KLAC vs ASML: KLA vs ASML Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
KLA is the world's leading process control equipment company that inspects wafers throughout manufacturing, while ASML is the world's sole EUV lithography provider whose machines are required for every leading-edge chip. ASML has the most durable monopoly in all of semiconductor equipment; KLA has the most critical quality control function with less direct monopoly power.
KLAC vs ASML is process control market leader versus the world's only EUV lithography monopoly — ASML has the highest pricing power of any semiconductor equipment company because no substitute exists; KLA benefits from increasing defect inspection intensity at each advanced node.
KLAC holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ASML has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+61.00% vs +52.47%), though KLAC has the better forward P/E setup (26.30x vs 28.30x for ASML). On fundamentals, ASML is growing revenue faster (21.30%), while KLAC maintains the higher operating margin (42.49%) — a classic growth-versus-profitability split. Analyst consensus implies meaningfully more upside for KLAC (+33.50%) than for ASML (+26.93%).
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
- want the dominant process control equipment company benefiting from defect inspection intensity at advanced nodes
- value KLA's advanced packaging process control as a new revenue driver for AI chip packaging
- prefer a more US-centric equipment company with somewhat lower China export control exposure than DUV-focused peers
- believe process control spending as a percent of overall WFE will grow as nodes advance
- want the world's most dominant semiconductor equipment monopoly through EUV lithography exclusivity
- value ASML's High-NA EUV as the next-generation equipment that sustains EUV revenue at premium ASPs
- are comfortable with China DUV restriction impact in exchange for the deepest moat in semiconductor equipment
- prefer a European-listed semiconductor equipment company with TSMC and Samsung as anchor customers
| Metric | KLAC | ASML |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 74.8 | 69.9 |
| AI ranki | #13 | #25 |
| Latest closei | $165.74 | $1,641.52 |
| 1M returni | -0.97% | +2.45% |
| 3M returni | -22.10% | -6.07% |
| 6M returni | -7.48% | +12.45% |
| 1Y returni | +52.47% | +61.00% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | KLAC | ASML |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $15.08K (+50.8%) started 2025-10-16 | $16.1K (+61.0%) started 2025-10-16 |
| 5Y ago | $79.56K (+695.6%) started 2021-10-18 | $20.83K (+108.3%) started 2021-10-18 |
| 10Y ago | $1.29M (+12775.1%) started 2016-10-17 | $162.27K (+1522.7%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | KLAC | ASML |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $229.35B | $652.32B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 48.09 | 57.47 |
| Forward P/Ei | 26.30 | 28.30 |
| Price/Salesi | 9.25 | 9.64 |
| EV/Revenuei | 16.98 | 1025.67 |
| Analyst targeti | $234.35 | $2,155.62 |
| Target upsidei | +33.50% | +26.93% |
| Metric | KLAC | ASML |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 15.20% | 21.30% |
| Earnings growthi | 13.80% | 28.50% |
| EPS growthi | +13.80% | +28.50% |
| FCF margini | +19.33% | +23.88% |
| Operating margini | 42.49% | 37.06% |
| Profit margini | 35.57% | 30.11% |
| ROIC proxyi | 87.50% | 53.94% |
| Return on equityi | 87.50% | 53.94% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.50% | 0.53% |
| Payout ratioi | 21.86% | 22.26% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | N/A |
| Betai | 1.46 | 1.36 |
| Debt/equityi | 96.88 | 9.09 |
| Current ratioi | 2.88 | 1.33 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.84 | 0.72 |
Over the past year, KLAC and ASML have moved barely in the same direction (correlation of 0.01), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | KLAC | ASML |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +50.84% | +61.00% |
| CAGRi | +50.93% | +61.05% | |
| Volatilityi | 961.72% | 46.01% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.96 | 1.17 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 9.24 | 1.78 | |
| Max drawdowni | 90.02% | 22.05% | |
| Current drawdowni | 45.07% | 17.49% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 15.28% | 6.84% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 22.23% | 8.79% | |
| Max daily dropi | 90.02% | 7.82% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 89.95% | 13.94% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +428.47% | +108.26% |
| CAGRi | +39.56% | +15.82% | |
| Volatilityi | 432.53% | 43.40% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.49 | 0.45 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 4.12 | 0.66 | |
| Max drawdowni | 90.02% | 56.87% | |
| Current drawdowni | 45.07% | 17.49% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.62% | 22.15% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.96% | 26.05% | |
| Max daily dropi | 90.02% | 16.26% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 89.95% | 19.20% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +2576.55% | +1522.70% |
| CAGRi | +38.93% | +32.15% | |
| Volatilityi | 306.91% | 39.35% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.40 | 0.79 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 3.01 | 1.15 | |
| Max drawdowni | 90.02% | 57.37% | |
| Current drawdowni | 45.07% | 17.49% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 10.02% | 14.32% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 14.00% | 19.81% | |
| Max daily dropi | 90.02% | 17.35% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 89.95% | 25.42% |
| Category | KLAC | ASML |
|---|---|---|
| Company | KLA Corporation | ASML Holding N.V. |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductor Equipment & Materials | Semiconductor Equipment & Materials |
| Core business | World's leading semiconductor process control and yield management equipment company. KLA's inspection and metrology tools find defects on wafers at each manufacturing step, allowing fabs to improve yield before processing more layers. KLA serves logic, memory, and advanced packaging fabs. | Dutch semiconductor equipment company and the only manufacturer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which are required to pattern the smallest features on advanced logic chips (3nm, 2nm, 1.4nm). ASML also makes deep ultraviolet (DUV) and immersion lithography systems. |
| Investor focus | Advanced logic and memory process control intensity, AI-driven inspection system adoption, advanced packaging yield management demand, and China revenue exposure. | EUV and High-NA EUV backlog, TSMC and Samsung leading-edge node capex, China DUV export restrictions, and High-NA EUV revenue ramp. |
- Process control is essential at every node — KLA benefits as leading-edge nodes require more inspection steps to manage defect risk at smaller geometries
- KLA is the only truly scaled independent process control company — competitors are smaller or captive within larger equipment companies
- Advanced packaging for AI chips (CoWoS, SoIC) requires process control at each bonding and stacking step — a growing incremental market
- ASML is a complete global monopoly in EUV lithography — there is no alternative supplier. No leading-edge chip is possible without ASML machines
- EUV average selling price exceeds $200M per machine for the standard and $350M+ for High-NA EUV — extremely high unit revenue and pricing power
- Semiconductor roadmap extending to 1nm+ nodes requires more EUV layers per chip, increasing ASML's machine intensity per wafer
- China revenue concentration carries ongoing export control risk as US restricts advanced semiconductor equipment to Chinese fabs
- Process control intensity per node has limits — some inspection steps are consolidated rather than multiplied at each node
- Memory downturn cycles reduce inspection and metrology tool demand at NAND and DRAM fabs
- China DUV export restrictions significantly reduce ASML's addressable market in one of the world's largest semiconductor equipment buyers
- EUV machine backlog execution and chip shipments at TSMC and Intel depend on customer demand cycles
- High-NA EUV production ramp must accelerate to sustain revenue growth above DUV capacity — early yields at Intel have been challenging
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