KLAC vs VECO Stock Comparison

Kla and Veeco Instruments Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KLAC Kla Corp
$149.21 -20.6% 1M +26.1% 1Y
Market cap
$200.01B
P/E
41.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.58B
Div. yield
0.01%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
9 wins
VECO Veeco Instruments Inc
$42.54 -14.4% 1M +45.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.71B
P/E
116.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$682.72M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Kla leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Kla 9, Veeco Instruments 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKLACVECOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $200.01B $2.71B KLAC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.4x 116.6x KLAC
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 26.3x 29.1x KLAC
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.7% -2.5% KLAC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 35.6% 3.4% KLAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 40.7% 1.6% KLAC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.7x -5.2x VECO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +26.1% +45.1% VECO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +34.4%/yr +13.1%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 61.5% 70.8% KLAC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 40/100 KLAC

Percentile Scorecard

KLACVECO

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

AxisKLACVECO
Valuation 38 #59 of 95 71 #28 of 95
Growth 54 #43 of 93 16 #78 of 93
Profitability 97 #4 of 91 37 #58 of 91
Financial Health 22 #79 of 101 49 #52 of 101
Shareholder Returns 85 #12 of 75 28 #54 of 75
Overall 59 40
  • KLAC ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors
  • VECO ranked among 104 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKLACVECOSPY
1 month -20.6%-14.4% -0.8%
3 months -26.6%-12.3% +3.5%
6 months -21.5%-14.5% +7.0%
Year to date +22.8%+48.8% +12.2%
1 year +26.1%+45.1% +13.0%
3 years +225.8%+76.1% +86.3%
3 years, per year +48.3%+20.8% +23.1%
5 years +338.1%+84.6% +68.6%
5 years, per year +34.4%+13.1% +11.0%
10 years +1,881.8%+98.3% +258.0%
10 years, per year +34.8%+7.1% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureKLACVECOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 61.5%70.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.4%70.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.792.63 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.430.64 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.7%-64.2% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.5%-48.8% -1.8%
52-week high $301.71$83.04 $779.14
52-week low $109.71$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.

MultipleKLACVECO
P/E now vs peer median 40.5xmedian 42.1x 111.8xmedian 42.1x
P/S now vs peer median 14.4xmedian 7.1x 3.8xmedian 7.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 32.9xmedian 27.5x 61.0xmedian 27.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 51.8xmedian 37.2x 30.5xmedian 37.2x
P/B now vs peer median 30.7xmedian 4.2x 2.9xmedian 4.2x
PEG now vs peer median 2.73median 2.23 -3.18median 2.23

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 monthsKLACVECO
Revenue $13.58B $682.72M
Gross profit $8.32B $258.88M
Operating income $5.66B $18.38M
Net income $4.83B $23.24M
Free cash flow $3.77B $85.17M
R&D $1.53B $122.79M
EPS (diluted) $3.66 $0.35
Cash & equivalents $1.65B $214.46M
Total debt $5.89B $904.53M
Shares (diluted) 1.32B 66.78M
Enterprise value $192.17B $1.14B

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
MetricKLACVECO
P/E 40.5x 111.8x
P/FCF 51.8x 30.5x
P/Operating cash flow 47.1x 26.0x
P/S 14.4x 3.8x
P/B 30.7x 2.9x
P/Tangible book 32.0x 2.9x
EV/EBITDA 32.9x 61.0x
EV/EBIT 35.2x 130.4x
EV/Revenue 14.7x 3.5x
EV/FCF 52.9x 28.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 48.1x 24.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.73 -3.18

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKLACVECO
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.7% -2.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 9.0% 2.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.4% -10.9%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 9.9% -0.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.9% -66.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.3% -30.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 18.9% -61.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 12.6% -29.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 20.5% -65.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 14.9% -35.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 1.5% 33.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.1% -1.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 0.5% 53.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 4.2% -0.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKLACVECO
Gross margin 61.3% 37.9%
EBITDA margin 44.6% 5.8%
Operating margin 41.7% 2.7%
Pretax margin 41.3% 3.4%
Net margin 35.6% 3.4%
FCF margin 27.7% 12.5%
Operating cash flow margin 30.5% 14.6%
Return on equity 79.3% 2.6%
Return on assets 27.7% 1.7%
Return on invested capital 40.7% 1.6%
Return on capital employed 43.2% 1.6%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 4.3x
Stock comp / revenue 2.3% 5.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKLACVECO
Debt / assets 32.8% 16.0%
Debt / equity 0.9x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.7x -5.2x
Debt / FCF 1.6x 2.7x
Liabilities / assets 64.6% 36.2%
Equity / assets 35.4% 63.8%
Interest coverage 19.9x 2.1x
Current ratio 2.9x 3.9x
Quick ratio 1.1x 2.5x
Cash ratio 0.4x 1.8x
Altman Z-score 12.71 3.76

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusKLACVECO
Forward P/E 26.3xFY2027 29.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.67FY2027 $1.46FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +50.8%FY2027 +9.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +16.6% +108.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $19.18BFY2027 $753.17MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +41.2%FY2027 +13.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.6% +52.0%

Institutional Ownership

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

KLACVECO
KLAC 1.00 0.66
VECO 0.66 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KLAC and VECO?

Kla (KLAC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kla (KLAC) $200.01B, Veeco Instruments (VECO) $2.71B.

Which stock is cheaper, KLAC and VECO?

Kla (KLAC) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kla (KLAC) 41.4x, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 116.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kla (KLAC) is cheapest (Kla (KLAC) 26.3x, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 29.1x). 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%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) -2.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest net margin (Kla (KLAC) 35.6%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 3.4%). On return on invested capital, Kla (KLAC) leads (Kla (KLAC) 40.7%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 1.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Veeco Instruments (VECO) returned the most: Kla (KLAC) +26.1%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) +45.1%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Kla (KLAC) +34.4%/yr, Veeco Instruments (VECO) +13.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Kla (KLAC) 0.01%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 0.00%. 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%, Veeco Instruments (VECO) 70.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do KLAC and VECO move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.66, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, KLAC 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 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.