KLA Corporation (KLAC) stands as the indispensable gatekeeper of the semiconductor world, currently trading at $1,496.00 as of the market close on February 20, 2026. As chip architectures move toward 2nm and beyond, the "process control intensity"—the amount of inspection and measurement required per wafer—is skyrocketing.Read more
Key Takeaways Geopolitical tensions, regulatory shifts, and fragmented supply chains are increasing costs and limiting market access, putting sustained pressure on margins and profitability. Demand for KLA's core products faces stagnation as industry shifts technologies, with customer concentration further amplifying risks of volatile earnings declines.Read more
Key Takeaways KLA is positioned to benefit from rising AI chip complexity and advanced packaging, driving higher margins and recurring software revenue through greater process control intensity. Global semiconductor supply chain shifts and government investments support multi-year growth and stability in KLA's core business, with expanding opportunities in e-beam applications.Read more
Key Takeaways Rapid adoption of AI and advanced packaging is driving strong demand, revenue growth, operating leverage, and consistent margin expansion across KLA's business. Recurring service revenue and long-term customer investments enhance earnings stability, while differentiated platforms secure expanding market share.Read more
KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection. It offers inspection and review tools to identify, locate, characterize, review, and analyze defects on various surfaces of patterned and unpatterned wafers; metrology systems to measure pattern dimensions, film thickness, film stress, layer-to-layer alignment, pattern placement, surface topography, and electro-optical properties for wafers; chemical process control equipment; wired and wireless sensor wafers and reticles; wafer defect inspection, review, and metrology systems; reticle inspection and metrology systems; wafer inspection and metrology systems; and semiconductor software solutions that provide run-time process control, defect excursion identification, process corrections, and defect classification to accelerate yield learning rates and reduce production risk. The company also provides etch, plasma dicing, deposition, and other wafer processing technologies and solutions for the semiconductor and microelectronics industry. In addition, it offers direct imaging, inspection, optical shaping, inkjet and additive printing, and computer-aided manufacturing and engineering solutions for the PCB market and inspection and metrology systems for quality control and yield improvement in advanced and traditional semiconductor packaging markets. The company was formerly known as KLA-Tencor Corporation and changed its name to KLA Corporation in July 2019. KLA Corporation was incorporated in 1975 and is headquartered in Milpitas, California.
