BN · rank #11 · 2026-10-26
KLAC
NASDAQ · $190.02B (USD)
The exact numbers the algorithm saw.
| Composite score Z-score blend of the factors below; drives the rank. | 0.40 |
|---|---|
| Forward revenue growth Consensus forward revenue growth. | +18.9% |
| Forward net margin Consensus forward net margin. | +36.9% |
| Net margin TTM Trailing twelve month net margin. | +35.6% |
| Margin expansion Forward minus trailing net margin (percentage points). | +1.3% |
| Forward PEG Forward P/E to growth. Below 1 is cheap for the growth. | 1.80 |
| Debt / FCF Net debt relative to free cash flow. Lower is safer. | 1.63× |
| Analyst upside Spread between the consensus 12m target and the current price. | +59.6% |
| Last EPS surprise Most recent reported EPS versus consensus. | +5% |
| Market cap (USD) | $190.02B |
The AI research card
Independent qualitative review of each pick before the order is placed. On the rare day the research service is unavailable, the paper book trades on the quant ranking alone and no card appears here.
Summary
KLA Corporation is the dominant provider of wafer inspection, metrology, and process-control systems that semiconductor fabs require to manage defect density and yield as chip complexity escalates into advanced logic, HBM, and advanced packaging.
Rationale
The bottleneck-solver thesis is directly reinforced: KLA's $12.57B backlog (up 60% YoY), ~$1B advanced-packaging process-control revenue in 2026, and 18.9% forward revenue growth confirm it is a structural gating constraint on AI chip supply, not merely a sentiment beneficiary.
Material risks
- 1China at 30% of fiscal 2026 revenue is a concentrated single-geography exposure where incremental U.S. export controls or Entity List additions could abruptly impair backlog conversion and revenue recognition, directly undermining the visibility that anchors the thesis.
- 2Applied Materials, Onto Innovation, and Hitachi High-Tech are actively competing in inspection/metrology, and any customer shift toward bundled or in-house process-control solutions would erode KLA's pricing power and share without a sole-source legal barrier to slow defection.
AI verdict council
Each pick is reviewed independently by 3 models before any order. 3 of 3 voted to proceed.