MKSI vs NVMI vs KLAC Stock Comparison

Mks, Nova and Kla Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
5 wins
NVMI Nova Ltd.
$334.59 -13.1% 1M -4.8% 1Y
Market cap
$10.63B
P/E
37.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$937.50M
Div. yield
–
Semiconductor Equipment Technology
1 win
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

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Kla leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Kla 6, Mks 5, Nova 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMKSINVMIKLACLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.61B $10.63B $218.15B KLAC
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.2x 37.3x 41.6x MKSI
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 16.0x 29.6x 29.5x MKSI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +16.3% +16.2% +15.8% MKSI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 10.1% 28.8% 36.2% KLAC
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 8.9% — 43.4% KLAC
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x — 0.6x KLAC
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.45% — 0.28% MKSI
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +52.9% -4.8% +35.5% MKSI
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +7.6%/yr +25.3%/yr +35.1%/yr KLAC
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 61.8% 59.4% 61.7% NVMI
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 53/100 59/100 KLAC

Percentile Scorecard

MKSINVMIKLAC

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

AxisMKSINVMIKLAC
Valuation 76 #23 of 94 56 #42 of 94 39 #58 of 94
Growth 73 #26 of 92 67 #31 of 92 56 #41 of 92
Profitability 62 #34 of 88 75 #23 of 88 95 #5 of 88
Financial Health 1 #95 of 96 15 #82 of 96 20 #77 of 96
Shareholder Returns 63 #27 of 72 – 83 #13 of 72
Overall 55 53 59
  • MKSI ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • NVMI ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors
  • KLAC ranked among 103 companies in Semiconductors

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMKSINVMIKLACSPY
1 month -18.7%-13.1%-14.8% +0.7%
3 months -26.3%-15.1%-7.2% +3.7%
6 months -23.8%-33.1%-4.3% +7.1%
Year to date +35.3%+1.9%+37.8% +12.8%
1 year +52.9%-4.8%+35.5% +11.9%
3 years +230.9%+259.8%+264.3% +85.2%
3 years, per year +49.1%+53.3%+53.9% +22.8%
5 years +44.1%+208.0%+349.2% +67.6%
5 years, per year +7.6%+25.3%+35.1% +10.9%
10 years +335.4%+2,667.5%+2,142.6% +262.0%
10 years, per year +15.9%+39.4%+36.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMKSINVMIKLACSPY
Volatility, 1Y 61.8%59.4%61.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 65.8%67.6%65.7% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.822.902.79 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.86-0.080.58 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -67.5%-52.8%-51.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -51.4%-44.8%-44.5% -1.2%
52-week high $444.80$605.65$301.71 $779.14
52-week low $137.20$275.78$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.

MultipleMKSINVMIKLAC
P/E now vs peer median 33.2xmedian 46.4x 37.3xmedian 46.4x 41.6xmedian 46.4x
P/S now vs peer median 3.4xmedian 7.8x 11.3xmedian 7.8x 15.0xmedian 7.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.2xmedian 27.5x 34.5xmedian 27.5x 33.8xmedian 27.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.1xmedian 40.1x 43.4xmedian 40.1x 54.0xmedian 40.1x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 4.7x 7.3xmedian 4.7x 33.4xmedian 4.7x
PEG now vs peer median 1.08median 2.10 1.51median 2.10 1.98median 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 monthsMKSINVMIKLAC
Revenue $4.35B $937.50M $14.51B
Gross profit $2.04B $535.50M $8.92B
Operating income $681.00M $271.61M $6.19B
Net income $439.00M $270.51M $5.26B
Free cash flow $455.00M $244.83M $4.04B
R&D $310.00M $151.05M $1.57B
EPS (diluted) $6.05 $8.24 $4.01
Cash & equivalents $611.00M $124.85M $1.53B
Total debt $3.94B – $5.72B
Shares (diluted) 72.70M 32.80M 1.31B
Enterprise value $12.06B $7.80B $210.73B

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
MetricMKSINVMIKLAC
P/E 33.2x 37.3x 41.6x
P/FCF 32.1x 43.4x 54.0x
P/Operating cash flow 23.0x 47.0x 48.3x
P/S 3.4x 11.3x 15.0x
P/B 4.9x 7.3x 33.4x
P/Tangible book 15.0x 7.5x 34.6x
EV/EBITDA 17.2x 34.5x 33.8x
EV/EBIT 26.4x 36.9x 35.9x
EV/Revenue 4.1x 10.7x 15.3x
EV/FCF 39.4x 40.9x 55.1x
EV/Operating cash flow 28.3x 44.2x 49.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.08 1.51 1.98

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMKSINVMIKLAC
Revenue growth (1Y) 16.3% 16.2% 15.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 19.5% 12.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 15.4% 16.2% 16.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 20.0% 13.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 33.5% 16.3% 18.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 35.4% 24.6% 17.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 64.4% 15.2% 24.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 31.0% 25.8% 19.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 52.8% 12.8% 25.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 30.7% 24.6% 21.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -1.6% -1.4% 6.2%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.7% 20.7% 8.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -13.3% -3.4% 4.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 22.9% 18.2% 7.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMKSINVMIKLAC
Gross margin 47.0% 57.1% 61.5%
EBITDA margin 24.0% 31.0% 45.4%
Operating margin 15.7% 29.0% 42.6%
Pretax margin 11.2% 34.1% 42.2%
Net margin 10.1% 28.8% 36.2%
FCF margin 10.5% 26.1% 27.8%
Operating cash flow margin 14.6% 24.1% 31.1%
Return on equity 15.2% 19.0% 81.7%
Return on assets 5.0% 11.0% 28.9%
Return on invested capital 8.9% – 43.4%
Return on capital employed 10.6% 17.9% 45.4%
Asset turnover 0.5x 0.4x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 0.8x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 2.8% 2.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMKSINVMIKLAC
Debt / assets 44.1% – 31.1%
Debt / equity 1.3x – 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x – 0.6x
Debt / FCF 8.7x – 1.4x
Liabilities / assets 66.6% 41.1% 64.6%
Equity / assets 33.4% 58.9% 35.4%
Interest coverage 3.7x – 22.0x
Current ratio 1.1x 1.6x 2.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.9x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.7x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.40 – 13.74

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMKSINVMIKLAC
Dividend yield 0.4% – 0.3%
Net buyback yield – – 1.2%
Shareholder yield 0.4% – 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 14.4% – 21.1%
Payout ratio (FCF) 13.8% – 27.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) 6.8% – 15.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 3.4% – 15.2%

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.

ConsensusMKSINVMIKLAC
Forward P/E 16.0xFY2026 29.6xFY2026 29.5xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $13.48FY2026 $11.30FY2026 $5.67FY2027
EPS growth, next FY +71.1%FY2026 +31.1%FY2026 +50.8%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after +34.9% +17.2% +16.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.43BFY2026 $1.15BFY2026 $19.18BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +38.1%FY2026 +30.3%FY2026 +41.2%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +8.0% +23.9% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMKSINVMIKLAC
Held by institutions 100.0% 69.0% 91.0%
Institutions holding 776 343 2,479
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.8% -4.1% +4.2%
Institutions buying 455 175 1,285
Institutions selling 253 129 983
Buyers to sellers 1.80 1.36 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.

MKSINVMIKLAC
MKSI 1.00 0.77 0.79
NVMI 0.77 1.00 0.84
KLAC 0.79 0.84 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MKSI, NVMI and KLAC?

Kla (KLAC) is the largest by market capitalisation: Mks (MKSI) $14.61B, Nova (NVMI) $10.63B, Kla (KLAC) $218.15B.

Which stock is cheaper, MKSI, NVMI and KLAC?

Mks (MKSI) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Mks (MKSI) 33.2x, Nova (NVMI) 37.3x, Kla (KLAC) 41.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Mks (MKSI) is cheapest (Mks (MKSI) 16.0x, Nova (NVMI) 29.6x, Kla (KLAC) 29.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Mks (MKSI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Mks (MKSI) +16.3%, Nova (NVMI) +16.2%, Kla (KLAC) +15.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kla (KLAC) has the highest net margin (Mks (MKSI) 10.1%, Nova (NVMI) 28.8%, Kla (KLAC) 36.2%). On return on invested capital, Kla (KLAC) leads (Mks (MKSI) 8.9%, Kla (KLAC) 43.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Mks (MKSI) returned the most: Mks (MKSI) +52.9%, Nova (NVMI) -4.8%, Kla (KLAC) +35.5%. Over five years, Kla (KLAC) compounded fastest (Mks (MKSI) +7.6%/yr, Nova (NVMI) +25.3%/yr, Kla (KLAC) +35.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Mks (MKSI) has the highest dividend yield: Mks (MKSI) 0.45%, Kla (KLAC) 0.28%. Nova (NVMI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Nova (NVMI) has been the steadiest (Mks (MKSI) 61.8%, Nova (NVMI) 59.4%, Kla (KLAC) 61.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, MKSI, NVMI 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, 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.