KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Issues Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) issued an update on its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 8.870-10.870 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 9.800. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.4 billion-$3.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.5 billion.

KLA Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ KLAC traded up $7.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $1,816.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,077,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,067,245. The company has a market capitalization of $238.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 1.44. KLA has a 12-month low of $674.20 and a 12-month high of $1,939.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $1,580.75 and a 200-day moving average of $1,388.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.83.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.16 by $0.24. KLA had a net margin of 35.76% and a return on equity of 98.18%. The company had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that KLA will post 36.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

KLA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $1.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio is 22.11%.

KLA announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 12th that allows the company to buyback $7.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus lifted their target price on KLA from $1,400.00 to $1,750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Berenberg Bank increased their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,760.00 to $1,770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of KLA from $1,550.00 to $1,600.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of KLA from $1,850.00 to $2,000.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of KLA from $1,595.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,624.07.

Trending Headlines about KLA

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Beat on both EPS and revenue for Q3 — non?GAAP EPS $9.40 vs. $9.16 consensus; revenue $3.415B beat estimates. Management highlighted strong margins and free cash flow. KLA Corporation Reports Fiscal 2026 Third Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised capital returns: quarterly dividend hike to $2.30 and an additional $7B buyback authorization — a direct shareholder-friendly move that supports the stock. KLA Corporation Reports Fiscal 2026 Third Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued FY Q4 guidance and flagged strong AI-related demand; revenue/p of guidance are above some Street estimates, supporting forward growth expectations. KLA Corp forecasts strong quarterly revenue on AI-linked demand
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and outlets are parsing detail-level metrics (unit trends, segment mix, and guide ranges) to assess sustainability of the AI ramp; deeper metric analysis available for investors doing due diligence. KLA (KLAC) Q3 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Company slide deck and press materials were posted for the quarter — useful for modeling product mix, regional demand and margin cadence. Press Release / Slide Deck
• Negative Sentiment: Despite beats, some headlines note the stock initially pulled back on the print — short-term profit-taking and volatility followed the release. KLA Corp. Stock Slides On Q3 Earnings: What Investors Should Know
• Negative Sentiment: A large institutional holder disclosed a substantial reduction in KLAC shares this filing period, which can add selling pressure or weigh on sentiment in the short term. Fund Update: Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Just Disclosed New Holdings
• Negative Sentiment: Some media pieces summarize intraday share weakness post?report, contributing to short-term negative headlines despite the fundamentally strong quarter. KLA Corporation and NXP Semiconductors Shares Are Falling, What You Need To Know

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinebridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of KLA in the 4th quarter worth about $32,812,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 91,413 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $111,910,000 after acquiring an additional 21,850 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of KLA by 237.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 17,055 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $20,723,000 after acquiring an additional 12,006 shares during the last quarter. Longbow Finance SA purchased a new position in KLA in the fourth quarter worth about $6,105,000. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in KLA by 30.1% in the third quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 10,981 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $11,844,000 after acquiring an additional 2,540 shares in the last quarter. 86.65% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

KLA Company Profile

KLA is a provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. The company designs and manufactures equipment, software and services used by chipmakers to analyze and control manufacturing processes, detect defects, measure critical dimensions and improve yield across wafer fabrication, photomask and packaging operations. KLA’s offerings are aimed at enabling production of advanced logic, memory, and specialty devices at progressively smaller technology nodes and more complex package structures.

Its product portfolio includes optical and e-beam inspection systems, metrology tools for critical dimension and film measurement, mask and reticle inspection platforms, as well as enterprise software and data analytics that aggregate process data and drive automated process control.