KLAC vs ONTO vs VECO Stock Comparison

Kla, Onto Innovation 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
$207.51B
P/E
41.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.06B
Div. yield
0.29%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
5 wins
ONTO Onto Innovation Inc.
$223.75 -22.5% 1M +71.2% 1Y
Market cap
$10.97B
P/E
83.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.12B
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
4 wins
VECO Veeco Instruments Inc
$43.84 -10.7% 1M +51.3% 1Y
Market cap
$2.68B
P/E
115.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$682.72M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionKLACONTOVECOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $207.51B $10.97B $2.68B KLAC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.5x 83.4x 115.2x KLAC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 28.0x 26.6x 30.0x ONTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +12.2% +8.1% -2.5% KLAC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 11.8% 3.4% ONTO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 1.6% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -5.2x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.29% — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.6% +71.2% +51.3% ONTO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +33.6%/yr +23.1%/yr +12.5%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 61.5% 72.3% 70.8% KLAC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 59/100 40/100 ONTO

Percentile Scorecard

KLACONTOVECO

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

AxisKLACONTOVECO
Valuation 36 #61 of 94 58 #40 of 94 72 #27 of 94
Growth 54 #43 of 92 31 #64 of 92 17 #77 of 92
Profitability 92 #8 of 90 60 #37 of 90 36 #58 of 90
Financial Health 5 #94 of 99 55 #45 of 99 49 #51 of 99
Shareholder Returns 29 #52 of 73 93 #6 of 73 26 #54 of 73
Overall 43 59 40
  • KLAC ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • ONTO 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

PeriodKLACONTOVECOSPY
1 month -16.1%-22.5%-10.7% +0.9%
3 months -6.7%+2.4%+2.0% +5.9%
6 months -12.6%-21.3%-8.4% +8.5%
Year to date +30.7%+41.7%+53.4% +13.3%
1 year +31.6%+71.2%+51.3% +12.4%
3 years +246.7%+94.8%+81.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year +51.4%+24.9%+22.0% +23.5%
5 years +325.9%+182.5%+80.5% +68.2%
5 years, per year +33.6%+23.1%+12.5% +11.0%
10 years +2,026.6%—+99.7% +263.4%
10 years, per year +35.8%—+7.2% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureKLACONTOVECOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 61.5%72.3%70.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.7%73.2%70.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.803.182.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.510.990.73 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.7%-62.8%-64.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -47.4%-40.9%-47.2% -0.9%
52-week high $301.71$378.45$83.04 $779.14
52-week low $109.71$124.09$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.

MultipleKLACONTOVECO
P/E now vs peer median 41.5xmedian 46.0x 83.4xmedian 46.0x 115.2xmedian 46.0x
P/S now vs peer median 14.8xmedian 7.9x 9.8xmedian 7.9x 3.9xmedian 7.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 28.3x 41.6xmedian 28.3x 63.0xmedian 28.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 68.2xmedian 41.4x 43.5xmedian 41.4x 31.5xmedian 41.4x
P/B now vs peer median 31.8xmedian 4.6x 5.7xmedian 4.6x 3.0xmedian 4.6x
PEG now vs peer median 2.20median 2.30 -9.47median 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 monthsKLACONTOVECO
Revenue $14.06B $1.12B $682.72M
Gross profit – $564.06M $258.88M
Operating income – $134.61M $18.38M
Net income $5.02B $132.61M $23.24M
Free cash flow – $252.47M $85.17M
R&D $1.53B $142.63M $122.79M
EPS (diluted) $3.80 $2.67 $0.35
Cash & equivalents $1.53B $1.25B $214.46M
Total debt – – $904.53M
Shares (diluted) 1.32B 49.68M 66.78M
Enterprise value $207.51B $6.81B $1.11B

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
MetricKLACONTOVECO
P/E 41.5x 83.4x 115.2x
P/FCF 68.2x 43.5x 31.5x
P/Operating cash flow 43.5x 41.2x 26.8x
P/S 14.8x 9.8x 3.9x
P/B 31.8x 5.7x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 32.9x 6.6x 3.0x
EV/EBITDA – 41.6x 63.0x
EV/EBIT – 67.5x 134.7x
EV/Revenue 14.8x 8.1x 3.6x
EV/FCF – 36.0x 29.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 43.5x 34.1x 24.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.20 -9.47 -3.28

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKLACONTOVECO
Revenue growth (1Y) 12.2% 8.1% -2.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 11.4% 7.7% 2.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 5.6% -10.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 5.4% -0.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) – -29.5% -66.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -8.3% -30.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.4% -33.7% -61.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 17.4% -8.6% -29.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 18.8% -34.5% -65.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 18.9% -8.8% -35.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 12.2% -2.5% 33.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.4% 17.7% -1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 5.9% 53.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 22.0% -0.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKLACONTOVECO
Gross margin – 50.4% 37.9%
EBITDA margin – 19.5% 5.8%
Operating margin – 12.0% 2.7%
Pretax margin – 14.1% 3.4%
Net margin – 11.8% 3.4%
FCF margin – 22.5% 12.5%
Operating cash flow margin 33.9% 23.8% 14.6%
Return on equity 77.9% 6.5% 2.6%
Return on assets 27.6% 4.4% 1.7%
Return on invested capital – – 1.6%
Return on capital employed – 4.8% 1.6%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 2.0x 4.3x
Stock comp / revenue 2.2% 2.8% 5.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKLACONTOVECO
Debt / assets – – 16.0%
Debt / equity – – 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -5.2x
Debt / FCF – – 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 64.6% 48.0% 36.2%
Equity / assets 35.4% 52.0% 63.8%
Interest coverage – – 2.1x
Current ratio 2.8x 9.7x 3.9x
Quick ratio – 8.2x 2.5x
Cash ratio – 6.9x 1.8x
Altman Z-score – 5.21 3.85

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKLACONTOVECO
Dividend yield 0.3% – –
Net buyback yield – 1.7% -0.1%
Shareholder yield 0.3% 1.7% -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.

ConsensusKLACONTOVECO
Forward P/E 28.0xFY2027 26.6xFY2026 30.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.67FY2027 $8.42FY2026 $1.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +50.8%FY2027 +70.4%FY2026 +9.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.6% +43.5% +108.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $19.18BFY2027 $1.37BFY2026 $753.17MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +41.2%FY2027 +35.5%FY2026 +13.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.6% +41.1% +52.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKLACONTOVECO
Held by institutions 91.0% 98.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 2,478 688 327
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.2% +2.3% +3.5%
Institutions buying 1,285 376 207
Institutions selling 982 232 86
Buyers to sellers 1.31 1.62 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.

KLACONTOVECO
KLAC 1.00 0.82 0.65
ONTO 0.82 1.00 0.67
VECO 0.65 0.67 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KLAC, ONTO and VECO?

Kla (KLAC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kla (KLAC) $207.51B, Onto Innovation (ONTO) $10.97B, Veeco Instruments (VECO) $2.68B.

Which stock is cheaper, KLAC, ONTO and VECO?

Kla (KLAC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kla (KLAC) 41.5x, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 83.4x, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 115.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Onto Innovation (ONTO) is cheapest (Kla (KLAC) 28.0x, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 26.6x, 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?

Kla (KLAC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kla (KLAC) +12.2%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) +8.1%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) -2.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Onto Innovation (ONTO) has the highest net margin (Onto Innovation (ONTO) 11.8%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 3.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Onto Innovation (ONTO) returned the most: Kla (KLAC) +31.6%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) +71.2%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) +51.3%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Kla (KLAC) +33.6%/yr, Onto Innovation (ONTO) +23.1%/yr, Veeco Instruments (VECO) +12.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Kla (KLAC) 0.29%. Onto Innovation (ONTO) and Veeco Instruments (VECO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kla (KLAC) has been the steadiest (Kla (KLAC) 61.5%, Onto Innovation (ONTO) 72.3%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 70.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KLAC, ONTO 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, 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.