AXTI vs KLIC vs PLAB Stock Comparison

Axt, Kulicke & Soffa Industries and Photronics Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
AXTI Axt Inc
$52.08 -28.6% 1M +905.4% 1Y
Market cap
$3.45B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$116.56M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Materials Technology
2 wins
PLAB Photronics Inc
$28.15 -7.2% 1M +17.6% 1Y
Market cap
$1.62B
P/E
9.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$866.82M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Materials Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Photronics leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Photronics 5, Kulicke & Soffa Industries 3, Axt 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAXTIKLICPLABLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.45B $3.95B $1.62B KLIC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -2,280x 34.1x 9.8x PLAB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 63.5x 18.1x 14.7x PLAB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +35.4% +44.4% +1.2% KLIC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -1.3% 12.2% 19.0% PLAB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% — 9.8% PLAB
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -2.4x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +905.4% +83.5% +17.6% AXTI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +43.6%/yr +6.0%/yr +18.1%/yr AXTI
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 151.1% 58.7% 83.9% KLIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 53/100 57/100 66/100 PLAB

Percentile Scorecard

AXTIKLICPLAB

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

AxisAXTIKLICPLAB
Valuation 23 #73 of 95 63 #36 of 95 98 #3 of 95
Growth 89 #11 of 93 67 #31 of 93 44 #53 of 93
Profitability 22 #71 of 91 57 #40 of 91 71 #27 of 91
Financial Health 76 #25 of 102 60 #41 of 102 86 #15 of 102
Shareholder Returns – 40 #46 of 76 33 #51 of 76
Overall 53 57 66
  • AXTI ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • KLIC ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • PLAB ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAXTIKLICPLABSPY
1 month -28.6%-18.9%-7.2% -1.0%
3 months +10.3%-27.3%-7.2% +2.9%
6 months -31.6%-16.0%-46.1% +6.4%
Year to date +218.5%+61.8%-12.0% +11.4%
1 year +905.4%+83.5%+17.6% +13.1%
3 years +2,256.6%+74.3%+46.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +186.9%+20.4%+13.5% +21.5%
5 years +509.8%+33.7%+129.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year +43.6%+6.0%+18.1% +10.9%
10 years +805.7%+450.1%+185.8% +255.2%
10 years, per year +24.7%+18.6%+11.1% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAXTIKLICPLABSPY
Volatility, 1Y 151.1%58.7%83.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 142.2%63.8%88.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.212.222.85 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 5.991.420.21 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -88.1%-59.5%-50.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -63.0%-44.9%-48.8% -2.5%
52-week high $140.83$133.81$54.96 $779.14
52-week low $5.18$35.29$20.28 $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.

MultipleAXTIKLICPLAB
P/E now vs peer median -2,110xmedian 41.5x 33.3xmedian 41.5x 9.9xmedian 41.5x
P/S now vs peer median 29.3xmedian 6.9x 4.1xmedian 6.9x 1.9xmedian 6.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 27.3x 23.6xmedian 27.3x 3.5xmedian 27.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 35.6x 93.8xmedian 35.6x 14.8xmedian 35.6x
P/B now vs peer median 3.7xmedian 4.2x 4.2xmedian 4.2x 0.9xmedian 4.2x
PEG now vs peer median -239.47median 2.31 4.13median 2.31 0.71median 2.31

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 monthsAXTIKLICPLAB
Revenue $116.56M $950.21M $866.82M
Gross profit $33.85M $457.82M $291.73M
Operating income -$1.28M $125.54M $194.65M
Net income -$156.00K $115.74M $225.93M
Free cash flow – $41.13M $110.48M
R&D $9.58M $161.53M $12.30M
EPS (diluted) $-0.02 $2.17 $2.81
Cash & equivalents $412.17M $368.57M $549.51M
Total debt $278.80M – $7.80M
Shares (diluted) 63.47M 53.43M 58.72M
Enterprise value $2.69B $1.95B -$914.01M

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
MetricAXTIKLICPLAB
P/E -2,110x 33.3x 9.9x
P/FCF – 93.8x 14.8x
P/Operating cash flow – 70.0x 5.3x
P/S 29.3x 4.1x 1.9x
P/B 3.7x 4.2x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 3.7x 4.3x 0.9x
EV/EBITDA – 23.6x 3.5x
EV/EBIT -2,155x 26.6x 5.0x
EV/Revenue 23.6x 3.5x 1.1x
EV/FCF – 81.2x 8.8x
EV/Operating cash flow – 60.6x 3.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -239.47 4.13 0.71

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAXTIKLICPLAB
Revenue growth (1Y) 35.4% 44.4% 1.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 4.8% -0.3%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 229.2% 61.0% -4.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 3.9% 5.0% -4.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 95.2% 8,922% -8.1%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 45.1% 12.8% -7.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 99.4% 1,845% 48.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 41.9% 5.5% 5.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 95.7% 1,818% 50.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.8% 8.1% 13.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – -59.7% 35.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -36.2% 3.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -65.7% 71.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -37.0% -5.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAXTIKLICPLAB
Gross margin 29.0% 48.2% 33.7%
EBITDA margin – 14.9% 31.6%
Operating margin -1.1% 13.2% 22.5%
Pretax margin 3.0% 15.2% 29.9%
Net margin -1.3% 12.2% 19.0%
FCF margin – 4.3% 12.7%
Operating cash flow margin – 5.8% 35.6%
Return on equity 0.0% 13.1% 13.1%
Return on assets 0.0% 9.2% 11.5%
Return on invested capital 0.0% – 9.8%
Return on capital employed -0.2% 13.5% 11.0%
Asset turnover 0.2x 0.8x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – 0.5x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue – 2.9% 1.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAXTIKLICPLAB
Debt / assets 8.2% – 0.2%
Debt / equity 0.1x – 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -2.4x
Debt / FCF – – 0.0x
Liabilities / assets 16.9% 30.9% 12.4%
Equity / assets 83.1% 69.1% 87.6%
Interest coverage – 836.9x 5,407x
Current ratio 4.8x 3.4x 4.9x
Quick ratio 6.3x 2.6x 4.5x
Cash ratio 6.0x 1.6x 3.4x
Altman Z-score 11.62 8.79 5.82

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAXTIKLICPLAB
Dividend yield – 1.1% –
Net buyback yield – 0.6% -0.1%
Shareholder yield – 1.7% -0.1%
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.

ConsensusAXTIKLICPLAB
Forward P/E 63.5xFY2026 18.1xFY2026 14.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.82FY2026 $4.07FY2026 $1.91FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +1,838.1%FY2026 -5.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +162.2% +38.6% +9.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $215.33MFY2026 $1.19BFY2026 $908.29MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +143.8%FY2026 +82.6%FY2026 +6.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +117.5% +24.1% +3.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAXTIKLICPLAB
Held by institutions 70.1% 92.8% 94.6%
Institutions holding 259 464 313
Change in shares held, QoQ +41.3% +1.6% -1.1%
Institutions buying 205 267 163
Institutions selling 47 150 115
Buyers to sellers 4.36 1.78 1.42

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.

AXTIKLICPLAB
AXTI 1.00 0.45 0.37
KLIC 0.45 1.00 0.48
PLAB 0.37 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, AXTI, KLIC and PLAB?

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Axt (AXTI) $3.45B, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) $3.95B, Photronics (PLAB) $1.62B.

Which stock is cheaper, AXTI, KLIC and PLAB?

Photronics (PLAB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Axt (AXTI) -2,280x, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 34.1x, Photronics (PLAB) 9.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Photronics (PLAB) is cheapest (Axt (AXTI) 63.5x, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 18.1x, Photronics (PLAB) 14.7x). 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: Axt (AXTI) +35.4%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +44.4%, Photronics (PLAB) +1.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Photronics (PLAB) has the highest net margin (Axt (AXTI) -1.3%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 12.2%, Photronics (PLAB) 19.0%). On return on invested capital, Photronics (PLAB) leads (Axt (AXTI) 0.0%, Photronics (PLAB) 9.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Axt (AXTI) returned the most: Axt (AXTI) +905.4%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +83.5%, Photronics (PLAB) +17.6%. Over five years, Axt (AXTI) compounded fastest (Axt (AXTI) +43.6%/yr, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +6.0%/yr, Photronics (PLAB) +18.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Axt (AXTI) 0.00%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 0.01%, Photronics (PLAB) 0.00%. Axt (AXTI) and Photronics (PLAB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) has been the steadiest (Axt (AXTI) 151.1%, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 58.7%, Photronics (PLAB) 83.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, AXTI, KLIC and PLAB?

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