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🐂 KLAC — Company Profile (Teaching)

Teaching site, not investment advice. Specific market cap / stock price / financial figures change frequently and are intentionally omitted; use the SEC + Yahoo Finance links below to pull real-time data yourself.

📌 Basics

Dimension Content Source
Core business Global absolute leader in semiconductor process control / inspection equipment — wafer inspection (defect detection) + mask inspection + metrology + service. Indispensable for yield improvement at advanced nodes (3nm/2nm) 10-K FY25
Founded / HQ 1997 (KLA + Tencor merger) / Milpitas, California, USA wiki
CEO Rick Wallace (since 2006/01; rare 20-year tenure) DEF 14A
Primary listing NASDAQ: KLAC —
Fiscal year Ends June 30 (FY26 Q3 = Jan-Mar 2026 quarter) SEC EDGAR

💡 Real-time market cap / share price / China revenue share: see SEC primary + IR links below.

🏭 Supply Chain Coordinates (Part 1-C6 framework)

Upstream (Who KLAC Depends On)

Supplier What flows Key dependency
Global precision optics + electron beam + software + AI inspection algorithms High-precision components + AI/ML algorithms Multi-source
US + global R&D talent Inspection algorithm R&D (KLAC software + hardware synergy)

Downstream (Who Depends on KLAC)

Customer Relationship Concentration
TSM Full process yield inspection + metrology Top-3 customer
SSNLF Samsung (Foundry + Memory) Full process Top-3
INTC 18A inspection Growing
SKH + MU DRAM HBM yield inspection Key memory customers
Chinese customers (SMIC / CXMT / YMTC) Mature node inspection ~33% of KLA revenue FY25 (FY24=43%, FY23=27%; per KLA 10-K)

Competitors

  • Wafer defect inspection: KLAC absolute leader (80%+ share); ASML (some lithography metrology — small share) / ONTO Onto Innovation / CAMT Camtek (small shares)
  • Mask inspection: KLAC high-end leader / Lasertec (Japan, 6920.T) holds important share in EUV mask metrology — KLAC catching up
  • CMP + deposition + etch: KLAC does not do (doesn't directly compete with AMAT / LRCX / TOELY)
  • EUV lithography: ASML (KLAC does not do)

💼 Business Model + Value Capture (Part 1-C7 view)

  • Revenue mix: Semiconductor Process Control (main wafer + mask inspection business) ~80%+ / Specialty Semiconductor Process + PCB / Component Inspection ~10-15% / Service ~25%+ (high-GM recurring revenue)
  • Gross margin: Overall ~62% — highest in semiconductor equipment (reflects near-monopoly inspection + high-GM service)
  • Pricing power: Near-monopoly in inspection, extremely strong pricing power
  • Substitution difficulty: Extremely high — advanced nodes yield is highly KLAC-dependent; no real alternative

(For specific quarterly revenue / China revenue share / GM trend, see the latest SEC 10-Q.)

🏰 Moat Assessment (Part 3-C2 Buffett 5-step lens)

Type Strength (0-1) Source
Brand 0.7 Absolute inspection recognition in semiconductor equipment
Switching cost 1.0 Advanced node yield is heavily dependent on KLAC algorithms + database; switching is effectively impossible
Network effects 0.6 Customer usage → KLAC algorithm library grows → more customers depend
Scale + cost 1.0 80%+ inspection share, physical scale + algorithm R&D dual moat

Composite: 3.3 / 4 → extremely strong moat, the cleanest physical + data dual moat in semiconductor equipment

⚠️ Key Reverse-Trigger Conditions (Part 3-C5 anti-thesis view)

  • Trigger 1 (event): US further restricts inspection equipment exports to China (some high-end EUV mask inspection already restricted)
  • Trigger 2 (cyclical): Global semiconductor capex downturn — KLAC cyclicality slightly weaker than ASML (Service GM cushion)
  • Trigger 3 (low probability): Lasertec EUV mask metrology takes significant long-term share from KLAC
  • Trigger 4 (low probability): Chinese domestic inspection equipment breakthrough — long-term share risk
  • Trigger 5 (quarterly): Any major customer (TSM / Samsung / Intel) significant capex cut

🔗 Teaching Cross-References

📚 SEC Primary Filings (look it up yourself)

Real-time quote: Yahoo Finance KLAC

Teaching use · numbers change — learn the method, not the specific figures · investment decisions are based on your own research + risk tolerance