KLAC vs ONTO vs AMAT Stock Comparison

Kla, Onto Innovation and Applied Materials 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
4 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
AMAT Applied Materials Inc /De
$377.24 -20.5% 1M +65.1% 1Y
Market cap
$307.82B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$30.84B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

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

QuestionKLACONTOAMATLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $195.64B $10.04B $307.82B AMAT
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 40.5x 75.7x 33.2x AMAT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.7x 23.6x 27.9x ONTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.7% +8.1% +7.8% KLAC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 35.6% 11.8% 30.1% KLAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 40.7% — 25.3% KLAC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x — -0.3x AMAT
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +25.6% +50.4% +65.1% AMAT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +33.6%/yr +21.7%/yr +22.7%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 61.4% 72.0% 60.4% AMAT
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 60/100 60/100 ONTO

Percentile Scorecard

KLACONTOAMAT

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

AxisKLACONTOAMAT
Valuation 38 #59 of 95 60 #39 of 95 55 #43 of 95
Growth 54 #43 of 93 33 #63 of 93 49 #48 of 93
Profitability 97 #4 of 91 58 #39 of 91 89 #11 of 91
Financial Health 21 #81 of 102 57 #44 of 102 52 #50 of 102
Shareholder Returns 84 #13 of 76 93 #6 of 76 53 #36 of 76
Overall 59 60 60
  • KLAC ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • ONTO ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • AMAT ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKLACONTOAMATSPY
1 month -22.5%-29.7%-20.5% -1.0%
3 months -30.8%-27.1%-29.7% +2.9%
6 months -24.7%-35.5%-9.5% +6.4%
Year to date +19.8%+25.7%+46.8% +11.4%
1 year +25.6%+50.4%+65.1% +13.1%
3 years +209.6%+69.1%+179.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year +45.8%+19.2%+40.9% +21.5%
5 years +324.5%+167.0%+177.5% +67.7%
5 years, per year +33.6%+21.7%+22.7% +10.9%
10 years +1,877.3%—+1,226.9% +255.2%
10 years, per year +34.8%—+29.5% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureKLACONTOAMATSPY
Volatility, 1Y 61.4%72.0%60.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.4%72.7%62.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.793.132.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.420.701.08 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.7%-62.8%-55.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -51.7%-47.6%-47.8% -2.5%
52-week high $301.71$378.45$723.00 $779.14
52-week low $109.71$124.09$220.23 $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.

MultipleKLACONTOAMAT
P/E now vs peer median 39.5xmedian 41.5x 74.0xmedian 41.5x 32.3xmedian 41.5x
P/S now vs peer median 14.0xmedian 6.9x 8.7xmedian 6.9x 9.7xmedian 6.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 32.1xmedian 27.3x 35.9xmedian 27.3x 30.7xmedian 27.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 50.5xmedian 35.6x 38.5xmedian 35.6x 53.2xmedian 35.6x
P/B now vs peer median 30.0xmedian 4.2x 5.1xmedian 4.2x 11.7xmedian 4.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.66median 2.31 -8.40median 2.31 2.17median 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 monthsKLACONTOAMAT
Revenue $13.58B $1.12B $30.84B
Gross profit $8.32B $564.06M $15.23B
Operating income $5.66B $134.61M $9.14B
Net income $4.83B $132.61M $9.27B
Free cash flow $3.77B $252.47M $5.62B
R&D $1.53B $142.63M $3.97B
EPS (diluted) $3.66 $2.67 $11.58
Cash & equivalents $1.65B $1.25B $7.04B
Total debt $5.89B – $26.11B
Shares (diluted) 1.32B 49.68M 800.00M
Enterprise value $187.80B $5.88B $273.26B

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
MetricKLACONTOAMAT
P/E 39.5x 74.0x 32.3x
P/FCF 50.5x 38.5x 53.2x
P/Operating cash flow 45.9x 36.6x 35.7x
P/S 14.0x 8.7x 9.7x
P/B 30.0x 5.1x 11.7x
P/Tangible book 31.2x 5.8x 11.8x
EV/EBITDA 32.1x 35.9x 30.7x
EV/EBIT 34.4x 58.3x 32.5x
EV/Revenue 14.3x 7.0x 9.6x
EV/FCF 51.6x 31.1x 52.8x
EV/Operating cash flow 47.0x 29.5x 35.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.66 -8.40 2.17

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKLACONTOAMAT
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.7% 8.1% 7.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 7.7% 5.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.4% 5.6% 9.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.9% 5.4% 7.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.9% -29.5% 6.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.3% -8.3% 6.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.9% -33.7% 35.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.6% -8.6% 12.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 20.5% -34.5% 36.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.9% -8.8% 14.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.5% -2.5% 9.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.1% 17.7% 1.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 0.5% 5.9% -3.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 22.0% -7.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKLACONTOAMAT
Gross margin 61.3% 50.4% 49.4%
EBITDA margin 44.6% 19.5% 31.4%
Operating margin 41.7% 12.0% 29.6%
Pretax margin 41.3% 14.1% 34.8%
Net margin 35.6% 11.8% 30.1%
FCF margin 27.7% 22.5% 18.2%
Operating cash flow margin 30.5% 23.8% 27.2%
Return on equity 79.3% 6.5% 37.4%
Return on assets 27.7% 4.4% 22.1%
Return on invested capital 40.7% – 25.3%
Return on capital employed 43.2% 4.8% 29.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.4x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 2.0x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 2.3% 2.8% 2.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKLACONTOAMAT
Debt / assets 32.8% – 15.0%
Debt / equity 0.9x – 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x – -0.3x
Debt / FCF 1.6x – 1.2x
Liabilities / assets 64.6% 48.0% 41.1%
Equity / assets 35.4% 52.0% 58.9%
Interest coverage 19.9x – 33.0x
Current ratio 2.9x 9.7x 2.4x
Quick ratio 1.1x 8.2x 1.6x
Cash ratio 0.4x 6.9x 0.9x
Altman Z-score 12.47 4.80 13.82

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKLACONTOAMAT
Dividend yield 0.6% – 0.5%
Net buyback yield 1.1% 2.0% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 2.0% 1.2%
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.

ConsensusKLACONTOAMAT
Forward P/E 25.7xFY2027 23.6xFY2026 27.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.67FY2027 $8.42FY2026 $13.51FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +50.8%FY2027 +70.4%FY2026 +43.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.8% +43.5% +32.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $19.18BFY2027 $1.37BFY2026 $32.74BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +41.2%FY2027 +35.5%FY2026 +15.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.6% +41.1% +38.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKLACONTOAMAT
Held by institutions 91.0% 98.3% 83.6%
Institutions holding 2,478 688 3,504
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.2% +2.3% +6.0%
Institutions buying 1,285 376 1,789
Institutions selling 982 232 1,348
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.62 1.33

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.

KLACONTOAMAT
KLAC 1.00 0.82 0.88
ONTO 0.82 1.00 0.85
AMAT 0.88 0.85 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KLAC, ONTO and AMAT?

Applied Materials (AMAT) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kla (KLAC) $195.64B, Onto Innovation (ONTO) $10.04B, Applied Materials (AMAT) $307.82B.

Which stock is cheaper, KLAC, ONTO and AMAT?

Applied Materials (AMAT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kla (KLAC) 40.5x, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 75.7x, Applied Materials (AMAT) 33.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Onto Innovation (ONTO) is cheapest (Kla (KLAC) 25.7x, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 23.6x, Applied Materials (AMAT) 27.9x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kla (KLAC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kla (KLAC) +11.7%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) +8.1%, Applied Materials (AMAT) +7.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest net margin (Kla (KLAC) 35.6%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 11.8%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 30.1%). On return on invested capital, Kla (KLAC) leads (Kla (KLAC) 40.7%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 25.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Applied Materials (AMAT) returned the most: Kla (KLAC) +25.6%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) +50.4%, Applied Materials (AMAT) +65.1%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Kla (KLAC) +33.6%/yr, Onto Innovation (ONTO) +21.7%/yr, Applied Materials (AMAT) +22.7%/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%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 0.00%. Onto Innovation (ONTO) and Applied Materials (AMAT) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Applied Materials (AMAT) has been the steadiest (Kla (KLAC) 61.4%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 72.0%, Applied Materials (AMAT) 60.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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