KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.85 EPS

Key Points

• KLA reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.85, and achieved a revenue of $3.17 billion, which is a 23.6% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.90, translating to an annualized dividend of $7.60, and a yield of 0.9%.
• KLA's Board has approved a $5.00 billion share buyback plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The semiconductor company reported $9.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.53 by $0.85, Zacks reports. KLA had a net margin of 31.99% and a return on equity of 112.97%. The firm had revenue of $3.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.60 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.6% on a year-over-year basis. KLA updated its Q1 2026 guidance to 7.760-9.300 EPS.

KLA Price Performance

NASDAQ KLAC traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $881.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 486,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,826. The stock has a market cap of $116.54 billion, a PE ratio of 32.07, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.42. KLA has a fifty-two week low of $551.33 and a fifty-two week high of $945.87. The company's 50-day moving average is $872.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $767.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a current ratio of 2.54.

KLA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.90 dividend. This represents a $7.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This is a positive change from KLA's previous quarterly dividend of $1.70. KLA's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.63%.

Insider Activity at KLA

In related news, CAO Virendra A. Kirloskar sold 39 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $891.50, for a total value of $34,768.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,616 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,332,164. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard P. Wallace sold 10,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $683.30, for a total transaction of $7,381,006.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 78,740 shares in the company, valued at $53,803,042. This represents a 12.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,860 shares of company stock valued at $8,196,798. Insiders own 0.12% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KLAC. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $1,035.00 target price (up from $835.00) on shares of KLA in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $740.00 to $950.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of KLA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $790.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of KLA in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on shares of KLA from $770.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, KLA currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $870.18.

KLA announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, April 30th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 5.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

KLA Company Profile

KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, manufacture, and marketing of process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. It operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.