LRCX vs KLAC Stock Comparison

Lam Research and Kla Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LRCX Lam Research Corp
$237.50 -24.7% 1M +56.6% 1Y
Market cap
$296.67B
P/E
35.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$26.13B
Div. yield
0.47%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
8 wins
KLAC Kla Corp
$149.21 -20.6% 1M +26.1% 1Y
Market cap
$195.01B
P/E
40.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$13.58B
Div. yield
0.56%
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Lam Research leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Lam Research 8, Kla 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLRCXKLACLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $296.67B $195.01B LRCX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 35.2x 40.5x LRCX
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 23.8x 26.3x LRCX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +33.4% +11.7% LRCX
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 32.3% 35.6% KLAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 49.6% 40.7% LRCX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 0.7x LRCX
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.47% 0.56% KLAC
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +56.6% +26.1% LRCX
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +33.8%/yr +34.4%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 65.7% 61.5% KLAC
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 68/100 57/100 LRCX

Percentile Scorecard

LRCXKLAC

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

AxisLRCXKLAC
Valuation 61 #13 of 32 45 #18 of 32
Growth 86 #5 of 30 52 #15 of 30
Profitability 96 #2 of 28 100 #1 of 28
Financial Health 38 #24 of 38 24 #29 of 38
Shareholder Returns 59 #10 of 23 64 #9 of 23
Overall 68 57
  • LRCX ranked among 40 companies in Semiconductors
  • KLAC ranked among 40 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLRCXKLACSPY
1 month -24.7%-20.6% -0.8%
3 months -18.6%-26.6% +3.5%
6 months -8.5%-21.5% +7.0%
Year to date +38.7%+22.8% +12.2%
1 year +56.6%+26.1% +13.0%
3 years +306.7%+225.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +59.7%+48.3% +23.1%
5 years +329.0%+338.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +33.8%+34.4% +11.0%
10 years +2,325.9%+1,881.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +37.6%+34.8% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLRCXKLACSPY
Volatility, 1Y 65.7%61.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.0%65.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.252.79 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.860.43 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -56.8%-51.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -45.2%-50.5% -1.8%
52-week high $433.33$301.71 $779.14
52-week low $139.59$109.71 $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.

MultipleLRCXKLAC
P/E now vs peer median 35.2xmedian 42.4x 40.5xmedian 42.4x
P/S now vs peer median 11.4xmedian 9.8x 14.4xmedian 9.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 29.0xmedian 32.0x 32.9xmedian 32.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 45.4xmedian 32.1x 51.8xmedian 32.1x
P/B now vs peer median 21.3xmedian 4.0x 30.7xmedian 4.0x
PEG now vs peer median 1.13median 2.73 2.73median 2.73

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 monthsLRCXKLAC
Revenue $26.13B $13.58B
Gross profit $13.34B $8.32B
Operating income $9.65B $5.66B
Net income $8.45B $4.83B
Free cash flow $6.54B $3.77B
R&D $2.47B $1.53B
EPS (diluted) $6.73 $3.66
Cash & equivalents $7.44B $1.65B
Total debt $16.44B $5.89B
Shares (diluted) 1.26B 1.32B
Enterprise value $272.72B $187.18B

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
MetricLRCXKLAC
P/E 35.2x 40.5x
P/FCF 45.4x 51.8x
P/Operating cash flow 39.2x 47.1x
P/S 11.4x 14.4x
P/B 21.3x 30.7x
P/Tangible book 21.3x 32.0x
EV/EBITDA 29.0x 32.9x
EV/EBIT 30.3x 35.2x
EV/Revenue 11.2x 14.7x
EV/FCF 44.8x 52.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 38.7x 48.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.13 2.73

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLRCXKLAC
Revenue growth (1Y) 33.4% 11.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 18.2% 9.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 38.1% 12.4%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 23.4% 9.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 49.3% 12.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 29.0% 12.3%
Net income growth (1Y) 45.4% 18.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 28.6% 12.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 47.0% 20.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 31.1% 14.9%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 18.7% 1.5%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 15.3% 4.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 17.8% 0.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.2% 4.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLRCXKLAC
Gross margin 51.1% 61.3%
EBITDA margin 38.7% 44.6%
Operating margin 37.0% 41.7%
Pretax margin 37.2% 41.3%
Net margin 32.3% 35.6%
FCF margin 25.0% 27.7%
Operating cash flow margin 29.0% 30.5%
Return on equity 64.1% 79.3%
Return on assets 33.9% 27.7%
Return on invested capital 49.6% 40.7%
Return on capital employed 54.8% 43.2%
Asset turnover 1.0x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 2.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLRCXKLAC
Debt / assets 14.2% 32.8%
Debt / equity 0.3x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.4x 0.7x
Debt / FCF 0.6x 1.6x
Liabilities / assets 47.2% 64.6%
Equity / assets 52.8% 35.4%
Interest coverage – 19.9x
Current ratio 2.5x 2.9x
Quick ratio 1.8x 1.1x
Cash ratio 1.0x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 18.98 12.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLRCXKLAC
Dividend yield 0.5% 0.6%
Net buyback yield 1.3% 1.1%
Shareholder yield 1.7% 1.7%
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.

ConsensusLRCXKLAC
Forward P/E 23.8xFY2027 26.3xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $9.97FY2027 $5.67FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +71.3%FY2027 +50.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +12.8% +16.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $32.62BFY2027 $19.18BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +40.4%FY2027 +41.2%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +25.0% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLRCXKLAC
Held by institutions 85.6% 91.0%
Institutions holding 3,130 2,478
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.2% +4.2%
Institutions buying 1,695 1,285
Institutions selling 1,162 982
Buyers to sellers 1.46 1.31

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.

LRCXKLAC
LRCX 1.00 0.88
KLAC 0.88 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LRCX and KLAC?

Lam Research (LRCX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lam Research (LRCX) $296.67B, Kla (KLAC) $195.01B.

Which stock is cheaper, LRCX and KLAC?

Lam Research (LRCX) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lam Research (LRCX) 35.2x, Kla (KLAC) 40.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lam Research (LRCX) is cheapest (Lam Research (LRCX) 23.8x, Kla (KLAC) 26.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lam Research (LRCX) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Lam Research (LRCX) +33.4%, Kla (KLAC) +11.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest net margin (Lam Research (LRCX) 32.3%, Kla (KLAC) 35.6%). On return on invested capital, Lam Research (LRCX) leads (Lam Research (LRCX) 49.6%, Kla (KLAC) 40.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lam Research (LRCX) returned the most: Lam Research (LRCX) +56.6%, Kla (KLAC) +26.1%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Lam Research (LRCX) +33.8%/yr, Kla (KLAC) +34.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest dividend yield: Lam Research (LRCX) 0.47%, Kla (KLAC) 0.56%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Kla (KLAC) has been the steadiest (Lam Research (LRCX) 65.7%, Kla (KLAC) 61.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do LRCX and KLAC move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.88, a strong positive relationship. Holding both adds little diversification.

Which is the better stock, LRCX and KLAC?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Lam Research (LRCX) leads on 8. 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.