11/02/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/02/2026 02:19
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KLA (KLAC) stock lost 21.2% from October 1 to October 30, 2026, trailing a 1.1% dip for the S&P 500 over the same dates, in the same month it reported what management called record quarterly revenue. A 40% gain would lift the shares from the $157.91 close on October 30 to about $220. Reaching that level in three years depends mostly on how fast KLA can keep growing its sales. So what could the shares be worth on the company's own numbers?
What Could KLA Shares Be Worth In Three Years?
Based on KLA's own figures, the shares would be worth about 40.3% more three years from now, translating to an annual gain of about 12.0% before dividends. The Trefis scenario driving that figure assumes revenue grows each year at 85% of the pace KLA recorded over the twelve months to September 2026. The year-three net margin blends 70% of today's margin with 30% of its average at earlier quarter ends, and the P/E stays at today's level. That P/E sits slightly above 38.3, which is the average of KLA's P/E across its last 12 fiscal quarter ends. The table below compares the company today against the scenario three years out.
| Today | In three years (scenario) | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $14.5 billion | $21.2 billion |
| Net margin | 36.2% | 34.8% |
| Earnings | $5.26 billion | $7.38 billion |
| P/E | 39.2 | 39.2 |
| Share price | $157.91 | $221.60 |
Higher revenue drives all of the gain, and a little more, while none comes from the P/E. Nearly all of that revenue comes from Semiconductor Process Control, which generated 90.2% of sales in fiscal 2026, the year ended June 2026. Management said leading edge foundry logic tied to AI infrastructure investments and increased process control in advanced packaging supported the September quarter.
KLA's Quarterly Sales Growth Is Speeding Up
KLA's revenue grew 28.9% from a year earlier in the quarter ended September 2026, accelerating from 7.2% in the quarter ended December 2025 and rising in each quarter since. Sales in the latest quarter grew well above the twelve-month pace used to start the scenario. For the December quarter, management guides to revenue of $4.7 billion plus or minus $200 million, compared with $4.14 billion in the September quarter.
On the October 28, 2026 call, management said customers are planning investment cycles spanning several years and asking KLA to prioritize their projects, and that the company remains behind in supply. Some deliveries can slip, however: a couple of customers have put their orders on hold while waiting for their own facilities to be ready.
How Does KLA's Upside Change In Different Scenarios?
The table below shows the upside when one assumption changes and the other two remain exactly as they are in the scenario.
| If instead | Upside |
|---|---|
| Nothing changes (the scenario) | 40.3% |
| Revenue growth of 11.4% a year instead of 13.4% | 33.0% |
| Net margin of 31.5% in year three instead of 34.8% | 27.1% |
| 5 years at the same assumptions instead of 3 | 80.6% |
A lower net margin in year three erodes some of the gain. The scenario sets the margin lower because KLA starts near the top of its own range. The company's net margin over the twelve months to September 2026 sits well above its 31.5% average across the 12 prior quarter ends, and margins were lower than today's level in 36 of the 40 quarter ends from fiscal Q2 2017 to fiscal Q1 2027. Management said persistently high memory costs are offsetting a portion of the operating leverage KLA demonstrates as it grows.
The scenario projects annual revenue growth of 13.4%, which is 85% of the 15.8% pace KLA recorded over the twelve months to September 2026. Changing these variables one at a time, revenue growth could slow to 1.3% before three years of owning the stock returned nothing. The year-three net margin could fall from the scenario's 34.8% to 24.8% with the same result. Finally, the P/E could drop from 39.2 to 27.9 before the gain was gone.
KLA is expected to report its December quarter results in January 2027, and revenue growth compared with a year earlier is the measure to watch.
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