KLAC
KLA Corporation
KLAC's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
MU
Micron Technology, Inc.
MU has the edge over KLAC overall, supported by stronger valuation and stronger fundamentals.
KLAC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
KLAC's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
MU Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Strong |
MU's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently strong.
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.
MU PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 4.6x | $798 | — |
| Cheap | 10x | $777 | -2.7% |
| Current | 11x | $798 | — |
| Fair | 22x | $1,646 | +106% |
| Expensive | 32x | $2,404 | +201% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
MU has the edge over KLAC in the historical PE scenario, which offers more potential upside but is not a forecast.
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.
MU Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strong growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Broad | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect strong earnings and revenue growth for MU, with profitability improving.
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's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $3.99 over the past year, up 25% from the year before, and higher year over year for eight quarters in a row.
MU Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $174.95 | +135% |
| Q3 2026 | $74.33 | +879% |
| Q2 2026 | $44.17 | +693% |
| Q1 2026 | $21.18 | +405% |
| Q4 2025 | $10.52 | +201% |
| Q3 2025 | $7.59 | +984% |
| Q2 2025 | $5.57 | +$6.99 |
| Q1 2025 | $4.19 | +$7.64 |
| Q4 2024 | $3.49 | +$9.77 |
MU's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $74.33 over the past year, about 10 times what it earned the year before, and higher year over year for 10 quarters in a row.
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's revenue has grown year over year for 10 quarters in a row: $4.1B last quarter, up 29% from the same quarter a year ago.
| 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's operating margin was 44% last quarter, up 3.3 points from the same quarter a year ago, near the top of its range since 2019.
MU Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $54.2B | +379% |
| Q2 2026 | $41.5B | +346% |
| Q1 2026 | $23.9B | +196% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.6B | +57% |
| Q3 2025 | $11.3B | +46% |
| Q2 2025 | $9.3B | +37% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.1B | +38% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.7B | +84% |
MU has the edge over KLAC on sales, with stronger typical year-over-year growth.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 81% | +48 points |
| Q2 2026 | 80% | +57 points |
| Q1 2026 | 68% | +46 points |
| Q4 2025 | 45% | +20 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +13 points |
| Q2 2025 | 23% | +13 points |
| Q1 2025 | 22% | +19 points |
| Q4 2024 | 25% | +49 points |
MU has the edge over KLAC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
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.
MU Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $32.9B | +45543% |
| Q2 2026 | $17.6B | +951% |
| Q1 2026 | $5.5B | +$5.6B |
| Q4 2025 | $3B | +7853% |
| Q3 2025 | $72M | -75% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.7B | +322% |
| Q1 2025 | -$113M | +$52M |
| Q4 2024 | $38M | +$433M |
MU has the edge over KLAC on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
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 MU 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.
MU Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.2% | -2M shares |
| 1 year | +1.6% | +18M shares |
| 3 years | +4.6% | +50M shares |
| 5 years | +0.2% | +2M shares |
| Available history | +1.2% | +14M shares |
MU has 1.1B diluted shares, up 1.6% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | — |
| Q2 2026 | — |
| Q1 2026 | $350M |
| Q4 2025 | $300M |
| Q3 2024 | $300M |
| Q2 2024 | — |
| Q1 2024 | — |
| Q4 2023 | — |
MU has spent almost nothing on buybacks in the past year.
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's net debt is less than a year of its operating earnings (EBITDA).
MU Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2026 | -0.3x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.1x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | 0.1x | Very low |
| Q3 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q2 2025 | 0.3x | Very low |
| Q1 2025 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q4 2024 | 0.6x | Very low |
MU has the edge over KLAC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
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).
MU Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 47.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 26.9 | Neutral |
MU's weekly RSI is 47 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 27 (neutral).
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.
MU PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | MU | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 11x | 28x | 61% below |
| PE % | 18 | 35 | 17 pts below |
MU has the edge over KLAC on valuation relative to its sector.
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.
MU Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $914.5 | 13% below |
| 20 week MA | $931.0 | 14% below |
| 50 week MA | $685.9 | 16% above |
| 100 week MA | $405.4 | 97% above |
| 200 week MA | $246.0 | 225% above |
MU has the edge over KLAC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
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.
MU Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $54.0 | $70.6 | +31% |
| 2021 | $70.6 | $94.4 | +34% |
| 2022 | $94.4 | $50.2 | -47% |
| 2023 | $50.2 | $85.3 | +70% |
| 2024 | $85.3 | $88.6 | +3.9% |
| 2025 | $88.6 | $284.8 | +221% |
| 2026 YTD | $284.8 | $798.4 | +180% |
MU has the edge over KLAC on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.