KLAC vs LRCX vs VECO Stock Comparison

Kla, Lam Research and Veeco Instruments Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KLAC Kla Corp
$158.77 -16.1% 1M +31.6% 1Y
Market cap
$220.00B
P/E
43.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.06B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
1 win
LRCX Lam Research Corp
$253.82 -19.3% 1M +63.1% 1Y
Market cap
$317.62B
P/E
37.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$26.13B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
9 wins
VECO Veeco Instruments Inc
$43.84 -10.7% 1M +51.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.62B
P/E
112.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$682.72M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Lam Research leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Lam Research 9, Veeco Instruments 1, Kla 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKLACLRCXVECOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $220.00B $317.62B $2.62B LRCX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 43.9x 37.6x 112.7x LRCX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.0x 25.1x 30.0x LRCX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.2% +33.4% -2.5% LRCX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 32.3% 3.4% LRCX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 49.6% 1.6% LRCX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.4x -5.2x VECO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.6% +63.1% +51.3% LRCX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +33.6%/yr +35.1%/yr +12.5%/yr LRCX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 61.5% 65.8% 70.8% KLAC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 67/100 40/100 LRCX

Percentile Scorecard

KLACLRCXVECO

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

AxisKLACLRCXVECO
Valuation 36 #61 of 94 50 #48 of 94 72 #27 of 94
Growth 54 #43 of 92 85 #15 of 92 17 #77 of 92
Profitability 92 #8 of 90 96 #5 of 90 36 #58 of 90
Financial Health 5 #94 of 99 44 #56 of 99 49 #51 of 99
Shareholder Returns 29 #52 of 73 61 #29 of 73 26 #54 of 73
Overall 43 67 40
  • KLAC ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • LRCX ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • VECO ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKLACLRCXVECOSPY
1 month -16.1%-19.3%-10.7% +0.9%
3 months -6.7%+0.6%+2.0% +5.9%
6 months -12.6%+2.0%-8.4% +8.5%
Year to date +30.7%+48.3%+53.4% +13.3%
1 year +31.6%+63.1%+51.3% +12.4%
3 years +246.7%+334.6%+81.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year +51.4%+63.2%+22.0% +23.5%
5 years +325.9%+350.4%+80.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year +33.6%+35.1%+12.5% +11.0%
10 years +2,026.6%+2,538.5%+99.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year +35.8%+38.7%+7.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureKLACLRCXVECOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 61.5%65.8%70.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.7%65.3%70.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.803.262.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.510.960.73 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.7%-56.8%-64.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -47.4%-41.4%-47.2% -0.9%
52-week high $301.71$433.33$83.04 $779.14
52-week low $109.71$139.59$26.39 $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.

MultipleKLACLRCXVECO
P/E now vs peer median 41.5xmedian 46.0x 37.6xmedian 46.0x 115.2xmedian 46.0x
P/S now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 7.9x 12.1xmedian 7.9x 3.9xmedian 7.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 28.3x 31.0xmedian 28.3x 63.0xmedian 28.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 68.2xmedian 41.4x 48.5xmedian 41.4x 31.5xmedian 41.4x
P/B now vs peer median 31.8xmedian 4.6x 22.8xmedian 4.6x 3.0xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median 2.20median 2.30 1.21median 2.30 -3.28median 2.30

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 monthsKLACLRCXVECO
Revenue $14.06B $26.13B $682.72M
Gross profit – $13.34B $258.88M
Operating income – $9.65B $18.38M
Net income $5.02B $8.45B $23.24M
Free cash flow – $6.54B $85.17M
R&D $1.53B $2.47B $122.79M
EPS (diluted) $3.80 $6.73 $0.35
Cash & equivalents $1.53B $7.44B $214.46M
Total debt – $16.44B $904.53M
Shares (diluted) 1.32B 1.26B 66.78M
Enterprise value $220.00B $293.68B $1.05B

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
MetricKLACLRCXVECO
P/E 41.5x 37.6x 115.2x
P/FCF 68.2x 48.5x 31.5x
P/Operating cash flow 43.5x 41.8x 26.8x
P/S 14.8x 12.1x 3.9x
P/B 31.8x 22.8x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 32.9x 22.8x 3.0x
EV/EBITDA – 31.0x 63.0x
EV/EBIT – 32.5x 134.7x
EV/Revenue 14.8x 12.0x 3.6x
EV/FCF – 47.9x 29.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 43.5x 41.4x 24.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.20 1.21 -3.28

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKLACLRCXVECO
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.2% 33.4% -2.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.4% 18.2% 2.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 38.1% -10.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 23.4% -0.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 49.3% -66.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 29.0% -30.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.4% 45.4% -61.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.4% 28.6% -29.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 18.8% 47.0% -65.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.9% 31.1% -35.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 12.2% 18.7% 33.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 15.3% -1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 17.8% 53.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 13.2% -0.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKLACLRCXVECO
Gross margin – 51.1% 37.9%
EBITDA margin – 38.7% 5.8%
Operating margin – 37.0% 2.7%
Pretax margin – 37.2% 3.4%
Net margin – 32.3% 3.4%
FCF margin – 25.0% 12.5%
Operating cash flow margin 33.9% 29.0% 14.6%
Return on equity 77.9% 64.1% 2.6%
Return on assets 27.6% 33.9% 1.7%
Return on invested capital – 49.6% 1.6%
Return on capital employed – 54.8% 1.6%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 0.9x 4.3x
Stock comp / revenue 2.2% 1.5% 5.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKLACLRCXVECO
Debt / assets – 14.2% 16.0%
Debt / equity – 0.3x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.4x -5.2x
Debt / FCF – 0.6x 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 64.6% 47.2% 36.2%
Equity / assets 35.4% 52.8% 63.8%
Interest coverage – – 2.1x
Current ratio 2.8x 2.5x 3.9x
Quick ratio – 1.8x 2.5x
Cash ratio – 1.0x 1.8x
Altman Z-score – 19.96 3.85

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKLACLRCXVECO
Dividend yield 0.3% 0.4% –
Net buyback yield – 1.2% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.3% 1.6% -0.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusKLACLRCXVECO
Forward P/E 28.0xFY2027 25.1xFY2027 30.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.67FY2027 $10.12FY2027 $1.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +50.8%FY2027 +73.9%FY2027 +9.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.6% +12.6% +108.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $19.18BFY2027 $32.96BFY2027 $753.17MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +41.2%FY2027 +41.9%FY2027 +13.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.6% +25.0% +52.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKLACLRCXVECO
Held by institutions 91.0% 85.6% 100.0%
Institutions holding 2,478 3,132 327
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.2% +6.2% +3.5%
Institutions buying 1,285 1,696 207
Institutions selling 982 1,163 86
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.46 2.41

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.

KLACLRCXVECO
KLAC 1.00 0.88 0.65
LRCX 0.88 1.00 0.65
VECO 0.65 0.65 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KLAC, LRCX and VECO?

Lam Research (LRCX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kla (KLAC) $220.00B, Lam Research (LRCX) $317.62B, Veeco Instruments (VECO) $2.62B.

Which stock is cheaper, KLAC, LRCX and VECO?

Lam Research (LRCX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kla (KLAC) 43.9x, Lam Research (LRCX) 37.6x, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 112.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lam Research (LRCX) is cheapest (Kla (KLAC) 28.0x, Lam Research (LRCX) 25.1x, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 30.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lam Research (LRCX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kla (KLAC) +12.2%, Lam Research (LRCX) +33.4%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) -2.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lam Research (LRCX) has the highest net margin (Lam Research (LRCX) 32.3%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 3.4%). On return on invested capital, Lam Research (LRCX) leads (Lam Research (LRCX) 49.6%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 1.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lam Research (LRCX) returned the most: Kla (KLAC) +31.6%, Lam Research (LRCX) +63.1%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) +51.3%. Over five years, Lam Research (LRCX) compounded fastest (Kla (KLAC) +33.6%/yr, Lam Research (LRCX) +35.1%/yr, Veeco Instruments (VECO) +12.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kla (KLAC) has been the steadiest (Kla (KLAC) 61.5%, Lam Research (LRCX) 65.8%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 70.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KLAC, LRCX and VECO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Lam Research (LRCX) leads on 9. 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.