KLAC vs ONTO vs ACMR Stock Comparison

Kla, Onto Innovation and ACM Research Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KLAC Kla Corp
$145.61 -22.5% 1M +25.6% 1Y
Market cap
$195.64B
P/E
40.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.58B
Div. yield
0.01%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
5 wins
ONTO Onto Innovation Inc.
$198.48 -29.7% 1M +50.4% 1Y
Market cap
$10.04B
P/E
75.7x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.12B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
2 wins
ACMR ACM Research, Inc.
$50.55 -37.3% 1M +25.6% 1Y
Market cap
$3.46B
P/E
23.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.04B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Kla leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Kla 5, ACM Research 4, Onto Innovation 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKLACONTOACMRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $195.64B $10.04B $3.46B KLAC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 40.5x 75.7x 23.0x ACMR
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.7x 23.6x 22.2x ACMR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.7% +8.1% +27.3% ACMR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 35.6% 11.8% 14.5% KLAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 40.7% — 4.7% KLAC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x — -4.6x ACMR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +25.6% +50.4% +25.6% ONTO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +33.6%/yr +21.7%/yr +7.4%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 61.4% 72.0% 87.9% KLAC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 60/100 47/100 ONTO

Percentile Scorecard

KLACONTOACMR

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

AxisKLACONTOACMR
Valuation 38 #59 of 95 60 #39 of 95 68 #31 of 95
Growth 54 #43 of 93 33 #63 of 93 62 #36 of 93
Profitability 97 #4 of 91 58 #39 of 91 39 #56 of 91
Financial Health 21 #81 of 102 57 #44 of 102 58 #43 of 102
Shareholder Returns 84 #13 of 76 93 #6 of 76 7 #71 of 76
Overall 59 60 47
  • KLAC ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • ONTO ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • ACMR ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKLACONTOACMRSPY
1 month -22.5%-29.7%-37.3% -1.0%
3 months -30.8%-27.1%-40.0% +2.9%
6 months -24.7%-35.5%-9.9% +6.4%
Year to date +19.8%+25.7%+28.1% +11.4%
1 year +25.6%+50.4%+25.6% +13.1%
3 years +209.6%+69.1%+169.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +45.8%+19.2%+39.2% +21.5%
5 years +324.5%+167.0%+42.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +33.6%+21.7%+7.4% +10.9%
10 years +1,877.3%—— +255.2%
10 years, per year +34.8%—— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureKLACONTOACMRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 61.4%72.0%87.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.4%72.7%92.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.793.133.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.420.700.29 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.7%-62.8%-83.9% -25.4%
From 52-week high -51.7%-47.6%-60.2% -2.5%
52-week high $301.71$378.45$126.89 $779.14
52-week low $109.71$124.09$29.67 $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.

MultipleKLACONTOACMR
P/E now vs peer median 39.5xmedian 41.5x 74.0xmedian 41.5x 22.8xmedian 41.5x
P/S now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 6.9x 8.7xmedian 6.9x 3.1xmedian 6.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 32.1xmedian 27.3x 35.9xmedian 27.3x 15.9xmedian 27.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 50.5xmedian 35.6x 38.5xmedian 35.6x -27.5xmedian 35.6x
P/B now vs peer median 30.0xmedian 4.2x 5.1xmedian 4.2x 1.4xmedian 4.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.66median 2.31 -8.40median 2.31 0.84median 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 monthsKLACONTOACMR
Revenue $13.58B $1.12B $1.04B
Gross profit $8.32B $564.06M $454.91M
Operating income $5.66B $134.61M $137.88M
Net income $4.83B $132.61M $209.10M
Free cash flow $3.77B $252.47M -$118.74M
R&D $1.53B $142.63M $162.47M
EPS (diluted) $3.66 $2.67 $2.09
Cash & equivalents $1.65B $1.25B $969.23M
Total debt $5.89B – $340.91M
Shares (diluted) 1.32B 49.68M 71.84M
Enterprise value $187.80B $5.88B -$411.95M

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
MetricKLACONTOACMR
P/E 39.5x 74.0x 22.8x
P/FCF 50.5x 38.5x -27.5x
P/Operating cash flow 45.9x 36.6x -495.1x
P/S 14.0x 8.7x 3.1x
P/B 30.0x 5.1x 1.4x
P/Tangible book 31.2x 5.8x 1.4x
EV/EBITDA 32.1x 35.9x 15.9x
EV/EBIT 34.4x 58.3x 18.4x
EV/Revenue 14.3x 7.0x 2.4x
EV/FCF 51.6x 31.1x -21.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 47.0x 29.5x -384.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.66 -8.40 0.84

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKLACONTOACMR
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.7% 8.1% 27.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 7.7% 31.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.4% 5.6% 13.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.9% 5.4% 25.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.9% -29.5% -5.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.3% -8.3% 16.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.9% -33.7% 50.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.6% -8.6% 35.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 20.5% -34.5% 25.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.9% -8.8% 27.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.5% -2.5% -110.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 17.7% 30.9%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 0.5% 5.9% -717.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 22.0% 2.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKLACONTOACMR
Gross margin 61.3% 50.4% 43.8%
EBITDA margin 44.6% 19.5% 15.4%
Operating margin 41.7% 12.0% 13.3%
Pretax margin 41.3% 14.1% 22.7%
Net margin 35.6% 11.8% 14.5%
FCF margin 27.7% 22.5% -11.4%
Operating cash flow margin 30.5% 23.8% -0.6%
Return on equity 79.3% 6.5% 9.3%
Return on assets 27.7% 4.4% 6.5%
Return on invested capital 40.7% – 4.7%
Return on capital employed 43.2% 4.8% 5.6%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.4x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 2.0x 0.0x
Stock comp / revenue 2.3% 2.8% 2.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKLACONTOACMR
Debt / assets 32.8% – 10.0%
Debt / equity 0.9x – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x – -4.6x
Debt / FCF 1.6x – -2.9x
Liabilities / assets 64.6% 48.0% 29.2%
Equity / assets 35.4% 52.0% 70.8%
Interest coverage 19.9x – 18.1x
Current ratio 2.9x 9.7x 3.7x
Quick ratio 1.1x 8.2x 2.1x
Cash ratio 0.4x 6.9x 1.4x
Altman Z-score 12.47 4.80 3.34

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKLACONTOACMR
Dividend yield 0.6% – –
Net buyback yield 1.1% 2.0% -24.9%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 2.0% -24.9%
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.

ConsensusKLACONTOACMR
Forward P/E 25.7xFY2027 23.6xFY2026 22.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.67FY2027 $8.42FY2026 $2.28FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +50.8%FY2027 +70.4%FY2026 +41.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.8% +43.5% +44.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $19.18BFY2027 $1.37BFY2026 $1.15BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +41.2%FY2027 +35.5%FY2026 +27.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.6% +41.1% +38.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKLACONTOACMR
Held by institutions 91.0% 98.3% 75.0%
Institutions holding 2,478 688 375
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.2% +2.3% +9.2%
Institutions buying 1,285 376 246
Institutions selling 982 232 90
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.62 2.73

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.

KLACONTOACMR
KLAC 1.00 0.82 0.63
ONTO 0.82 1.00 0.67
ACMR 0.63 0.67 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KLAC, ONTO and ACMR?

Kla (KLAC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kla (KLAC) $195.64B, Onto Innovation (ONTO) $10.04B, ACM Research (ACMR) $3.46B.

Which stock is cheaper, KLAC, ONTO and ACMR?

ACM Research (ACMR) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kla (KLAC) 40.5x, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 75.7x, ACM Research (ACMR) 23.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, ACM Research (ACMR) is cheapest (Kla (KLAC) 25.7x, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 23.6x, ACM Research (ACMR) 22.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

ACM Research (ACMR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kla (KLAC) +11.7%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) +8.1%, ACM Research (ACMR) +27.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest net margin (Kla (KLAC) 35.6%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 11.8%, ACM Research (ACMR) 14.5%). On return on invested capital, Kla (KLAC) leads (Kla (KLAC) 40.7%, ACM Research (ACMR) 4.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Onto Innovation (ONTO) returned the most: Kla (KLAC) +25.6%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) +50.4%, ACM Research (ACMR) +25.6%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Kla (KLAC) +33.6%/yr, Onto Innovation (ONTO) +21.7%/yr, ACM Research (ACMR) +7.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Kla (KLAC) 0.01%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 0.00%, ACM Research (ACMR) 0.00%. Onto Innovation (ONTO) and ACM Research (ACMR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kla (KLAC) has been the steadiest (Kla (KLAC) 61.4%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 72.0%, ACM Research (ACMR) 87.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KLAC, ONTO and ACMR?

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 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.