MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Updates Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) issued an update on its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided EPS guidance of 3.270-3.890 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 3.170. The company issued revenue guidance of $1.3 billion-$1.4 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $1.2 billion.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp raised their price target on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $384.64.

MKS Stock Performance

MKSI traded up $13.79 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $305.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 852,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,407,806. The firm has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of 48.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.11. MKS has a 52 week low of $97.30 and a 52 week high of $447.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $348.18 and its 200-day moving average is $289.00.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. MKS had a return on equity of 25.35% and a net margin of 10.15%.The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MKS will post 11.81 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. MKS’s payout ratio is 15.95%.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, EVP John Edward Williams sold 457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total transaction of $131,757.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,181,494.38. The trade was a 10.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total transaction of $826,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,400,700.50. The trade was a 13.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,406 shares of company stock valued at $17,577,866. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

More MKS News

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results: MKS reported adjusted EPS of $3.30, above the $2.91 consensus, while revenue rose 28.3% year over year to $1.25 billion, exceeding the $1.20 billion estimate. Gross profit, operating profit and cash flow also increased, signaling stronger operating leverage. MKS second-quarter earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Upbeat Q3 outlook: MKS guided for EPS of $3.27-$3.89 and revenue of $1.3-$1.4 billion, ahead of consensus expectations of $3.17 EPS and approximately $1.2 billion in revenue. MKSI Q2 earnings beat estimates
• Positive Sentiment: AI demand is supporting capacity expansion: Management is ramping semiconductor and packaging capacity as artificial-intelligence demand improves visibility into 2027. This provides a favorable long-term growth narrative despite some near-term margin pressure. MKSI AI-driven capacity ramp
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised targets: JPMorgan lifted its target to $380 and assigned an overweight rating, while Needham raised its target to $390 and reiterated Buy. Wells Fargo increased its target to $325 but maintained Equal Weight. Brokerage consensus remains “Moderate Buy.”
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains elevated: MKSI trades at roughly 49 times earnings, so continued gains may depend on sustained AI-driven growth and execution against the higher outlook.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling could weigh on sentiment: Company insiders reported 40 open-market sales and no purchases over the past six months. While sales may reflect compensation or portfolio diversification, the one-sided activity is a potential cautionary signal.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in MKS by 2,170.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 133,036 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,259,000 after acquiring an additional 127,176 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in MKS by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,968 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,753,000 after purchasing an additional 3,555 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $701,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $674,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter valued at $425,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MKS

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) designs, manufactures and markets technology solutions that enable advanced processes in a variety of high?technology and industrial markets. The company’s core offerings include vacuum and gas delivery systems, pressure and flow measurement instruments, optical metrology tools, photonics subsystems and critical components for manufacturing processes. These products support the precise control and monitoring needs of semiconductor, industrial manufacturing, life and health sciences, and research applications.

The company’s product portfolio features mass flow controllers, pressure transducers, vacuum gauges, gas purity monitors, laser-based metrology systems and photonic devices such as lasers and detectors.