KLAC vs LRCX Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
KLA and Lam Research are both critical semiconductor equipment suppliers, but with different roles in the fab: KLA provides process control/inspection equipment used throughout manufacturing, while Lam provides etch and deposition equipment that physically creates device structures. KLA's near-monopoly position provides more consistent margins and less cyclicality; Lam's NAND concentration creates higher exposure to memory spending cycles.
KLAC vs LRCX is a comparison between the most defensive semiconductor equipment supplier (KLA's monopoly process control position) and the most levered etch/deposition equipment supplier to 3D NAND memory scaling (Lam) — KLA offers more stability with premium margins, while Lam offers more cyclical upside when memory capex recovers.
LRCX holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. LRCX leads on both 1-year return (+120.93%) and forward P/E quality (26.12x vs 26.30x for KLAC), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. On fundamentals, LRCX is growing revenue faster (30.00%), 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 LRCX (+22.95%).
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.
- prefer the most defensible semiconductor equipment position with near-monopoly process control market share
- value consistently above-60% gross margins from KLA's unique inspection algorithm IP and pricing power
- want semiconductor equipment exposure with the lowest cyclicality relative to equipment spending cycles
- are comfortable with China export restriction headwinds in exchange for the most durable semiconductor equipment moat
- prefer a leading etch and deposition equipment supplier positioned to benefit from 3D NAND layer count growth
- value the CSBG services revenue (approximately 50% of revenue) providing stable recurring income through spending cycles
- want higher cyclical upside when NAND memory capex recovers from its historic 2023–2024 downturn
- are comfortable with more NAND memory concentration than KLA creating larger revenue swings through memory spending cycles
| Metric | KLAC | LRCX |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 77.6 | 81.8 |
| AI ranki | #18 | #10 |
| Latest closei | $168.98 | $269.31 |
| 1M returni | -13.25% | -17.87% |
| 6M returni | +11.79% | +15.09% |
| 1Y returni | +70.71% | +120.93% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | KLAC | LRCX |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $16.14K (+61.4%) started 2025-09-18 | $21.32K (+113.2%) started 2025-09-18 |
| 5Y ago | $74.63K (+646.3%) started 2021-09-20 | $46.63K (+366.3%) started 2021-09-20 |
| 10Y ago | $1.36M (+13460.0%) started 2016-09-19 | $325.47K (+3154.7%) started 2016-09-19 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | KLAC | LRCX |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $229.35B | $377.77B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 48.09 | 52.32 |
| Forward P/Ei | 26.30 | 26.12 |
| Price/Salesi | 9.25 | 6.45 |
| EV/Revenuei | 16.98 | 16.20 |
| Analyst targeti | $234.35 | $371.19 |
| Target upsidei | +33.50% | +22.95% |
| Metric | KLAC | LRCX |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 15.20% | 30.00% |
| Earnings growthi | 13.80% | 34.80% |
| EPS growthi | +13.80% | +34.80% |
| FCF margini | +19.33% | +13.30% |
| Operating margini | 42.49% | 37.39% |
| Profit margini | 35.57% | 31.27% |
| ROIC proxyi | 87.50% | 65.07% |
| Return on equityi | 87.50% | 65.07% |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.50% | 0.44% |
| Payout ratioi | 21.86% | 18.06% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 1.46 | 1.86 |
| Debt/equityi | 96.88 | 33.05 |
| Current ratioi | 2.88 | 2.63 |
| Quick ratioi | 1.84 | 1.84 |
Over the past year, KLAC and LRCX have moved barely in the same direction (correlation of 0.06), 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 | LRCX |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +61.44% | +113.20% |
| CAGRi | +61.55% | +113.42% | |
| Volatilityi | 961.60% | 64.41% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.95 | 1.43 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 9.31 | 2.20 | |
| Max drawdowni | 90.11% | 41.76% | |
| Current drawdowni | 43.99% | 37.85% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 13.35% | 9.77% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 21.29% | 14.68% | |
| Max daily dropi | 89.07% | 10.19% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 89.95% | 23.12% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +395.70% | +361.42% |
| CAGRi | +37.79% | +35.82% | |
| Volatilityi | 432.45% | 49.53% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.48 | 0.78 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 4.10 | 1.15 | |
| Max drawdowni | 90.11% | 56.85% | |
| Current drawdowni | 43.99% | 37.85% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 12.36% | 19.21% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 16.76% | 24.08% | |
| Max daily dropi | 89.07% | 11.60% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 89.95% | 23.12% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +2718.94% | +2983.10% |
| CAGRi | +39.66% | +40.91% | |
| Volatilityi | 306.84% | 46.52% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.40 | 0.88 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 3.03 | 1.30 | |
| Max drawdowni | 90.11% | 56.85% | |
| Current drawdowni | 43.99% | 37.85% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 9.81% | 15.23% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 13.84% | 20.31% | |
| Max daily dropi | 89.07% | 18.43% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 89.95% | 29.82% |
| Category | KLAC | LRCX |
|---|---|---|
| Company | KLA Corporation | Lam Research Corporation |
| Sector | Technology | Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductor Equipment & Materials | Semiconductor Equipment & Materials |
| Core business | KLA Corporation is the dominant supplier of process control and inspection equipment for semiconductor manufacturing, providing wafer defect inspection, metrology, and lithography process control systems used after each manufacturing step to catch defects before they propagate. KLA holds 50–55% market share in process control, a near-monopoly reflecting the company's decades of proprietary inspection algorithm IP. Every leading-edge logic and memory fab uses KLA equipment throughout production. | Lam Research is the leading supplier of etch and deposition equipment for semiconductor wafer processing, holding dominant positions in atomic layer deposition (ALD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and plasma etch. Lam's equipment is critical for manufacturing advanced NAND flash memory, DRAM, and leading-edge logic chips. Its installed base of systems generates a significant recurring services revenue stream (CSBG — Customer Support Business Group) that provides stability through equipment spending cycles. |
| Investor focus | Investors track KLA's process control intensity (the percentage of wafer fab equipment spending allocated to inspection/metrology, which rises with each new node), EUV lithography-driven inspection demand, and gross margins that consistently exceed 60%. | Investors focus on NAND flash memory capex recovery (Lam has the highest NAND concentration of any major semiconductor equipment supplier), Logic/foundry capex from TSMC and Intel, CSBG services revenue stability through cycles, and China export restriction impacts. |
- Near-monopoly in process control (50–55% market share) with decades of inspection algorithm IP creating high switching costs
- Process control spending as a percentage of total WFE rises with each new node — KLA benefits structurally from semiconductor technology complexity
- Gross margins consistently above 60% reflect the premium pricing power of KLA's unique process control position
- Dominant position in ALD and plasma etch with deep process recipe IP that customers embed into their production process flows
- CSBG services revenue provides a stable ~50% of total revenue from spare parts, refurbishment, and support regardless of new equipment cycles
- 3D NAND scaling drives etch and deposition intensity per wafer, structurally benefiting Lam as memory stacks increase in layer count
- Memory semiconductor capex cycles can create sharp revenue swings even though KLA is more defensible than deposition/etch peers
- China export restrictions have removed significant revenue from Chinese customers, creating a multi-year headwind
- Emerging competitors (Onto Innovation, Onto Innovation, Hitachi) are trying to win inspection market share, though with limited success to date
- Higher NAND concentration than KLA creates more volatility tied to memory capex cycles that can reverse sharply
- China export restrictions have significantly impacted Lam's Chinese memory customer access
- AMAT and Tokyo Electron compete across deposition categories, reducing the degree of Lam's differentiation versus KLA's near-monopoly in process control
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