# KLA Corporation (KLAC)

> KLA makes equipment and software that help manufacturers find defects and control quality while producing chips, packages and circuit boards.

- Exchange: NASDAQ · Sector: Technology · Industry: Semiconductor Equipment and Materials
- Headquarters: Milpitas, California, United States
- Founded: 1997
- Employees: Approximately 17,000 regular full-time employees (June 30, 2026)
- SEC CIK: 0000319201 ([filings on EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000319201))
- Full page: https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/klac
- Data as of: price 2026-09-25; newest filing used 2026-08-06; latest fiscal period ended 2026-06-30

## Grade

**A+** on the growth-and-cash rubric, 5 of 5 checks passed.

| Check | Result | Now | Before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Revenue growing overall | passed | $13.6B | $10.5B |
| Revenue growing recently | passed | $13.6B | $12.2B |
| Free cash flow positive | passed | $3.8B |  |
| Free cash flow growing overall | passed | $3.8B | $3.3B |
| Free cash flow growing recently | passed | $3.8B | $3.7B |

Business quality (the + / − mark): 5 of 6 checks passed.

| Check | Result | Now | Before |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Profitable | passed | 35.6% |  |
| Healthy profit margin | passed | 35.6% |  |
| Strong operating margin | failed | 4.7% |  |
| Good return on equity | passed | 76.1% |  |
| Debt under control | passed | 0.97 |  |
| Turns sales into cash | passed | 27.7% |  |

How the grade works: the letter counts failed checks (none → A, one → B, two → C, three → D, four or more → F). It is built from SEC filings only — the share price never enters it — and describes the business, not whether the stock is worth buying.

## Key figures

In US dollars, as filed.

| Measure | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Revenue, trailing twelve months | $13.6B |
| Net income, trailing twelve months | $4.8B |
| Free cash flow, trailing twelve months | $3.8B |
| Net margin | 35.6% |
| Return on equity | 76.1% |
| Debt to equity | 0.97 |
| Diluted EPS, trailing twelve months | $0.28 |
| Share price | $187.92 |
| Market value | $245.5B |
| Price / earnings | 666.8x |
| Price / sales | 18.1x |

## What the business does

KLA sells machines that inspect and measure silicon wafers, chip-making masks, packaged chips and circuit boards during manufacturing. Its software analyzes information from those machines to help customers identify defects and adjust production. KLA also sells chip-processing equipment and services that maintain and support its machines at customer sites.

### How it makes money

- **Semiconductor Process Control** (90.3% (quarter ended 2026-03-31)) — KLA sells inspection, measurement, chemistry-control and software products, plus related services, mainly through its direct sales force. Services accounted for approximately 23% of total revenue (fiscal year ended 2026-06-30, high); that service revenue is included in the segment and is not a separate segment share.
- **PCB and Component Inspection** (4.9% (quarter ended 2026-03-31)) — KLA sells inspection, testing, measurement and circuit-patterning equipment for printed circuit boards, chip substrates and packaged chips, primarily through direct sales.
- **Specialty Semiconductor Process** (4.8% (quarter ended 2026-03-31)) — KLA sells equipment that deposits or removes material from wafers, mainly to manufacturers of specialized chips used in areas such as automotive, industrial and wireless communications.

### Products

- **Wafer and mask inspection systems** — Machines such as Surfscan and Teron inspect silicon wafers and chip-making masks to find and examine defects.
- **Wafer measurement systems** — Machines such as Archer and SpectraShape measure features including pattern dimensions, film thickness and alignment between layers on a wafer.
- **Process-control software and sensors** — Klarity software analyzes manufacturing data to help identify defects and adjust processes; SensArray sensors collect information about conditions inside chip-making equipment.
- **Chemical process-control equipment** — Equipment such as QualiSurf checks chemicals used in manufacturing and monitors their condition and use.
- **Specialty wafer-processing equipment** — SPTS and Primaxx equipment uses processes such as etching and deposition to make specialized semiconductor devices.
- **Circuit-board and packaged-chip inspection equipment** — Orbotech equipment inspects and measures printed circuit boards and chip packages, and can help create circuit patterns on boards and substrates.

### Customers

- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited is identified as a customer that accounted for more than 10% of KLA revenue in each of fiscal 2024, fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 (each fiscal year, high); KLA sells mainly through its direct sales force.
- Semiconductor manufacturers, including foundry and logic chipmakers and memory-chip makers, buy inspection, measurement and related equipment and services.
- Wafer, reticle or chip-making-mask, and chemical or materials manufacturers buy equipment to check quality during production.
- Printed circuit board, chip-substrate and packaged-chip manufacturers buy inspection, measurement and circuit-patterning equipment.

### Competitors

- Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) — Semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including process-control and inspection products.
- ASML Holding N.V. (ASML) — Semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including products that overlap with KLA in process control.
- Hitachi High-Tech Corporation (a Hitachi, Ltd. subsidiary) (6501) — Inspection and measurement equipment for semiconductor manufacturing; listing shown is the listed parent company, Hitachi, Ltd.
- Lasertec, Inc. (6920) — Inspection equipment used in semiconductor manufacturing.
- Onto Innovation Inc. (ONTO) — Inspection and measurement equipment for semiconductor manufacturing and packaging.

### What it depends on

- KLA depends on chipmakers and other electronics manufacturers investing in factory equipment; those purchases vary with industry conditions, end-market demand and customer spending cycles.
- A majority of revenue comes from outside the United States; international revenue was approximately 87% (fiscal year ended 2026-06-30, high).
- Some parts and materials are available only from one supplier or a limited group of suppliers, which can affect production and delivery.
- KLA depends on being able to sell and support equipment in major semiconductor manufacturing regions, including China, where trade rules and export controls can limit sales.

### What could go wrong

- Changes in semiconductor-industry investment, factory spending or demand for chips can lead customers to delay, change or cancel equipment orders.
- Export controls, tariffs and other trade restrictions can limit KLA's ability to sell or support products for customers, particularly in China.
- KLA identifies Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited as a customer exceeding 10% of revenue in each of fiscal 2024, fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026 (each fiscal year, high); disruption to that relationship could affect sales. Delays or shortages from sole-source and limited-source suppliers could also disrupt customer deliveries.

## More on this company

- [Overview](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/klac)
- [Financial statements](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/klac/financials)
- [Competitors](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/klac/peers)
- [Earnings](https://inspectstocks.com/stocks/klac/earnings)

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Source: InspectStocks, built from the company’s own SEC filings. This describes a business — it is not investment advice and not a recommendation to buy or sell anything.