AMAT vs KLIC vs KLAC Stock Comparison

Applied Materials, Kulicke & Soffa Industries and Kla Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AMAT Applied Materials Inc /De
$395.93 -18.4% 1M +71.2% 1Y
Market cap
$314.21B
P/E
33.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.84B
Div. yield
0.50%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
3 wins
KLAC Kla Corp
$153.66 -18.2% 1M +26.5% 1Y
Market cap
$200.83B
P/E
41.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.58B
Div. yield
0.55%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Kulicke & Soffa Industries leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Kulicke & Soffa Industries 5, Kla 4, Applied Materials 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAMATKLICKLACLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $314.21B $4.10B $200.83B AMAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.9x 35.4x 41.7x AMAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.3x 19.2x 27.1x KLIC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.8% +44.4% +11.7% KLIC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 30.1% 12.2% 35.6% KLAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 25.3% — 40.7% KLAC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.3x — 0.7x AMAT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.50% 1.03% 0.55% KLIC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +71.2% +91.9% +26.5% KLIC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +23.8%/yr +6.6%/yr +34.1%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 60.5% 58.8% 61.4% KLIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 58/100 57/100 59/100 KLAC

Percentile Scorecard

AMATKLICKLAC

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

AxisAMATKLICKLAC
Valuation 55 #43 of 94 65 #34 of 94 39 #58 of 94
Growth 46 #50 of 92 66 #32 of 92 52 #45 of 92
Profitability 89 #11 of 90 56 #40 of 90 97 #4 of 90
Financial Health 48 #52 of 99 59 #41 of 99 20 #79 of 99
Shareholder Returns 53 #35 of 73 39 #45 of 73 86 #11 of 73
Overall 58 57 59
  • AMAT ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • KLIC 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

PeriodAMATKLICKLACSPY
1 month -18.4%-14.1%-18.2% -0.2%
3 months -16.9%-13.8%-19.5% +3.9%
6 months +3.9%-5.6%-15.1% +8.2%
Year to date +54.1%+71.9%+26.5% +12.9%
1 year +71.2%+91.9%+26.5% +12.3%
3 years +201.5%+84.8%+235.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +44.5%+22.7%+49.8% +23.3%
5 years +191.1%+37.6%+332.4% +67.9%
5 years, per year +23.8%+6.6%+34.1% +10.9%
10 years +1,271.9%+490.4%+1,956.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +29.9%+19.4%+35.3% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureAMATKLICKLACSPY
Volatility, 1Y 60.5%58.8%61.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 62.2%63.8%65.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.772.252.80 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.181.560.43 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -55.4%-59.5%-51.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -45.2%-41.5%-49.1% -1.2%
52-week high $723.00$133.81$301.71 $779.14
52-week low $220.23$35.29$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.

MultipleAMATKLICKLAC
P/E now vs peer median 33.9xmedian 45.6x 35.4xmedian 45.6x 41.7xmedian 45.6x
P/S now vs peer median 10.2xmedian 7.7x 4.3xmedian 7.7x 14.8xmedian 7.7x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 32.2xmedian 29.0x 25.3xmedian 29.0x 33.9xmedian 29.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 55.9xmedian 40.6x 99.7xmedian 40.6x 53.3xmedian 40.6x
P/B now vs peer median 12.3xmedian 4.6x 4.5xmedian 4.6x 31.6xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median 2.28median 2.28 4.38median 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 monthsAMATKLICKLAC
Revenue $30.84B $950.21M $13.58B
Gross profit $15.23B $457.82M $8.32B
Operating income $9.14B $125.54M $5.66B
Net income $9.27B $115.74M $4.83B
Free cash flow $5.62B $41.13M $3.77B
R&D $3.97B $161.53M $1.53B
EPS (diluted) $11.58 $2.17 $3.66
Cash & equivalents $7.04B $368.57M $1.65B
Total debt $26.11B – $5.89B
Shares (diluted) 800.00M 53.43M 1.32B
Enterprise value $279.65B $2.10B $193.00B

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
MetricAMATKLICKLAC
P/E 33.9x 35.4x 41.7x
P/FCF 55.9x 99.7x 53.3x
P/Operating cash flow 37.4x 74.4x 48.5x
P/S 10.2x 4.3x 14.8x
P/B 12.3x 4.5x 31.6x
P/Tangible book 12.4x 4.5x 33.0x
EV/EBITDA 32.2x 25.3x 33.9x
EV/EBIT 34.1x 28.5x 36.2x
EV/Revenue 10.1x 3.8x 15.1x
EV/FCF 55.4x 87.1x 54.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 37.1x 65.0x 49.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.28 4.38 2.81

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAMATKLICKLAC
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.8% 44.4% 11.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.1% 4.8% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 9.8% 61.0% 12.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 7.3% 5.0% 9.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 6.0% 8,922% 12.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.0% 12.8% 12.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 35.6% 1,845% 18.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.9% 5.5% 12.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 36.0% 1,818% 20.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.9% 8.1% 14.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 9.0% -59.7% 1.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 1.6% -36.2% 4.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -3.4% -65.7% 0.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -7.0% -37.0% 4.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAMATKLICKLAC
Gross margin 49.4% 48.2% 61.3%
EBITDA margin 31.4% 14.9% 44.6%
Operating margin 29.6% 13.2% 41.7%
Pretax margin 34.8% 15.2% 41.3%
Net margin 30.1% 12.2% 35.6%
FCF margin 18.2% 4.3% 27.7%
Operating cash flow margin 27.2% 5.8% 30.5%
Return on equity 37.4% 13.1% 79.3%
Return on assets 22.1% 9.2% 27.7%
Return on invested capital 25.3% – 40.7%
Return on capital employed 29.0% 13.5% 43.2%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.8x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 0.5x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 2.3% 2.9% 2.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAMATKLICKLAC
Debt / assets 15.0% – 32.8%
Debt / equity 0.3x – 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.3x – 0.7x
Debt / FCF 1.2x – 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 41.1% 30.9% 64.6%
Equity / assets 58.9% 69.1% 35.4%
Interest coverage 33.0x 836.9x 19.9x
Current ratio 2.4x 3.4x 2.9x
Quick ratio 1.6x 2.6x 1.1x
Cash ratio 0.9x 1.6x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 14.32 9.14 13.01

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAMATKLICKLAC
Dividend yield 0.5% 1.0% 0.5%
Net buyback yield 0.6% 0.6% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 1.1% 1.6% 1.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 37.0% 21.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 104.2% 28.1%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -1.9% 17.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 1.2% 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.

ConsensusAMATKLICKLAC
Forward P/E 29.3xFY2026 19.2xFY2026 27.1xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $13.50FY2026 $4.07FY2026 $5.67FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +43.3%FY2026 +1,838.1%FY2026 +50.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +32.7% +38.6% +16.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.74BFY2026 $1.19BFY2026 $19.18BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +15.4%FY2026 +82.6%FY2026 +41.2%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +38.2% +24.1% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAMATKLICKLAC
Held by institutions 83.6% 92.8% 91.0%
Institutions holding 3,505 464 2,478
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.0% +1.6% +4.2%
Institutions buying 1,789 267 1,285
Institutions selling 1,349 150 982
Buyers to sellers 1.33 1.78 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.

AMATKLICKLAC
AMAT 1.00 0.67 0.88
KLIC 0.67 1.00 0.66
KLAC 0.88 0.66 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AMAT, KLIC and KLAC?

Applied Materials (AMAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Materials (AMAT) $314.21B, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) $4.10B, Kla (KLAC) $200.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, AMAT, KLIC and KLAC?

Applied Materials (AMAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Applied Materials (AMAT) 33.9x, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 35.4x, Kla (KLAC) 41.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) is cheapest (Applied Materials (AMAT) 29.3x, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 19.2x, 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?

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Materials (AMAT) +7.8%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +44.4%, Kla (KLAC) +11.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest net margin (Applied Materials (AMAT) 30.1%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 12.2%, Kla (KLAC) 35.6%). On return on invested capital, Kla (KLAC) leads (Applied Materials (AMAT) 25.3%, Kla (KLAC) 40.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) returned the most: Applied Materials (AMAT) +71.2%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +91.9%, Kla (KLAC) +26.5%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Applied Materials (AMAT) +23.8%/yr, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +6.6%/yr, Kla (KLAC) +34.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) has the highest dividend yield: Applied Materials (AMAT) 0.50%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 1.03%, Kla (KLAC) 0.55%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) has been the steadiest (Applied Materials (AMAT) 60.5%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 58.8%, Kla (KLAC) 61.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AMAT, KLIC 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, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 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.