KLA Corporation is a high-quality semiconductor equipment franchise with wide competitive advantages, best-in-class margins, and a perfect four-quarter earnings beat streak, but the stock screens as expensive at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 50.8x and trades just below a near-term resistance target where the risk/reward has turned unfavorable, limiting the attractiveness of a new entry despite the underlying business quality.
Thesis pillars
- Rich Valuation Limits Upside↑Improving
- Wide Moat Best In Class Margins→Stable
- Perfect Earnings Beat Streak↓Deteriorating
- +1 more pillar — see the Why tab for full reasoning
Pillars as of Jul 3, 2026, based on the 10-K filed Aug 6, 2026· older than 90 days
KLA Corporation (KLAC) Stock Analysis
Temporary headwind edge
Technology · Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
Wait for pullback to $140.95. Weak momentum — blocks BUY_NOW at $149.79. Engine's entry $140.95 (Default 5pct Sticky) is the shallowest technical level that clears the 2:1 A.R:R minimum. Key risks: Concentration risk — Geographic: international revenues (87.0%); Concentration risk — Supplier: single or limited group of suppliers.
KLA makes process control and yield management equipment, including wafer, reticle and chip inspection and metrology systems, plus specialty deposition and etch tools and PCB inspection, across three segments. Revenue comes from product sales and service contracts sold mainly... Read more
Wait for pullback to $140.95. Weak momentum — blocks BUY_NOW at $149.79. Engine's entry $140.95 (Default 5pct Sticky) is the shallowest technical level that clears the 2:1 A.R:R minimum. Key risks: Concentration risk — Geographic: international revenues (87.0%); Concentration risk — Supplier: single or limited group of suppliers. Chart setup: No clear chart pattern; technical signals are mixed. Growth is cheap relative to earnings, but the technical setup has not yet produced a breakout above resistance (PEG 1.41, quality 8.6/10, growth 9.8/10). Score 6.2/10, moderate confidence.
Passes 7/8 gates (favorable risk/reward ratio, clean insider activity, no SEC red flags, news events none recent, earnings proximity 84d clear, semi cycle peak clear, materials cycle peak clear). Fails on weak momentum. Suitability: speculative.
About KLA Corporation
About KLA Corporation
KLA's backlog rose to $12.57 billion as of June 30, 2026 from $7.86 billion a year earlier, driven by demand tied to the AI infrastructure buildout. International revenues were approximately 87% of total revenues in fiscal 2026, customers in China accounted for 30%, and services contributed approximately 23%. The company owned over 9,100 active patents at year-end.
KLA reports three segments: Semiconductor Process Control, which sells inspection, metrology, chemistry process control and software products to chip, wafer, reticle and packaging manufacturers; Specialty Semiconductor Process, which sells vacuum deposition and etching tools for MEMS, RF and power semiconductors; and PCB and Component Inspection, which serves printed circuit board and IC substrate makers. Revenue comes mainly from product sales and related service contracts, mostly through a direct sales force in Asia, the United States and Europe. KLA assembles and tests systems in-house, relies on outsourced manufacturing for components and major subassemblies, and has principal manufacturing in the United States, Singapore, Israel, China and Europe. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited was the only customer above 10% of revenue in fiscal 2026, 2025 and 2024. Named competitors include Applied Materials, ASML, Hitachi High-Tech, Lasertec and Onto Innovation.
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Export controls are the clearest regulatory exposure. The U.S. Commerce Department issued rules in October 2022, October 2023, December 2024 and January 2025 that restrict sales and support to China-based advanced chipmakers, and a September 2025 Affiliates Rule extended licensing to entities 50% or more owned by listed parties before being suspended until November 2026. KLA's China revenue share fell from 43% in fiscal 2024 to 33% in fiscal 2025 and 30% in fiscal 2026, and the filing warns that failure to obtain licenses has required returning customer deposits and may keep reducing China's share. Some China-bound products have also been held by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the company said it cannot assure timely clearance.
See also: Technology · Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
From KLA Corporation's most recent 10-K filing, extracted October 18, 2026.
Recent developments
updated Nov 2, 2026Recent Developments — KLA Corporation
Latest news
- NEWS KLA Corp Stock (KLAC) Closed Down by 3.04% on Nov 2: A Full Analysis - TradingKey — TradingKey Nov 2, 2026 negative
- NEWS Valuation Compression Pulls Down KLA (KLAC) Despite Raised Outlook - Yahoo Finance — Yahoo Finance Nov 2, 2026 negative
- NEWS KLA Corp (KLAC) Shares Rise 2% After Strong Q1 Earnings Beat Exp - GuruFocus — GuruFocus Oct 28, 2026 positive
- NEWS KLA Corp (KLAC) Stock Up 3.3% but GF Value Says Overvalued -- GF Score: 96/100 - GuruFocus — GuruFocus Oct 28, 2026 positive
- NEWS KLA (KLAC) Surpasses Q1 Earnings and Revenue Estimates - Yahoo Finance — Yahoo Finance Oct 28, 2026 positive
Latest item Nov 2, 2026 · Generated 2026-11-05T11:34:08Z.
Upcoming dated catalysts
Thesis
Key Metrics
Quality Signals
Options Flow
Concentration Risks(10-K Item 1A)
- HIGHGeographicinternational revenues87%10-K Item 1: 'International revenues accounted for approximately 87% of our total revenues in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2026'
- MEDIUMGeographicChina customers30%10-K Item 1A: 'Our revenue from sales of products and provision of services to customers in China was 30%, 33% and 43% for fiscal years 2026, 2025 and'
- MEDIUMCustomerTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited10-K Item 1: 'customers each accounted for more than 10% of total revenues ... Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited'
- HIGHSuppliersingle or limited group of suppliers10-K Item 1: 'Certain parts and raw materials included in our systems may be obtained only from a single supplier or a limited group of suppliers.'
Model-generated analysis — not investment advice. Not a registered investment advisor. Past performance does not guarantee future results. How we score · Editorial policy
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Rating Breakdown
1 floor-breaker·2 ceiling hits
Price action weak — below key moving averages, no momentum carry. Needs a base before trend-continuation setups apply.static
Price Targets
Position Sizing
Risk Alerts
Earnings
Verdict History
Frequently Asked Questions
Wait for pullback to $140.95. Weak momentum — blocks BUY_NOW at $149.79. Engine's entry $140.95 (Default 5pct Sticky) is the shallowest technical level that clears the 2:1 A.R:R minimum. Key risks: Concentration risk — Geographic: international revenues (87.0%); Concentration risk — Supplier: single or limited group of suppliers. Chart setup: No clear chart pattern; technical signals are mixed. Growth is cheap relative to earnings, but the technical setup has not yet produced a breakout above resistance (PEG 1.41, quality 8.6/10, growth 9.8/10). Target $197.65 (+32.0%), stop $131.08 (−14.3%), A.R:R 2.9:1. Score 6.2/10, moderate confidence.
Take-profit target: $197.65 (+32.0% upside). Target $197.65 (+32.0%), stop $131.08 (−14.3%), A.R:R 2.9:1. Stop-loss: $131.08.
Concentration risk — Geographic: international revenues (87.0%); Concentration risk — Supplier: single or limited group of suppliers; Sector modifier (Technology): -0.8.
KLA Corporation trades at a P/E of 37.5 (forward 21.1). TrendMatrix value score: 4.7/10. Verdict: Buy (Wait for Entry).
33 analysts rate KLAC, with a consensus score of 4.0/5. 26 analysts publish price targets averaging $220.
What does KLA Corporation do?KLA makes process control and yield management equipment, including wafer, reticle and chip inspection and metrology...
KLA makes process control and yield management equipment, including wafer, reticle and chip inspection and metrology systems, plus specialty deposition and etch tools and PCB inspection, across three segments. Revenue comes from product sales and service contracts sold mainly through a direct sales force; services were about 23% and international about 87% of fiscal 2026 revenue. Backlog reached $12.57 billion, and TSMC exceeded 10% of revenue.