Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin41.2%
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin35.2%
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Financial Health
B
Years to Pay Off Debt5.1 yrs
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt$1.7B
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital$7.6B
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Valuation
F
Margin of Safety0.0%
How far below the Graham Number the stock trades. Graham required a 33% discount as a buffer against analytical error. However, the Graham Number itself assumes 1960s-era P/E and P/B norms — for modern asset-light businesses it often understates true intrinsic value, making 0% MoS appear misleadingly bad.
Price-to-Book58.15x
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies like software and consumer brands.
Cash Flow
A
Free Cash Flow$622M
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
CapEx % of Net Income7.1%
Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.
Owner Earnings$1.4B
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
About KLA Corporation
KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection. It offers inspection and review tools to identify, locate, characterize, review, and analyze defects on various surfaces of patterned and unpatterned wafers; metrology systems to measure pattern dimensions, film thickness, film stress, layer-to-layer alignment, pattern placement, surface topography, and electro-optical properties for wafers; chemical process control equipment; wired and wireless sensor wafers and reticles; wafer defect inspection, review, and metrology systems; reticle inspection and metrology systems; wafer inspection and metrology systems; and semiconductor software solutions that provide run-time process control, defect excursion identification, process corrections, and defect classification to accelerate yield learning rates and reduce production risk. The company also provides etch, plasma dicing, deposition, and other wafer processing technologies and solutions for the semiconductor and microelectronics industry. In addition, it offers direct imaging, inspection, optical shaping, inkjet and additive printing, and computer-aided manufacturing and engineering solutions for the PCB market and inspection and metrology systems for quality control and yield improvement in advanced and traditional semiconductor packaging markets. The company was formerly known as KLA-Tencor Corporation and changed its name to KLA Corporation in July 2019. KLA Corporation was incorporated in 1975 and is headquartered in Milpitas, California.
KLA Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Process Control; Specialty Semiconductor Process; and PCB and Component Inspection. It offers inspection and review tools to identify, locate, characterize, review, and analyze defects on various surfaces of patterned and unpatterned wafers; metrology systems to measure pattern dimensions, film thickness, film stress, layer-to-layer alignment, pattern placement, surface topography, and electro-optical properties for wafers; chemical process control equipment; wired and wireless sensor wafers and reticles; wafer defect inspection, review, and metrology systems; reticle inspection and metrology systems; wafer inspection and metrology systems; and semiconductor software solutions that provide run-time process control, defect excursion identification, process corrections, and defect classification to accelerate yield learning rates and reduce production risk. The company also provides etch, plasma dicing, deposition, and other wafer processing technologies and solutions for the semiconductor and microelectronics industry. In addition, it offers direct imaging, inspection, optical shaping, inkjet and additive printing, and computer-aided manufacturing and engineering solutions for the PCB market and inspection and metrology systems for quality control and yield improvement in advanced and traditional semiconductor packaging markets. The company was formerly known as KLA-Tencor Corporation and changed its name to KLA Corporation in July 2019. KLA Corporation was incorporated in 1975 and is headquartered in Milpitas, California.
Metric Explanations
What each dimension measures and where the thresholds come from.
Gross Profit Margin
Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Years to Pay Off Debt
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Margin of Safety
How far below the Graham Number the stock trades. Graham required a 33% discount as a buffer against analytical error. However, the Graham Number itself assumes 1960s-era P/E and P/B norms — for modern asset-light businesses it often understates true intrinsic value, making 0% MoS appear misleadingly bad.
Price-to-Book
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies like software and consumer brands.
Free Cash Flow
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
CapEx % of Net Income
Capital expenditure as a share of net income. Low CapEx signals a capital-light business that doesn't need heavy reinvestment to sustain earnings — Buffett's ideal. High CapEx is structurally necessary in manufacturing, airlines, telecoms, and semiconductors. For these industries, a high reading reflects the business model, not poor management.
Owner Earnings
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
Mr. Market is currently offering KLA Corporation at $259.56.
The business passes only 3 of 7 of Graham's defensive criteria — well below his required standard.
At $259.56, the stock trades at a 758% premium to its Graham Number of $30.26. Graham would consider this price speculative.
There is no margin of safety at the current price. Graham would advise patience and waiting for a better entry point.
Trading at 1101.0x NCAV. Expected for most quality businesses — NCAV was designed to find depression-era bargains and rarely applies to modern profitable companies..
Conclusion: By Graham's standards, this stock is speculative at its current price. The intelligent investor would look elsewhere or wait.
Showing Key Metrics
Income Highlights
Metric
Q1 2026
Q4 2025
Q4 2024
Gross Profit %
61.1%▼
61.4%•
N/A
Operating Margin %
41.2%▼
41.3%•
N/A
Net Income %
35.2%▲
34.7%•
N/A
Diluted EPS
9.12▲
8.68•
N/A
Balance Sheet Highlights
Metric
Q1 2026
Q4 2025
Q3 2024
Total Assets
$16.9B
$16.7B
N/A
Total Debt
$6.1B▲
$6.1B•
N/A
Working Capital
$7.6B▲
$7.3B•
N/A
Years to Pay Debt
5.12
5.33
N/A
Cash Flow Highlights
Metric
Q1 2026
Q4 2025
Free Cash Flow
$622M▼
$1.3B
Owner Earnings
$1.4B
$1.4B
CapEx % of Net Income
7.1%
9.2%
Income Statement
2026
2025
2024
Tax Effect Of Unusual Items
0
0
Tax Rate For Calcs
0
0
Normalized EBITDA
1,586,272
1,499,239
Total Unusual Items
0
0
-239,100
Total Unusual Items Excluding Goodwill
0
0
-239,100
Net Income From Continuing Operation Net Minority Interest
1,200,990
1,145,682
Reconciled Depreciation
99,088
99,268
Reconciled Cost Of Revenue
1,327,672
1,271,210
EBITDA
1,586,272
1,499,239
EBIT
1,487,184
1,399,971
Net Interest Income
-70,423
-69,668
Interest Expense
70,423
69,668
Normalized Income
1,200,990
1,145,682
Net Income From Continuing And Discontinued Operation
1,200,990
1,145,682
Total Expenses
2,007,569
1,935,000
Diluted Average Shares
131,750
132,009
Basic Average Shares
130,909
131,278
Diluted EPS
0
0
Basic EPS
0
0
Diluted NI Availto Com Stockholders
1,200,990
1,145,682
Net Income Common Stockholders
1,200,990
1,145,682
Net Income
1,200,990
1,145,682
Net Income Including Noncontrolling Interests
1,200,990
1,145,682
Net Income Continuous Operations
1,200,990
1,145,682
Tax Provision
215,771
184,621
Pretax Income
1,416,761
1,330,303
Other Income Expense
79,675
37,825
Other Non Operating Income Expenses
79,675
37,825
Special Income Charges
0
0
-239,100
Impairment Of Capital Assets
239,100
Net Non Operating Interest Income Expense
-70,423
-69,668
Interest Expense Non Operating
70,423
69,668
Operating Income
1,407,509
1,362,146
Operating Expense
679,897
663,790
Research And Development
388,763
383,871
Selling General And Administration
291,134
279,919
Gross Profit
2,087,406
2,025,936
Cost Of Revenue
1,327,672
1,271,210
Total Revenue
3,415,078
3,297,146
Operating Revenue
3,415,078
3,297,146
Balance Sheet
2026
2025
2024
Treasury Shares Number
Ordinary Shares Number
130,710
131,143
Share Issued
130,710
131,143
Net Debt
4,100,053
3,434,004
Total Debt
6,145,360
6,109,478
Tangible Book Value
3,741,295
3,327,116
Invested Capital
11,717,558
11,351,859
Working Capital
7,599,424
7,281,333
Net Tangible Assets
3,741,295
3,327,116
Capital Lease Obligations
258,297
223,350
Common Stock Equity
5,830,495
5,465,731
Total Capitalization
11,717,558
11,351,859
Total Equity Gross Minority Interest
5,830,495
5,465,731
Stockholders Equity
5,830,495
5,465,731
Gains Losses Not Affecting Retained Earnings
-31,980
960
Other Equity Adjustments
-31,980
960
Retained Earnings
3,187,462
2,860,594
Additional Paid In Capital
Capital Stock
2,675,013
2,604,177
Common Stock
2,675,013
2,604,177
Total Liabilities Net Minority Interest
11,043,020
11,254,497
Total Non Current Liabilities Net Minority Interest
7,291,465
7,272,025
Other Non Current Liabilities
189,312
181,928
Employee Benefits
48,043
48,767
Non Current Pension And Other Postretirement Benefit Plans
48,043
48,767
Tradeand Other Payables Non Current
254,498
252,145
Non Current Deferred Liabilities
705,398
730,694
Non Current Deferred Revenue
261,216
278,016
Non Current Deferred Taxes Liabilities
444,182
452,678
Long Term Debt And Capital Lease Obligation
6,094,214
6,058,491
Long Term Capital Lease Obligation
207,151
172,363
Long Term Debt
5,887,063
5,886,128
Current Liabilities
3,751,555
3,982,472
Other Current Liabilities
566,022
494,294
Current Deferred Liabilities
1,982,981
2,191,664
Current Deferred Revenue
1,608,544
1,820,463
Current Debt And Capital Lease Obligation
51,146
50,987
Current Capital Lease Obligation
51,146
50,987
Current Debt
749,984
Other Current Borrowings
749,984
Pensionand Other Post Retirement Benefit Plans Current
470,913
550,870
Payables And Accrued Expenses
680,493
694,657
Current Accrued Expenses
48,253
110,058
Interest Payable
48,253
110,058
Payables
632,240
584,599
Total Tax Payable
117,231
159,410
Income Tax Payable
117,231
159,410
Accounts Payable
515,009
425,189
Total Assets
16,873,515
16,720,228
Total Non Current Assets
5,522,536
5,456,423
Other Non Current Assets
163,781
164,567
Non Current Deferred Assets
1,495,274
1,514,046
Non Current Deferred Taxes Assets
1,123,406
1,144,113
Non Current Accounts Receivable
78,210
Goodwill And Other Intangible Assets
2,089,200
2,138,615
Other Intangible Assets
300,717
348,018
Goodwill
1,788,483
1,790,597
Net PPE
1,696,071
1,639,195
Accumulated Depreciation
-1,634,657
-1,588,936
Gross PPE
3,330,728
3,228,131
Construction In Progress
220,756
210,611
Other Properties
332,287
294,427
Machinery Furniture Equipment
1,454,068
1,414,833
Buildings And Improvements
1,236,963
1,221,595
Land And Improvements
86,654
86,665
Current Assets
11,350,979
11,263,805
Other Current Assets
141,087
161,658
Current Deferred Assets
172,014
230,611
Prepaid Assets
173,576
154,399
Inventory
3,437,046
3,282,605
Other Inventories
602,543
625,503
Finished Goods
256,469
252,202
Work In Process
929,604
836,166
Raw Materials
1,648,430
1,568,734
Receivables
2,469,318
2,227,068
Other Receivables
100,906
93,117
Taxes Receivable
63,958
60,370
Accounts Receivable
2,304,454
2,073,581
Allowance For Doubtful Accounts Receivable
-58,049
-33,959
Gross Accounts Receivable
2,362,503
2,107,540
Cash Cash Equivalents And Short Term Investments
4,957,938
5,207,464
Other Short Term Investments
3,170,928
2,755,340
Cash And Cash Equivalents
1,787,010
2,452,124
Cash Flow
2026
2025
Free Cash Flow
622,264
1,262,031
Repurchase Of Capital Stock
-625,955
-547,750
Issuance Of Capital Stock
1
Capital Expenditure
-85,187
-105,576
Interest Paid Supplemental Data
131,392
7,700
Income Tax Paid Supplemental Data
179,496
283,901
End Cash Position
1,787,010
2,452,124
Beginning Cash Position
2,452,124
1,946,211
Effect Of Exchange Rate Changes
895
-1,433
Changes In Cash
-666,009
507,346
Financing Cash Flow
-879,152
-747,579
Cash Flow From Continuing Financing Activities
-879,152
-747,579
Net Other Financing Charges
-4,362
-5,717
Cash Dividends Paid
-248,836
-249,654
Common Stock Dividend Paid
-248,836
-249,654
Net Common Stock Issuance
-625,954
-492,208
Common Stock Payments
-625,955
-547,750
Common Stock Issuance
1
Investing Cash Flow
-494,308
-112,682
Cash Flow From Continuing Investing Activities
-494,308
-112,682
Net Other Investing Changes
2,451
15,241
Net Investment Purchase And Sale
-411,572
-22,347
Sale Of Investment
676,549
863,210
Purchase Of Investment
-1,088,121
-885,557
Net Intangibles Purchase And Sale
Purchase Of Intangibles
Capital Expenditure Reported
-85,187
-105,576
Operating Cash Flow
707,451
1,367,607
Cash Flow From Continuing Operating Activities
707,451
1,367,607
Change In Working Capital
-676,971
78,134
Change In Other Working Capital
-278,987
17,203
Change In Other Current Liabilities
-34,394
-61,147
Change In Other Current Assets
-63,783
-65,267
Change In Payables And Accrued Expense
93,276
-5,027
Change In Payable
93,276
-5,027
Change In Account Payable
93,276
-5,027
Change In Inventory
-159,135
1,214
Change In Receivables
-233,948
191,158
Changes In Account Receivables
-233,948
191,158
Stock Based Compensation
83,938
73,947
Deferred Tax
15,089
-31,728
Deferred Income Tax
15,089
-31,728
Depreciation Amortization Depletion
99,088
99,268
Depreciation And Amortization
99,088
99,268
Operating Gains Losses
-14,683
2,304
Net Foreign Currency Exchange Gain Loss
-14,000
2,304
Net Income From Continuing Operations
1,200,990
1,145,682
📊Quarterly mode — Graham Fair Value & 7 Criteria require annual data. Switch to Annual for full analysis.
Quarter vs Same Quarter Last Year
YoY strips seasonality
Revenue Growth (YoY)
Prior year: $3.1B▲ $3.4B+11.5%
Revenue growth vs same quarter last year strips seasonality. Consistent double-digit growth is a Buffett hallmark.
Gross Margin
Prior year: 61.6%▲ 61.1%-0.5pp
Buffett: consistent gross margin above 40% signals durable pricing power and competitive moat.
Operating Margin
Prior year: 46.0%▲ 41.2%-4.7pp
Graham: operating margin reflects true business economics before financing. Trend matters as much as level.
Net Margin
Prior year: 35.5%▲ 35.2%-0.4pp
Net margin can be distorted by one-time items, tax timing, or interest costs — compare to operating margin for signal quality.
Quarterly Health Checks
3 Graham/Buffett criteria that are valid and reliable on quarterly data
✅ Adequate Size
Graham required scale for resilience. Quarterly revenue × 4 gives an annualised proxy.
$3.4B/qtr (≈$13.7B ann.)
vs > $1.5B annualised revenue
✅ Financial Condition
Current assets vs current liabilities — a real-time liquidity snapshot. Valid and reliable on quarterly data.
3.03x current ratio
vs ≥ 2.0x
✅ Free Cash Flow
Buffett's most important single metric. A positive FCF quarter means the business generated real cash for owners after maintaining its asset base.
$622M
vs Positive
Operating Cash Flow
$707M
Latest quarter · Buffett's cash reality check
ROIC
8.5%
Based on latest annual operating income
Return on Invested Capital — Buffett's preferred measure for asset-light businesses. ROIC > 15% consistently signals a durable competitive advantage (moat). More meaningful than P/B for software, pharma, and consumer brand companies where most value is intangible and off-balance-sheet.
This company's primary assets are likely intangible (brand, IP, talent, network effects) and don't appear on the balance sheet. Net Assets may significantly understate intrinsic value. ROIC and free cash flow are more reliable indicators of business quality.
⚠️Revenue grew vs prior year but operating margin contracted. Possible explanations: deliberate investment in growth (hiring, marketing, R&D), input cost inflation, or pricing pressure from competition. Buffett distinguishes between spending that builds moat vs. spending that doesn't.
Peers & Industry
No auto-detected peers for Semiconductor Equipment & Materials. You can manually compare KLAC against any stock using the Compare tool.
"The management of a business is its most important single factor — more important than market position, patents, or financial structure."
— Benjamin Graham
Capital Allocation & Alignment
Insider Ownership
0.09%
Low — management has little skin in the game
Return on Equity (ROE)
20.6%
Excellent — management generates strong returns on equity
Return on Assets (ROA)
7.1%
Strong — management uses assets efficiently
Share Buybacks (Latest Year)
$2.1B
Management is returning capital to shareholders via buybacks
Debt Trend YoY
+0.6% YoY
Debt is roughly stable
Leadership Team
Richard Wallace
President, CEO & Executive Director
Age 65
Pay: $4,944,883
0.412% of net income
Bren Higgins
Executive VP & CFO
Age 55
Pay: $2,218,065
0.185% of net income
Ahmad Khan
President of Semiconductor Products & Customers
Age 51
Pay: $2,215,707
0.184% of net income
Brian Lorig
Executive Vice President of KLA Global Services
Age 51
Pay: $1,332,995
0.111% of net income
Kevin Kessel
Vice President of Investor Relations
Top Institutional Holders
Institution
% Owned
Shares
Blackrock Inc.
96.43%
125,962,070
Vanguard Capital Management LLC
65.22%
85,193,740
State Street Corporation
47.11%
61,535,030
FMR, LLC
33.69%
44,014,870
Capital World Investors
31.26%
40,840,690
Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC
30.84%
40,290,610
Geode Capital Management, LLC
28.12%
36,729,140
Capital International Investors
20.88%
27,281,380
Risk Analysis
Beta (Market Risk)
1.50
High volatility — moves more than the market
Short Interest
3.0% of float
Low short interest — market is not heavily bearish
Debt-to-Equity
1.05x
Moderate leverage
Current Ratio
3.03x
Strong liquidity — Graham approved
52-Week Price Range
Low: $83.22Current: $259.56High: $267.17
Currently at 96% of 52-week range
KLA Corporation (KLAC) fundamental analysis — Overall grade C based on profitability, financial health, valuation and cash flow. Graham's
Fair Value: $30.26. Margin of safety: 0%. Gross profit margin: 61.1%. Operating margin: 41.2%. Net margin: 35.2%. Market cap: $339.1B. Sector: Technology. Industry: Semiconductor Equipment & Materials. Analysis powered by 360investing — free fundamental stock analysis based on Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett
principles.
Disclaimer: 360investing is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. All data is sourced from public third-party providers
and may be delayed, inaccurate, or incomplete. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Analysis, scores, and valuations are algorithmic and do not represent professional investment recommendations. Always conduct your own due
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