KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.10 EPS

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The semiconductor company reported $8.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.75 by $0.10, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $3.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 107.26% and a net margin of 33.83%.

Here are the key takeaways from KLA’s conference call:

• Record 2025 financials: revenue rose 17% to $12.745B, non?GAAP EPS grew 29%, gross margin was 62.8%, operating margin 43.6%, free cash flow increased 30% to $4.4B, and the company returned $3B to shareholders.
• Quarterly beat and constructive outlook: December revenue of $3.3B and non?GAAP EPS of $8.85 topped guidance, and management guided March quarter revenue of $3.35B ± $150M with the company expecting to outperform the WFE market in 2026.
• Advanced packaging strength: systems revenue was about $950M in 2025 (over 70% YoY growth) and KLA expects mid? to high?teens percentage growth in this market in 2026, citing rising packaging intensity and share gains.
• DRAM cost pressure is a near?term headwind—rapidly rising DRAM prices for KLA’s image?processing computers are modeled to shave roughly 75–100 basis points off gross margin in 2026, though management calls the issue transitory.
• Supply and lead?time dynamics: longer customer lead times and component constraints (notably optics) are constraining first?half 2026 shipments, but KLA reports a strong backlog and sales funnel with expected acceleration in the back half and into 2027.

KLA Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of KLAC stock opened at $1,684.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $221.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.45. KLA has a 1 year low of $551.33 and a 1 year high of $1,693.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.69, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1,319.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1,121.69.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were given a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. KLA’s payout ratio is presently 23.86%.

Trending Headlines about KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat and strong cash returns: KLA reported revenue of $3.30B and non?GAAP EPS $8.85, both above Street expectations; free cash flow and capital returns remain robust. This supports valuation and long?term cash generation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: AI and advanced packaging tailwind: Management said advanced?packaging revenue should grow mid? to high?teens in 2026 as AI semiconductor demand boosts process?control tool sales — a structural growth argument for investors. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and momentum: Recent upgrades and higher price targets (e.g., Wells Fargo) and coverage citing tight industry capacity have reinforced bullish sentiment heading into 2026. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and transcript available for deeper review: Management slide deck and full earnings/transcript let investors verify unit demand, backlog and customer commentary. Presentation Transcript
• Negative Sentiment:
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction — stock dipped: Despite the beat, shares slipped after hours as investors focused on the mixed outlook and phrasing on customer order timing and supply dynamics. Article Title

Insider Buying and Selling at KLA

In other news, CFO Bren D. Higgins sold 2,254 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,237.01, for a total transaction of $2,788,220.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 32,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $39,774,819.54. This represents a 6.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,803 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,203.10, for a total value of $12,997,089.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 81,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,704,954.10. This trade represents a 11.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 91.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of KLA by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $11,844,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. bought a new position in KLA in the third quarter valued at about $832,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of KLA by 13.8% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,118 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,584,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory bought a new stake in shares of KLA during the third quarter worth about $444,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of KLA by 17.3% during the third quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,658 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KLAC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $1,630.00 price target on KLA in a research report on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,100.00 to $1,300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Argus set a $1,400.00 price objective on shares of KLA in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of KLA in a report on Friday. Finally, UBS Group set a $1,575.00 price target on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,504.96.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.