KLA Forecasts $4.7 Billion December-Quarter Revenue After Fiscal Q1 Beat

KLA forecast another sharp step up in sales for the December quarter after its fiscal first-quarter revenue and earnings landed above the midpoints of its own guidance, as the chip-equipment maker pointed to demand tied to the AI buildout.

The company expects fiscal second-quarter revenue of $4.7 billion, plus or minus $200 million, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $1.44, plus or minus $0.11, according to the earnings release it filed with an 8-K on Wednesday. That compares with first-quarter revenue of $4.14 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $1.22.

Above the midpoint

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 rose to $4.14 billion from $3.21 billion a year earlier and $3.66 billion in the June quarter. KLA had guided to $4.0 billion, plus or minus $200 million.

GAAP net income increased to $1.55 billion, or $1.18 a diluted share, from $1.12 billion, or $0.85, a year earlier. Non-GAAP net income was $1.60 billion, or $1.22 a share, up from $0.88 a share. Per-share figures reflect the ten-for-one stock split that took effect June 11, 2026.

"KLA's September quarter beat the midpoint of guidance across all key metrics, demonstrating the accelerated growth we expected for the second half of calendar 2026," President and CEO Rick Wallace said in the release.

The AI angle

Wallace said process control "continues to be critical to the AI ecosystem buildout," citing growth in leading-edge foundry and logic designs, memory complexity and performance requirements, and the importance of advanced packaging. He added that KLA's PCB and component inspection businesses are benefiting from the performance requirements of high-performance computing.

"KLA's market-leading product portfolio and its associated services offerings remain well positioned to address these compelling opportunities as we approach the end of calendar 2026 and look forward to calendar 2027," Wallace said.

Semiconductor Process Control, by far the largest segment, generated $3.75 billion in revenue, up from $2.90 billion a year earlier. PCB and Component Inspection rose to $242 million from $189 million, and Specialty Semiconductor Process brought in $139 million, up from $120 million.

Cash flow and buybacks

Operating cash flow was $1.53 billion in the quarter and $4.51 billion over the past 12 months, while free cash flow was $1.34 billion and $4.04 billion, respectively.

KLA returned $1.24 billion to shareholders in the quarter, made up of $936 million in share repurchases and $305 million in dividends. Over the last 12 months, capital returns totaled $3.79 billion.

December-quarter targets

Along with the revenue and non-GAAP EPS outlook, KLA guided to GAAP diluted EPS of $1.41, plus or minus $0.11, and non-GAAP gross margin of 62.5%, plus or minus 1 percentage point. It expects GAAP gross margin of 61.8%, plus or minus 1 point.

Sources

1. KLA Form 8-K with first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings release (Exhibit 99.1), filed Oct. 28, 2026 (accession 0000319201-26-000032)

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