KLIC vs KLAC vs MKSI Stock Comparison

Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Kla and Mks Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
KLAC Kla Corp
$167.43 -14.8% 1M +35.5% 1Y
Market cap
$218.15B
P/E
41.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$14.51B
Div. yield
0.28%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
6 wins
MKSI Mks Inc
$216.17 -18.7% 1M +52.9% 1Y
Market cap
$14.61B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$4.35B
Div. yield
0.45%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Kla leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Kla 6, Kulicke & Soffa Industries 4, Mks 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionKLICKLACMKSILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $4.17B $218.15B $14.61B KLAC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 36.0x 41.6x 33.2x MKSI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.6x 29.5x 16.0x MKSI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +44.4% +15.8% +16.3% KLIC
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.2% 36.2% 10.1% KLAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 43.4% 8.9% KLAC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.6x 3.2x KLAC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.01% 0.28% 0.45% KLIC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +100.7% +35.5% +52.9% KLIC
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +6.9%/yr +35.1%/yr +7.6%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 58.7% 61.7% 61.8% KLIC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 56/100 59/100 55/100 KLAC

Percentile Scorecard

KLICKLACMKSI

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

AxisKLICKLACMKSI
Valuation 62 #36 of 94 39 #58 of 94 76 #23 of 94
Growth 66 #32 of 92 56 #41 of 92 73 #26 of 92
Profitability 55 #40 of 88 95 #5 of 88 62 #34 of 88
Financial Health 57 #42 of 96 20 #77 of 96 1 #95 of 96
Shareholder Returns 39 #44 of 72 83 #13 of 72 63 #27 of 72
Overall 56 59 55
  • KLIC ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • KLAC ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • MKSI ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKLICKLACMKSISPY
1 month -15.0%-14.8%-18.7% +0.7%
3 months -9.8%-7.2%-26.3% +3.7%
6 months -6.8%-4.3%-23.8% +7.1%
Year to date +74.9%+37.8%+35.3% +12.8%
1 year +100.7%+35.5%+52.9% +11.9%
3 years +86.5%+264.3%+230.9% +85.2%
3 years, per year +23.1%+53.9%+49.1% +22.8%
5 years +39.8%+349.2%+44.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year +6.9%+35.1%+7.6% +10.9%
10 years +501.8%+2,142.6%+335.4% +262.0%
10 years, per year +19.7%+36.5%+15.9% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKLICKLACMKSISPY
Volatility, 1Y 58.7%61.7%61.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 63.9%65.7%65.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.252.792.82 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.710.580.86 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -59.5%-51.7%-67.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -40.5%-44.5%-51.4% -1.2%
52-week high $133.81$301.71$444.80 $779.14
52-week low $35.29$109.71$137.20 $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.

MultipleKLICKLACMKSI
P/E now vs peer median 36.0xmedian 46.4x 41.6xmedian 46.4x 33.2xmedian 46.4x
P/S now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 7.8x 15.0xmedian 7.8x 3.4xmedian 7.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 25.8xmedian 27.5x 33.8xmedian 27.5x 17.2xmedian 27.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 101.4xmedian 40.1x 54.0xmedian 40.1x 32.1xmedian 40.1x
P/B now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 4.7x 33.4xmedian 4.7x 4.9xmedian 4.7x
PEG now vs peer median 4.46median 2.10 1.98median 2.10 1.08median 2.10

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 monthsKLICKLACMKSI
Revenue $950.21M $14.51B $4.35B
Gross profit $457.82M $8.92B $2.04B
Operating income $125.54M $6.19B $681.00M
Net income $115.74M $5.26B $439.00M
Free cash flow $41.13M $4.04B $455.00M
R&D $161.53M $1.57B $310.00M
EPS (diluted) $2.17 $4.01 $6.05
Cash & equivalents $368.57M $1.53B $611.00M
Total debt – $5.72B $3.94B
Shares (diluted) 53.43M 1.31B 72.70M
Enterprise value $2.17B $210.73B $12.06B

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
MetricKLICKLACMKSI
P/E 36.0x 41.6x 33.2x
P/FCF 101.4x 54.0x 32.1x
P/Operating cash flow 75.7x 48.3x 23.0x
P/S 4.4x 15.0x 3.4x
P/B 4.6x 33.4x 4.9x
P/Tangible book 4.6x 34.6x 15.0x
EV/EBITDA 25.8x 33.8x 17.2x
EV/EBIT 29.1x 35.9x 26.4x
EV/Revenue 3.8x 15.3x 4.1x
EV/FCF 88.8x 55.1x 39.4x
EV/Operating cash flow 66.3x 49.3x 28.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.46 1.98 1.08

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKLICKLACMKSI
Revenue growth (1Y) 44.4% 15.8% 16.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.8% 12.6% 4.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 61.0% 16.1% 15.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 13.8% 6.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 8,922% 18.2% 33.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 12.8% 17.8% 35.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 1,845% 24.1% 64.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 19.2% 31.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 1,818% 25.3% 52.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 21.0% 30.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -59.7% 6.2% -1.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -36.2% 8.4% 20.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -65.7% 4.1% -13.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -37.0% 7.9% 22.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKLICKLACMKSI
Gross margin 48.2% 61.5% 47.0%
EBITDA margin 14.9% 45.4% 24.0%
Operating margin 13.2% 42.6% 15.7%
Pretax margin 15.2% 42.2% 11.2%
Net margin 12.2% 36.2% 10.1%
FCF margin 4.3% 27.8% 10.5%
Operating cash flow margin 5.8% 31.1% 14.6%
Return on equity 13.1% 81.7% 15.2%
Return on assets 9.2% 28.9% 5.0%
Return on invested capital – 43.4% 8.9%
Return on capital employed 13.5% 45.4% 10.6%
Asset turnover 0.8x 0.8x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.5x 0.9x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 2.9% 2.2% 1.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKLICKLACMKSI
Debt / assets – 31.1% 44.1%
Debt / equity – 0.9x 1.3x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.6x 3.2x
Debt / FCF – 1.4x 8.7x
Liabilities / assets 30.9% 64.6% 66.6%
Equity / assets 69.1% 35.4% 33.4%
Interest coverage 836.9x 22.0x 3.7x
Current ratio 3.4x 2.8x 1.1x
Quick ratio 2.6x 1.0x 0.6x
Cash ratio 1.6x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 9.25 13.74 2.40

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKLICKLACMKSI
Dividend yield 1.0% 0.3% 0.4%
Net buyback yield 0.6% 1.2% –
Shareholder yield 1.6% 1.5% 0.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) 37.0% 21.1% 14.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) 104.2% 27.5% 13.8%
Dividend growth (1Y) -1.9% 15.7% 6.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 1.2% 15.2% 3.4%

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.

ConsensusKLICKLACMKSI
Forward P/E 19.6xFY2026 29.5xFY2027 16.0xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $4.07FY2026 $5.67FY2027 $13.48FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1,838.1%FY2026 +50.8%FY2027 +71.1%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +38.6% +16.6% +34.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.19BFY2026 $19.18BFY2027 $5.43BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +82.6%FY2026 +41.2%FY2027 +38.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +24.1% +8.6% +8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKLICKLACMKSI
Held by institutions 92.8% 91.0% 100.0%
Institutions holding 465 2,479 776
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.6% +4.2% +2.8%
Institutions buying 267 1,285 455
Institutions selling 151 983 253
Buyers to sellers 1.77 1.31 1.80

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.

KLICKLACMKSI
KLIC 1.00 0.66 0.74
KLAC 0.66 1.00 0.79
MKSI 0.74 0.79 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KLIC, KLAC and MKSI?

Kla (KLAC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) $4.17B, Kla (KLAC) $218.15B, Mks (MKSI) $14.61B.

Which stock is cheaper, KLIC, KLAC and MKSI?

Mks (MKSI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 36.0x, Kla (KLAC) 41.6x, Mks (MKSI) 33.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mks (MKSI) is cheapest (Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 19.6x, Kla (KLAC) 29.5x, Mks (MKSI) 16.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +44.4%, Kla (KLAC) +15.8%, Mks (MKSI) +16.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest net margin (Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 12.2%, Kla (KLAC) 36.2%, Mks (MKSI) 10.1%). On return on invested capital, Kla (KLAC) leads (Kla (KLAC) 43.4%, Mks (MKSI) 8.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) returned the most: Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +100.7%, Kla (KLAC) +35.5%, Mks (MKSI) +52.9%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) +6.9%/yr, Kla (KLAC) +35.1%/yr, Mks (MKSI) +7.6%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) has the highest dividend yield: Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 1.01%, Kla (KLAC) 0.28%, Mks (MKSI) 0.45%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) has been the steadiest (Kulicke & Soffa Industries (KLIC) 58.7%, Kla (KLAC) 61.7%, Mks (MKSI) 61.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KLIC, KLAC and MKSI?

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 6. 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.