KLA Corporation (KLAC)
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KLA builds the inspection and measurement technology without which no modern chip fab can run: a 60.9 percent gross margin, record revenue of $12.2 billion in fiscal year 2025, the sixteenth consecutive dividend increase. We read the annual and quarterly reports — and the other numbers are in there too: a third of revenue from China under tightening export controls, two customers accounting for 30 percent of revenue, and a valuation around 70 times earnings after the stock nearly doubled. Not investment advice — just the question of what perfection is allowed to cost.
Basics
Performance
Valuation
Profitability
Balance Sheet & Safety
Growth
Quality & Screener
AI Rating
–Not yet rated — we only show a category once an SEC-backed file with at least two cited passages is available. How the Rating Is Built
Highlighted are things our editorial team noticed: green = stands out as strong, red = deserves a closer look. No single metric is a verdict on its own — always read it in context.
Quarterly Figures
| Quarter | EPS (Earnings Per Share) | EPS YoY (%) | Sales ($M) | Sales YoY (%) | Net Margin (%) | OCF ($M) | FCF ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024: Q4 | 0.61 | 43.50 | 3,077 | 23.70 | 26.80 | 850 | 757 |
| 2025: Q1 | 0.82 | 84.40 | 3,063 | 30.00 | 35.50 | 1,072 | 987 |
| 2025: Q2 | 9.06 | 1,366.30 | 3,175 | 23.70 | 37.90 | 1,165 | 1,065 |
| 2025: Q3 | 8.47 | 1,107.40 | 3,210 | 13.00 | 34.90 | 1,162 | 1,066 |
| 2025: Q4 | 8.67 | 1,312.70 | 3,297 | 7.20 | 34.70 | 1,368 | 1,262 |
| 2026: Q1 | 9.12 | 1,016.40 | 3,415 | 11.50 | 35.20 | 708 | 622 |
- EPS (Earnings Per Share):
- Quarterly profit divided by the total share count — how much of the profit works out to a single share.
- YoY (Year over Year):
- Change versus the same quarter a year ago — this is how you compare without seasonal distortion (e.g. the holiday shopping season).
- Sales:
- All revenue for the quarter, before any costs are deducted — the top line of the income statement.
- Net Margin:
- What percentage of sales is left over as profit in the end. Negative means the company is posting a loss.
- OCF (Operating Cash Flow):
- The cash that actually flows into the till from the core business during the quarter — harder to dress up than book profit.
- FCF (Free Cash Flow):
- Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures — the money that's genuinely free to use, say for paying down debt, buybacks, or dividends.
Assessment: Opportunities & Risks
A quasi-monopoly in process control: a 60.9 percent gross margin and about 41 percent operating margin in fiscal year 2025 (ended June 30, 2025); scanner hits in the EBIT margin ranking and the Magic Formula (data as of July 9, 2026).
Revenue +24 percent to $12.16 billion in fiscal year 2025, another +10 percent in the nine months through March 2026 with a record quarter ($3.42 billion); AI and memory investments drive it (Korea +80 percent in the latest quarter).
The sixteenth consecutive dividend increase, $2.15 billion of buybacks in fiscal year 2025, $10.31 billion of authorized buyback volume outstanding (March 31, 2026) on more than $4 billion of operating cash flow per year.
33 percent of fiscal 2025 revenue from China (2024: 43 percent) under continually tightened U.S. export rules; KLA itself warns in the annual report (10-K) of revenue losses and strengthened Chinese competition; since April 2025, China's rare-earth export controls add a supply-chain risk.
Two customers accounted for about 19 and 11 percent of revenue in the January–March 2026 quarter (TSMC above 10 percent for years), orders carry no long-term purchase obligation; fiscal year 2024 documents the cyclicality: revenue −7 percent, net income −18 percent.
About 70 times earnings and 26 times revenue after the stock nearly doubled in six months (data as of July 9, 2026); long-term debt at roughly equity level; CEO and CFO sales of a combined $17 million or so in June/July 2026 (insider filings, Form 4).
KLA is the rare combination of a quasi-monopoly, dream margins and reliable capital returns — operationally there is little to criticize. What you pay for it, however, is a price that presupposes friction-free perfection: 70 times the earnings of a demonstrably cyclical business with a third of its revenue from China under political reservation and two dominant major customers. Not investment advice.
- The fiscal year ends on June 30: "fiscal year 2025" = July 2024 through June 2025. All quarterly figures in the text carry an explicit period.
- The 10-for-1 stock split took effect on June 11, 2026 (current report, 8-K dated June 12, 2026) — per-share figures before and after the split are not directly comparable; valuation multiples (P/E, P/S) are unaffected by it.
- The return on equity of about 95 percent and the price-to-book ratio around 58 are distorted by the buyback-driven small equity base and only meaningful to a limited extent (data as of July 9, 2026).
- Insider sales (CEO June 11, 2026; CFO July 2, 2026) are frequently pre-planned routine at U.S. corporations (Form 4) — they prove no knowledge of coming price declines, but they fit the stretched valuation.
About the Company
KLA Corporation entwickelt, fertigt und vermarktet weltweit Lösungen für Prozesskontrolle, Prozessunterstützung und Ausbeutemanagement für die Halbleiter- und verwandte Elektronikindustrie. Es ist in drei Segmenten tätig: Semiconductor Process Control, Specialty und weitere.
| IPO Year | 1980 |
|---|---|
| Next Earnings | 30. Jul 2026 |
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Data as of: July 2, 2026 · Source: fundamental data & SEC filings (annual and quarterly reports, 10-K/10-Q)
Note: pure fact-based analysis, not investment advice and not a solicitation to buy or sell. All figures without guarantee.