Kla Corp (KLAC)

Price$187.11Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-25 12:03 UTC

AI: Overvalued

Price checkKLA is an excellent business, but the current price requires unusually strong growth for years.

KLA closed at $187.27 on August 19, 2026, the latest completed regular session before this research timestamp. Fiscal 2026 diluted earnings were $3.66 per split-adjusted share, putting the stock at about 51 times annual earnings. Free cash flow, meaning cash left after operating and capital spending, was about $3.77 billion; against a roughly $245 billion market value, that is about 65 times free cash flow. Even strong growth is already heavily priced in, so the shares look overvalued for a value investor.

Big pictureRevenue, profit, and cash generation are all rising, supported by increasingly complex chip manufacturing.

Fiscal 2026 revenue rose 11.7% to $13.58 billion, while net income climbed 18.9% to $4.83 billion. Operating cash flow increased modestly to $4.14 billion, and subtracting $376 million of capital spending leaves about $3.77 billion of free cash flow. The June quarter was stronger still: revenue rose 15.2% from a year earlier to $3.66 billion. Semiconductor equipment demand is cyclical, but KLA benefits when advanced chips require more inspection and measurement steps, making its process-control tools increasingly important as manufacturing complexity rises.

Business strengthKLA converts profits into substantial cash and returns most of it to shareholders without issuing many shares.

KLA’s balance sheet carries about $5.89 billion of debt, versus $1.65 billion of cash, although it also held $3.25 billion of marketable securities. Current assets of $12.38 billion comfortably exceeded $4.30 billion of current liabilities. Fiscal 2026 buybacks reached $2.29 billion and dividends $1.06 billion, together consuming about 89% of free cash flow. Adjusting for the June ten-for-one split, the underlying share count continued falling rather than expanding. Stock compensation was $310 million, meaningful but far below repurchases, so dilution is currently well controlled.

What could change the storyRapid artificial-intelligence spending could justify the premium, while slower equipment growth would make it difficult to defend.

The bull case is powerful: KLA guided the September quarter to about $4.0 billion of revenue and $1.14 of diluted earnings per share, and management expects momentum through 2027 as advanced logic, memory, and packaging require more process control. But at $187.27, even annualizing that quarterly earnings guidance gives about $4.56 per share and a valuation near 41 times earnings. Sustained earnings growth around 20% or better could eventually support that premium. A return toward normal semiconductor spending growth would leave considerable room for valuation compression.

AI: News

Record fiscal-year resultsKLA finished fiscal 2026 with record sales and stronger guidance as advanced chip demand continued expanding.

On July 28, 2026, KLA reported June-quarter revenue of $3.66 billion and diluted earnings of $1.04 per share, both near or above guidance, while full-year revenue reached $13.58 billion. It guided the September quarter to roughly $4.0 billion of revenue and $1.14 of earnings per share. The outlook reinforced expectations that artificial-intelligence infrastructure and advanced packaging will keep raising demand for KLA’s inspection tools. Subsequent stock weakness cannot reliably be attributed to this report alone.

Ten-for-one stock splitKLA split each share into ten, lowering the quoted price without changing the company’s underlying value.

KLA announced the split on May 7, 2026, and it became effective after trading on June 11, with split-adjusted trading beginning June 12. Each old share became ten shares, so historical per-share figures after the adjustment must be compared on the same basis. The split did not alter KLA’s market value or investor ownership percentages. It matters for valuation because fiscal 2026 earnings of $3.66 per share and today’s $187.27 price are both reported on the post-split basis.

Large buyback authorizationManagement approved another major buyback and raised the dividend, signaling confidence but increasing the importance of purchase price.

At its March 12, 2026 investor day, KLA authorized an additional $7 billion of share repurchases on top of $3.94 billion remaining under its prior authorization and raised its quarterly dividend 21%. The stock rose about 1.3% that day while the broader technology market weakened, although that timing does not prove sole causation. Repurchases can create value when shares are cheap, but buying aggressively around very high earnings and cash-flow multiples risks returning capital at unattractive prices.

Sharp August pullbackKLA shares fell sharply with other chip-equipment stocks as investors reconsidered exceptionally high growth expectations.

On August 19, 2026, KLA fell 3.86% to $187.27 after dropping 5.33% the previous day, leaving it about 39% below its June 30 high of $307.37. Other semiconductor-equipment shares also declined, indicating a broader sector repricing rather than a clearly identified KLA-specific shock. The move matters because it shows how sensitive the stock remains to expectations around artificial-intelligence investment. Even after the decline, KLA still trades at roughly 51 times fiscal 2026 earnings.

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Financial statements

	2026	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009
Revenue	$13.58B	$12.16B	$9.81B	$10.50B	$9.21B	$6.92B	$5.81B	$4.57B	$4.04B	$3.48B	$2.98B	$2.81B	$2.93B	$2.84B	$3.17B	$3.18B	$1.82B	$1.52B
Gross profit	$8.32B	$7.40B	$5.88B	$6.28B	$5.62B	$4.15B	$3.36B	$2.70B	$2.59B	$2.19B	$1.82B	$1.60B	$1.70B	$1.61B	$1.84B	$1.92B	$1.01B	$655.4M
Gross margin	61.30%	60.91%	59.97%	59.81%	61.00%	59.93%	57.81%	59.08%	64.18%	63.04%	61.02%	56.82%	57.91%	56.47%	58.07%	60.34%	55.20%	43.11%
Research & development	$1.53B	$1.36B	$1.28B	$1.30B	$1.11B	$928.5M	$863.9M	$711.0M	$608.5M	$526.7M	$481.3M	$530.6M	$539.5M	$487.8M	$452.9M	$386.2M	$329.6M	$371.5M
Operating expenses	$2.66B	$2.39B	$2.25B	$2.28B	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	$2.16B	$2.11B	$2.16B	$2.01B	$1.51B	$2.10B
Operating income	$5.66B	$5.01B	$3.64B	$3.99B	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	$772.1M	$729.7M	$1.02B	$1.16B	$314.2M	−$577.9M
Operating margin	41.69%	41.25%	37.05%	38.06%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	26.36%	25.67%	32.04%	36.54%	17.25%	−38.02%
EBITDA	$6.28B	$5.34B	$3.90B	$4.50B	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	$855.1M	$817.2M	$1.11B	$1.25B	$401.5M	−$442.1M
EBITDA margin	46.28%	43.93%	39.78%	42.89%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	29.19%	28.75%	34.95%	39.25%	22.05%	−29.08%
Net income	$4.83B	$4.06B	$2.76B	$3.39B	$3.32B	$2.08B	$1.22B	$1.18B	$802.3M	$926.1M	$704.4M	$366.2M	$582.8M	$543.1M	$756.0M	$794.5M	$212.3M	−$523.4M
Net profit margin	35.57%	33.41%	28.15%	32.27%	36.06%	30.04%	20.96%	25.73%	19.87%	26.61%	23.60%	13.01%	19.89%	19.11%	23.83%	25.02%	11.66%	−34.43%
Basic EPSper basic share	$3.68	$3.05	$2.04	$2.43	$2.21	$1.35	$0.78	$0.75	$0.51	$0.59	$0.45	$0.23	$0.35	$0.33	$0.45	$0.48	$0.12	-$0.31
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$3.66	$3.04	$2.03	$2.42	$2.19	$1.34	$0.77	$0.75	$0.51	$0.59	$0.45	$0.22	$0.35	$0.32	$0.44	$0.47	$0.12	-$0.31

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

9.66%of listed shares

BlackRock, Inc.126.2M shares · Jun 30, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of KLAC
Holder	% owned
BlackRock, Inc.	9.66%126.2M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	6.53%85.32M shares
STATE STREET CORP	4.81%62.89M shares
Capital World Investors	3.47%45.32M shares
Invesco Ltd.	3.43%44.85M shares
FMR LLC	3.29%43.01M shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	3.01%39.39M shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	2.79%36.49M shares
Capital International Investors	2.72%35.56M shares
PRIMECAP MANAGEMENT CO/CA/	1.57%20.54M shares
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC	1.54%20.07M shares
NORGES BANK	1.50%19.57M shares
PRICE T ROWE ASSOCIATES INC /MD/	1.34%17.58M shares
MORGAN STANLEY	1.31%17.11M shares
VAN ECK ASSOCIATES CORP	1.21%15.76M shares
NORTHERN TRUST CORP	1.17%15.35M shares
WELLINGTON MANAGEMENT GROUP LLP	1.13%14.82M shares
MASSACHUSETTS FINANCIAL SERVICES CO /MA/	1.12%14.67M shares
STATE FARM MUTUAL AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE CO	1.07%13.97M shares
BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/	1.02%13.37M shares

Percentages use 1.31B shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 30, 2026.

Gray completes the 100% scale. Reported positions may overlap; holders have different reporting dates.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys0$0.00 disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)35$129.23M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Jun 11, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	WALLACE RICHARD PPresident and CEO	SellCommon Stock	4.5K	$2.2K	$9.99M	71.4K
May 12, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	WALLACE RICHARD PPresident and CEO	SellCommon Stock	4.5K	$1.8K	$8.09M	75.9K
May 11, 2026Form 4	Kirloskar Virendra ASVP & Chief Accounting Officer	SellCommon Stock	297	$1.9K	$558.1K	2.0K
May 11, 2026Form 4	Hanley Jeneanne MichelleDirector	SellCommon Stock	550	$1.9K	$1.03M	3.6K
Dec 16, 2025Form 4 · 10b5-1	Higgins Bren D.EVP & Chief Financial Officer	SellCommon Stock	2.3K	$1.2K	$2.79M	32.2K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

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Kla Corp (KLAC)

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