KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Releases Q4 2026 Earnings Guidance

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) updated its fourth quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 8.870-10.870 for the period, compared to the consensus 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Susquehanna lifted their target price on KLA from $1,600.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Dbs Bank upgraded KLA from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $1,750.00 target price on shares of KLA in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of KLA in a research note on Friday. Finally, Evercore lifted their target price on KLA from $1,350.00 to $1,700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1,788.52.

KLA Price Performance

KLAC stock traded down $24.26 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $1,726.09. 194,489 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,066,606. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $1,586.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,391.30. The stock has a market cap of $226.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.76, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.44. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $675.27 and a fifty-two week high of $1,939.36. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $9.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.17 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $3.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. KLA had a return on equity of 95.45% and a net margin of 35.66%.KLA’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.41 earnings per share. KLA has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 8.870-10.870 EPS. Research analysts predict that KLA will post 36.64 earnings per share for the current year.

KLA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $1.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $7.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. KLA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.51%.

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

Key KLA News

Here are the key news stories impacting KLA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KLA beat Q3 expectations on both EPS and revenue, showing continued demand for its process-control tools. Strong operating cash flow and free cash flow figures were highlighted in the release. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Management raised shareholder returns: a higher quarterly dividend ($2.30/share) starting in May and an additional $7 billion share repurchase authorization — a clear cash-return catalyst. Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Broker support picked up: multiple firms raised price targets and maintained bullish ratings (Needham to $2,000; Wells Fargo to $2,100; JPMorgan raised its target), which provides mid-term upside thesis for investors focused on AI-driven chip demand. Broker Notes
• Neutral Sentiment: KLA guided Q4 EPS to a range of $8.87–$10.87 (consensus ~$9.80) and revenue $3.4B–$3.8B (consensus ~$3.5B) — the midpoint is roughly in line with Street expectations but the wide ranges left some investors uncertain. Earnings/Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Management and analysts continue to point to AI-linked demand as the primary growth driver; this supports longer-term structural growth but timing and cadence of customer ramps remain the key variables. Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell after the print because some investors expected even stronger near-term guidance or commentary; headlines noted the stock “tumbled” despite an above-consensus outlook, signaling profit-taking and knee-jerk reaction to guidance nuance. Seeking Alpha
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and recent run-up: KLAC has surged over the past year (~161% in some coverage) and trades at a high multiple (~50x 2026 EPS), increasing vulnerability to short-term profit-taking. Yahoo Finance

Hedge Funds Weigh In On KLA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 2.9% in the third quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 358 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 1,552 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14 shares during the period. Monetary Management Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of KLA by 0.4% during the second quarter. Monetary Management Group Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,380,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 1.6% during the second quarter. Tandem Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of KLA by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellspring Financial Advisors LLC now owns 223 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.65% of the company’s stock.

About KLA

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.