 1.0x
Cash ratio 1.9x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 6.62 2.27 11.26

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricACLSMKSIKLAC
Dividend yield – 0.5% 0.4%
Net buyback yield 0.8% – 1.5%
Shareholder yield 0.8% 0.5% 1.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 11.0% 21.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 12.0% 27.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 11.9% 15.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 3.8% 15.2%

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.

ConsensusACLSMKSIKLAC
Forward P/E 21.3xFY2026 13.1xFY2026 22.9xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $4.22FY2026 $13.48FY2026 $5.67FY2027
EPS growth, next FY -13.5%FY2026 +71.1%FY2026 +50.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +18.7% +34.9% +16.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $920.94MFY2026 $5.43BFY2026 $19.18BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +9.8%FY2026 +38.1%FY2026 +41.2%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +0.6% +8.0% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersACLSMKSIKLAC
Held by institutions 100.0% 100.0% 91.0%
Institutions holding 443 778 2,483
Change in shares held, QoQ -5.0% +2.8% +4.2%
Institutions buying 234 455 1,287
Institutions selling 144 253 985
Buyers to sellers 1.63 1.80 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.

ACLSMKSIKLAC
ACLS 1.00 0.73 0.69
MKSI 0.73 1.00 0.82
KLAC 0.69 0.82 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ACLS, MKSI and KLAC?

Kla (KLAC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) $2.78B, Mks (MKSI) $11.94B, Kla (KLAC) $169.12B.

Which stock is cheaper, ACLS, MKSI and KLAC?

Mks (MKSI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 26.6x, Mks (MKSI) 19.9x, Kla (KLAC) 32.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mks (MKSI) is cheapest (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 21.3x, Mks (MKSI) 13.1x, Kla (KLAC) 22.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mks (MKSI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) +4.3%, Mks (MKSI) +24.6%, Kla (KLAC) +15.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest net margin (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 11.7%, Mks (MKSI) 12.6%, Kla (KLAC) 36.2%). On return on invested capital, Kla (KLAC) leads (Mks (MKSI) 10.8%, Kla (KLAC) 43.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mks (MKSI) returned the most: Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) +6.6%, Mks (MKSI) +26.2%, Kla (KLAC) +5.8%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) +8.1%/yr, Mks (MKSI) +2.0%/yr, Kla (KLAC) +25.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mks (MKSI) has the highest dividend yield: Mks (MKSI) 0.55%, Kla (KLAC) 0.36%. Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Mks (MKSI) has been the steadiest (Axcelis Technologies (ACLS) 70.7%, Mks (MKSI) 63.0%, Kla (KLAC) 63.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ACLS, MKSI 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, Mks (MKSI) leads on 7. 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.