KLA vs Lam Research
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The short version
- Lam Research is the larger business, with $23.2B of revenue in fiscal 2026 against $13.6B for KLA, about 1.7 times as much.
- Lam Research grew revenue faster (26.0%, against 11.7%).
- KLA turned more of its sales into free cash flow (27.7% FCF margin, against 21.1%).
- Lam Research earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (77.7%, against 75.3%).
| Latest fiscal year | KLAC · FY26 | LRCX · FY26 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $192.1B | $289.0B |
| Revenue | $13.6B | $23.2B |
| Free cash flow | $3.8B | $4.9B |
| Net income | $4.8B | $7.3B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 11.7% | 26.0% |
| 5-year growth | 14.4% | 9.7% |
| Share count change | −1.3% | −2.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 61.3% | 50.5% |
| Operating margin | — | 35.3% |
| Net margin | 35.6% | 31.3% |
| FCF margin | 27.7% | 21.1% |
| Return on capital | 75.3% | 77.7% |
| Return on equity | 87.5% | 65.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $1.0B | −$1.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 0.2x | −0.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $3.3B | $5.1B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | — | 34.3x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 8 |
Revenue
FY17
KLAC $3.5B
LRCX $8.0B
FY18
KLAC $4.0B
LRCX $11.1B
FY19
KLAC $4.6B
LRCX $9.7B
FY20
KLAC $5.8B
LRCX $10.0B
FY21
KLAC $6.9B
LRCX $14.6B
FY22
KLAC $9.2B
LRCX $17.2B
FY23
KLAC $10.5B
LRCX $17.4B
FY24
KLAC $9.8B
LRCX $14.9B
FY25
KLAC $12.2B
LRCX $18.4B
FY26
KLAC $13.6B
LRCX $23.2B
KLAC
LRCX
Operating margin
FY17
KLAC —
LRCX 23.7%
FY18
KLAC —
LRCX 29.0%
FY19
KLAC —
LRCX 25.5%
FY20
KLAC —
LRCX 26.6%
FY21
KLAC —
LRCX 30.6%
FY22
KLAC —
LRCX 31.2%
FY23
KLAC —
LRCX 29.7%
FY24
KLAC —
LRCX 28.6%
FY25
KLAC —
LRCX 32.0%
FY26
KLAC —
LRCX 35.3%
KLAC
LRCX
Free cash flow
FY17
KLAC $1.0B
LRCX $1.9B
FY18
KLAC $1.2B
LRCX $2.4B
FY19
KLAC $1.0B
LRCX $2.9B
FY20
KLAC $1.6B
LRCX $1.9B
FY21
KLAC $2.0B
LRCX $3.2B
FY22
KLAC $3.0B
LRCX $2.6B
FY23
KLAC $3.3B
LRCX $4.7B
FY24
KLAC $3.0B
LRCX $4.3B
FY25
KLAC $3.7B
LRCX $5.4B
FY26
KLAC $3.8B
LRCX $4.9B
KLAC
LRCX
Return on capital
FY17
KLAC 82.0%
LRCX —
FY18
KLAC 78.0%
LRCX 42.3%
FY19
KLAC 48.2%
LRCX 45.0%
FY20
KLAC 32.0%
LRCX 40.6%
FY21
KLAC 52.2%
LRCX 63.2%
FY22
KLAC 71.8%
LRCX 66.4%
FY23
KLAC —
LRCX 58.4%
FY24
KLAC —
LRCX 48.1%
FY25
KLAC 79.6%
LRCX 68.0%
FY26
KLAC 75.3%
LRCX 77.7%
KLAC
LRCX
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.