KLAC
KLA Corporation · Information Technology · Semiconductor Materials & Equipment
$181.57
52w 83.22 – 307.37
20y monthly, adjusted
Mkt cap
$237.2B
P/E
49.8
P/FCF
63.8
FCF yield
1.6%
ROE
76.1%
Shldr yield
1.4%
div 0.4% + bb 1.0%
What today's price assumes
At $237.2B, the market is pricing in 23.6% annual free-cash-flow growth for the next decade (10% discount rate, 2.5% terminal growth). Over the last ten years, FCF actually grew 17.9% per year — the price asks for acceleration beyond the historical record.
Simple DCF per-share range: $44 · $99 · $142 (4% / base / optimistic growth). An estimate, not a target.
Historical multiple lens
At its own median P/OCF of 14.0× across 18 years, KLAC would trade near $45/share (25th–75th percentile: $32–$57); it trades at 57.3× today.
Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.
Growth record
Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted
Rev 3y
+9.0%
Rev 5y
+14.4%
Rev 10y
+16.4%
EPS 5y
+21.6%
EPS 10y
+23.0%
FCF 5y
+14.0%
FCF 10y
+17.9%
Fundamentals
Fiscal 2009–2026, from SEC filings
Revenue
Net income
Free cash flow
Diluted shares (lower is better)
Margins
Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)
Cash vs long-term debt
Quarterly
Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.
Revenue by quarter
Net income by quarter
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY | Net income | YoY | EPS | OCF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4'26 * | $3.7B | +15.2% | $1.4B | +13.3% | -22.61 | $906.4M |
| Q3'26 | $3.4B | +11.5% | $1.2B | +10.3% | 9.12 | $707.5M |
| Q2'26 | $3.3B | +7.2% | $1.1B | +39.0% | 8.68 | $1.4B |
| Q1'26 | $3.2B | +13.0% | $1.1B | +18.5% | 8.47 | $1.2B |
| Q4'25 * | $3.2B | +23.6% | $1.2B | +43.8% | -18.29 | $1.2B |
| Q3'25 | $3.1B | +29.8% | $1.1B | +80.9% | 8.16 | $1.1B |
| Q2'25 | $3.1B | +23.7% | $824.5M | +41.5% | 6.16 | $849.5M |
| Q1'25 | $2.8B | +18.5% | $945.9M | +27.6% | 7.01 | $995.2M |
| Q4'24 * | $2.6B | +9.1% | $836.4M | +22.2% | -12.09 | $892.6M |
| Q3'24 | $2.4B | −3.0% | $601.5M | −13.8% | 4.43 | $910.0M |
| Q2'24 | $2.5B | −16.7% | $582.5M | −40.5% | 4.28 | $622.2M |
| Q1'24 | $2.4B | −12.0% | $741.4M | −27.7% | 5.41 | $883.7M |
| Q4'23 * | $2.4B | −5.3% | $684.7M | −15.0% | 5.03 | $959.1M |
Track record
Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.
| Series | 3y | 5y | 10y | 15y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +9.0% | +14.4% | +16.4% | +10.2% |
| Operating cash flow | +4.1% | +13.7% | +18.5% | +11.4% |
| Free cash flow | +4.2% | +14.0% | +17.9% | +11.1% |
| EPS (diluted) | +13.7% | +21.6% | +23.0% | +14.5% |
| Equity | +29.6% | +13.5% | +24.9% | +5.5% |
| LT debt | −0.0% | +11.5% | +6.8% | — |
| Diluted shares | −1.0% | −2.7% | −1.4% | −1.5% |
| Stock price | +54.7% | +41.1% | +40.8% | +34.3% |
$100, 3 years ago
$370vs $176 in SPY
54.7% vs 20.7%/yr
$100, 5 years ago
$560vs $181 in SPY
41.1% vs 12.6%/yr
$100, 10 years ago
$3,067vs $412 in SPY
40.8% vs 15.2%/yr
$100, 15 years ago
$8,384vs $813 in SPY
34.3% vs 15.0%/yr
The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)
Last 5 years
$13.42
$191.3B created / $14.3B retained
Last 10 years
$12.75
$231.5B created / $18.2B retained
Quality & capital discipline
Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital
Cash ROIC
33.9%
OCF ÷ (equity + debt)
OCF / EV yield
1.7%
MC vs 10× OCF
5.80
≤1 = priced under 10× OCF
Debt / FCF
1.6y
SBC / FCF
8.2%
Owner earnings
$3.5B
OCF − capex − SBC
OE yield
1.4%
Share count 5y
−1.3%
per year; negative = buybacks
Growth engine (5y): reinvested 28.2% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of 37.5% — an organically fundable growth rate of about 10.6% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).
Checklist
18 of 24 checks pass · 75%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.
Growth & Consistency
7/7
- pass
Revenue growth
14.4% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%
- pass
EPS growth
21.6% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%
- pass
FCF growth
14.0% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%
- pass
Revenue rises consistently
8 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years
- pass
FCF consistently positive
10 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years
- pass
Profitable every year
10 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10
- pass
Cash flow keeps up with sales
13.7% vs 14.4% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR
Profitability
4/5
- pass
Net margin
35.6% · ≥ 8%
- na
Operating margin
— · ≥ 10%
- na
Gross margin stable or rising
— · no drop > 2 pts over 3y
- pass
Return on equity
76.1% · ≥ 12%
- pass
Cash ROIC
33.9% · ≥ 12%
- pass
FCF margin
27.7% · ≥ 5%
- fail
Earnings back their cash
OCF $4.1B vs NI $4.8B · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)
Balance Sheet
3/4
- pass
Debt payable from cash flow
1.6y · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF
- fail
Cash cushion
28% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt
- pass
Leverage
0.93 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity
- pass
Equity positive and compounding
$6.3B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y
- na
Interest burden
— · interest ≤ 15% of operating income
Capital Allocation
4/4
- pass
Share count flat or shrinking
-1.3% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y
- pass
Stock comp restrained
8% · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF
- pass
Distributions funded by FCF
89% · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF
- pass
Repurchases are a habit
10 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years
Valuation Discipline
0/4
- fail
FCF yield
1.6% · ≥ 3%
- fail
Earnings multiple
49.8 · P/E ≤ 25
- fail
Price asks less than history delivered
23.6% vs 17.9% · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR
- fail
Shareholder yield
1.4% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap
Financial data
As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.
| FY | Revenue | Gross profit | Op income | Net income | EPS | OCF | CapEx | FCF | Dividends | Buybacks | SBC | Cash | LT debt | Equity | Shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 13,579 | — | — | 4,831 | 3.66 | 4,143 | 376 | 3,767 | 1,058 | 2,290 | 310 | 1,650 | 5,887 | 6,350 | 1,320 |
| 2025 | 12,156 | — | — | 4,062 | 3.04 | 4,082 | 335 | 3,747 | 905 | 2,150 | 265 | 2,079 | 5,884 | 4,692 | 1,338 |
| 2024 | 9,812 | — | — | 2,762 | 2.03 | 3,309 | 277 | 3,031 | 773 | 1,736 | 213 | 1,977 | 5,880 | 3,368 | 1,362 |
| 2023 | 10,496 | — | — | 3,387 | 2.49 | 3,670 | 342 | 3,328 | 733 | 1,312 | 171 | 1,928 | 5,891 | 2,920 | 1,362 |
| 2022 | 9,212 | — | — | 3,322 | 2.26 | 3,313 | 307 | 3,005 | 639 | 3,968 | 127 | 1,585 | 6,661 | 1,401 | 1,472 |
| 2021 | 6,919 | — | — | 2,078 | 1.38 | 2,185 | 232 | 1,953 | 559 | 939 | 112 | 1,435 | 3,423 | 3,378 | 1,510 |
| 2020 | 5,806 | — | — | 1,217 | 0.79 | 1,779 | 153 | 1,626 | 522 | 829 | 111 | 1,234 | 3,470 | 2,665 | 1,534 |
| 2019 | 4,569 | — | — | 1,176 | 0.77 | 1,153 | 130 | 1,022 | 472 | 1,095 | 94 | 1,016 | 3,173 | 2,659 | 1,524 |
| 2018 | 4,037 | — | — | 802 | 0.53 | 1,229 | 67 | 1,162 | 402 | 203 | 63 | 1,404 | 2,237 | 1,621 | 1,528 |
| 2017 | 3,480 | — | — | 926 | 0.61 | 1,080 | 39 | 1,041 | 344 | 25 | 51 | 1,153 | 2,680 | 1,326 | 1,529 |
| 2016 | 2,984 | — | — | 704 | 0.46 | 760 | 32 | 728 | 346 | 182 | 45 | 1,108 | 3,058 | 689 | 1,523 |
| 2015 | 2,814 | — | — | 366 | 0.23 | 606 | 46 | 560 | 3,041 | 603 | 55 | 838 | 3,173 | 421 | 1,590 |
| 2014 | 2,929 | — | 772 | 583 | 0.36 | 779 | 68 | 711 | 299 | 241 | 61 | 631 | 745 | 3,669 | 1,633 |
| 2013 | 2,843 | — | 730 | 543 | 0.33 | 913 | 75 | 839 | 266 | 273 | 70 | 985 | — | 3,482 | 1,644 |
| 2012 | 3,172 | — | 1,016 | 756 | 0.46 | 942 | 58 | 884 | 234 | 264 | 79 | 751 | — | 3,316 | 1,652 |
| 2011 | 3,175 | — | 1,160 | 794 | 0.48 | 823 | 51 | 772 | 167 | 235 | 81 | 711 | — | 2,861 | 1,654 |
| 2010 | 1,821 | — | 314 | 212 | 0.13 | 448 | 30 | 418 | 102 | 136 | 86 | 530 | — | 2,247 | 1,680 |
| 2009 | 1,520 | — | -578 | -523 | -0.32 | 196 | 22 | 173 | 102 | 227 | 106 | 525 | — | 2,184 | 1,653 |
Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.