INTC
Intel Corporation
INTC offers stronger valuation, but that advantage does not outweigh its weaker overall profile.
KLAC
KLA Corporation
KLAC has the edge over INTC overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger modeled upside.
INTC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
INTC's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its profitability is under pressure.
KLAC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
KLAC's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
INTC PE Valuation
INTC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
KLAC PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cheap | 18x | $72.57 | -54% |
| Forward | 25x | $157 | — |
| Fair | 27x | $109 | -31% |
| Expensive | 39x | $156 | -0.9% |
| Current | 39x | $157 | — |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
KLAC's PE is in its expensive range at 39x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 25x next year's earnings, in its fair range.
INTC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Broad | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for INTC, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
KLAC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for KLAC, with profitability improving.
INTC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.41 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$2.39 | -24000% |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.09 | +$2.68 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.60 | +$3.88 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.06 | +$4.32 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.01 | +$3.72 |
| Q2 2025 | -$4.77 | -2088% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.48 | -562% |
| Q4 2024 | -$4.38 | -1195% |
INTC has swung to a loss: it lost $2.39 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
KLAC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $6.22 | +56% |
| Q3 2026 | $3.99 | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.66 | +20% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.53 | +28% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.44 | +45% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.18 | +45% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.04 | +50% |
| Q1 2025 | $2.75 | +44% |
| Q4 2024 | $2.38 | +21% |
KLAC has the edge over INTC on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
INTC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $16.5B | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $16.1B | +25% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.6B | +7.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.7B | -4.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $13.7B | +2.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.9B | +0.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.7B | -0.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $14.3B | -7.4% |
INTC's revenue is recovering but still below its 2021 peak: $16.5B last quarter, up 21% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +10 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +36 points |
| Q1 2026 | -23% | -21 points |
| Q4 2025 | 4.2% | +1.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 5% | +73 points |
| Q2 2025 | -25% | -9.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | -2.4% | +6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.9% | -14 points |
INTC's operating margin was 15% last quarter, up 10 points from the same quarter a year ago.
KLAC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $4.1B | +29% |
| Q2 2026 | $3.7B | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $3.4B | +11% |
| Q4 2025 | $3.3B | +7.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.2B | +13% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.2B | +24% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.1B | +30% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.1B | +24% |
KLAC has the edge over INTC on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 44% | +3.3 points |
| Q2 2026 | 42% | +0.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 41% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 40% | +8.7 points |
| Q3 2025 | 41% | +2.8 points |
| Q2 2025 | 42% | +5.1 points |
| Q1 2025 | 41% | +12 points |
| Q4 2024 | 32% | +3.8 points |
KLAC has the edge over INTC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
INTC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1B | +774% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.5B | +$6B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.5B | +$1.8B |
| Q4 2025 | $800M | +$3.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $121M | +$2.5B |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.5B | +$1.9B |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.4B | +$2.8B |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.7B | -$597M |
INTC has the edge over KLAC on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
KLAC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.3B | +25% |
| Q2 2026 | $817.1M | -23% |
| Q1 2026 | $622.3M | -37% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.3B | +67% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.1B | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.1B | +28% |
| Q1 2025 | $990M | +18% |
| Q4 2024 | $757.2M | +39% |
KLAC's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $4B over the past year, up 4.1% from the year before.
INTC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +4% | +203M shares |
| 1 year | +17% | +776M shares |
| 3 years | +25% | +1.1B shares |
| 5 years | +30% | +1.2B shares |
| Available history | +19% | +834M shares |
INTC has 5.3B diluted shares, up 17% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | $114M |
| Q1 2021 | $2.3B |
KLAC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.6% | -8.6M shares |
| 1 year | -1% | -12.7M shares |
| 3 years | -4.4% | -60M shares |
| 5 years | -15% | -223M shares |
| Available history | -17% | -275M shares |
KLAC has the edge over INTC on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $935.8M |
| Q2 2026 | $571M |
| Q1 2026 | $626M |
| Q4 2025 | $547.8M |
| Q3 2025 | $545.1M |
| Q2 2025 | $425.7M |
| Q1 2025 | $506.7M |
| Q4 2024 | $650.1M |
KLAC spent $2.7B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 26% from the year before.
INTC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 69.6x | High |
| Q3 2024 | 23.8x | High |
| Q2 2024 | 4.3x | High |
INTC's net debt is about 2.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.0 years a year ago.
KLAC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q1 2026 | 0.7x | Very low |
| Q4 2025 | 0.6x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.8x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.9x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 1.0x | Very low |
KLAC has the edge over INTC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
INTC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 7.7 | Oversold |
INTC's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
KLAC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 44.4 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 21.4 | Neutral |
KLAC's weekly RSI is 44 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 21 (neutral).
INTC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | INTC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
INTC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
KLAC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | KLAC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 39x | 28x | 41% above |
| PE % | 84 | 35 | 49 pts above |
KLAC is trading at 39x earnings, a 41% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
INTC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $88.4 | 31% below |
| 20 week MA | $95.3 | 36% below |
| 50 week MA | $79.3 | 23% below |
| 100 week MA | $52.1 | 18% above |
| 200 week MA | $42.5 | 44% above |
INTC has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 44% above its 200-week average.
KLAC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $169.4 | 7.2% below |
| 20 week MA | $186.7 | 16% below |
| 50 week MA | $173.7 | 9.4% below |
| 100 week MA | $129.4 | 22% above |
| 200 week MA | $94.0 | 67% above |
KLAC has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 67% above its 200-week average.
INTC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $60.1 | $47.1 | -22% |
| 2021 | $47.1 | $51.3 | +9% |
| 2022 | $51.3 | $26.1 | -49% |
| 2023 | $26.1 | $50.3 | +93% |
| 2024 | $50.3 | $20.3 | -60% |
| 2025 | $20.3 | $36.2 | +78% |
| 2026 YTD | $36.2 | $61.2 | +69% |
INTC has the edge over KLAC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.
KLAC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $17.9 | $25.9 | +45% |
| 2021 | $25.9 | $42.1 | +62% |
| 2022 | $42.1 | $37.7 | -10% |
| 2023 | $37.7 | $58.1 | +54% |
| 2024 | $58.1 | $64.5 | +11% |
| 2025 | $64.5 | $128.0 | +98% |
| 2026 YTD | $128.0 | $157.3 | +23% |
KLAC has finished higher in five of the last six years, three of them by more than 50%. It's up 23% so far in 2026.