LRCX

- Graco shares fell 15% on Thursday after its third-quarter adjusted EPS and revenue missed estimates and its fourth-quarter revenue outlook came in below consensus. - Half of Graco's 8% sales growth came from acquisitions, and adjusted operating earnings rose just 1% because higher product costs used up its price increases. - TTM Technologies, Lam Research and Nokia also fell sharply on Thursday despite beating estimates, while Snap-on fell far less than Graco on bigger misses. - Incoming organic orders rose 7% in the quarter, and the fourth-quarter report will show whether costs or demand matter more. Graco (GGG:NYSE) shares sank 15% on Thursday. Its third-quarter results came out after Wednesday's close, missed estimates, and came with a light fourth-quarter outlook. That's a rough reception for record third-quarter sales. "Graco delivered a solid quarter, with broad-based performance across our businesses and geographies," said President and CEO Mark Sheahan. Wall Street wanted more than solid. - Adjusted EPS: $0.81, up 5% from a year ago but below the $0.84 consensus - Revenue: $586.4 million, up 8%, against $590.6 million expected - Fourth-quarter revenue guidance: $610 million to $640 million, against a $642.4 million consensus The third-quarter misses were small. But even the top of that guide falls short of the consensus, and its midpoint is about 3% light. Only half of that 8% sales growth was organic. Acquisitions added the other 4 points. And adjusted operating earnings rose just 1%, to $160.9 million, as Graco's price increases did little more than cover higher product costs. That's unusual for Graco. Its operating margin stayed between 26.1% and 27.5% every year from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2025. It was a rough day for reports that didn't clear a high bar: - TTM Technologies (TTMI:NASDAQ) closed down 27.7% despite beating estimates on record revenue. The midpoint of its fourth-quarter EPS guidance matched consensus, while its revenue midpoint came in slightly below. - Lam Research (LRCX:NASDAQ) closed down 11.8% after a record quarter, with supply constraints holding its guidance to roughly in line with expectations. - Nokia (NOK) closed down 14.8% after keeping its full-year operating-profit outlook and cutting its free-cash-flow conversion assumption to 35% to 55%, from 55% to 75%. - Snap-on (SNA:NYSE) closed down 3.4% after missing revenue and EPS estimates, with organic sales down 2.8%. Graco's day looks more like Snap-on's than the rest. TTM, Lam and Nokia beat quarterly expectations and fell on their outlooks, while Graco and Snap-on missed. Snap-on's misses were bigger, though, and its stock fell just 3.4%. Graco's below-consensus fourth-quarter guidance may help explain its larger decline. See the full breakdown of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings on Graco, along with Wall Street's revenue and earnings estimates, all in one place. More than 500,000 investors use TIKR to research stocks like this one. See Graco's Analyst Ratings Going into the report, Graco traded at 23x forward earnings. That was below its 26x five-year average and not far above its 21x low from June 2022… After Thursday's drop, it's just under 20x, below even that low (on estimates that may yet fall). A 15% drop for an outlook about 3% light is more than this quarter deserves, especially with incoming organic orders up 7% in the quarter. I think the sell-off has gone too far. Of course, if product costs keep outrunning price, those estimates will come down and the multiple won't look so cheap. The fourth-quarter report, likely in late January, is the one to watch. TIKR lets you forecast the future price of any stock in less than a minute. Just enter a few assumptions into TIKR's valuation model and see what Graco could be worth. Start from Wall Street consensus estimates, or adjust the inputs to reflect your own view of the business. It's free to use. Value Graco for free

- KLA is preparing to report September 2026 quarter results on 28 October, with analysts expecting higher earnings supported by increased revenue. - The key tension for KLA is whether expected operational progress can offset recent semiconductor sector pressure following Lam Research's earnings update. - We will look at how KLA's investment narrative intersects with pre-earnings uncertainty around its September quarter results and sector pressures. Scan how KLA's setup compares to other chip-related opportunities by lining it up against our hand picked 55 AI infrastructure stocks poised around critical semiconductor demand trends. Owning KLA means believing that AI driven wafer equipment spending, tighter process control at advanced nodes, and advanced packaging can keep filling that roughly US$12.5b backlog with profitable shipments. The near term swing factor is whether the September 2026 quarter shows healthy order conversion and stable 62% gross margin guidance in the face of tariffs and higher DRAM and component costs. The biggest operational risk right now sits in concentrated exposure to leading edge customers and China. Any softer wafer equipment budgets, additional export restrictions, or customer adjustments to those long dated orders could matter more for the next year of reported revenue than whether this single earnings print modestly beats or lags the current expectation range. The upcoming October 28 earnings release is the key announcement in this news flow. KLA is expected to report year over year earnings growth on higher revenue for the September 2026 quarter. The update should offer clearer evidence on how quickly that multi year backlog is turning into systems, services, and specialty process revenue. Sector pressure following Lam Research's report means investors are already questioning how durable long term earnings forecasts are. This makes management's commentary on China demand, AI and high bandwidth memory related orders, and any change to backlog quality or lead times especially important as practical catalysts for your thesis on KLA, both on potential upside and on risk. KLA's long term story in the reports investors are reading today rests on a specific set of quantified analyst inputs that go well beyond the next quarterly headline. These assumptions sketch out a path for the inspection and metrology specialist where revenue, earnings power, and margins all move together rather than in isolation. Understanding those building blocks gives you a cleaner lens for interpreting whatever management says on 28 October about order flow, China, and tariffs. Analysts are currently baking in revenue growth of 22.1% a year over the next three years for KLA, paired with an increase in profit margins from 35.6% today to 42.2% by around 2029. That combination implies not only higher absolute profit but also richer earnings on each dollar of future sales, even as tariffs and component costs are framed as ongoing headwinds. These margin expectations sit alongside forecasts that assume continued demand for process control tools used in AI heavy wafer fabs and advanced packaging lines. The same consensus work expects KLA's earnings to move from US$4.8b today to US$10.4b by about 2029, with the most optimistic analysts on US$13.3b and the most cautious on US$9.3b. This spread reflects different views on how quickly the current US$12.5b backlog will convert into high margin systems and service revenue, and how much China restrictions or memory spending shifts could slow that process. For readers, the numbers highlight that what happens over several years matters far more to this forecast than whether the next quarterly update is a small beat or a small miss. On capital structure, the current setup assumes a slight tailwind from buybacks, with analysts modeling KLA's share count declining by around 0.56% a year across the next three years. That kind of reduction can lift earnings per share even when absolute profit is flat, and it can enhance the effect of any future cash returns. In a sector where many tools providers lean heavily on repurchases, the expected pace here is incremental rather than aggressive. For valuation, the stock analysis reports show analysts working with a consensus price target of US$233.77, compared with a recent share price of US$176.99. The bullish end of the range sits at US$325, while the most cautious target is US$175, so the gap between the top and bottom expectations is wide enough that readers should pay attention to why each house differs on margin durability and China exposure. That dispersion is part of what fuels pre earnings volatility when a peer like Lam Research resets its own outlook and prompts investors to question whether sector level assumptions are too optimistic or too conservative. Underlying that price target is a modeling framework that asks readers to accept specific 2029 endpoints. Reports state that to align with the analyst targets, KLA would need to reach US$24.7b in revenue and US$10.4b in earnings by 2029, while trading on a P/E of 39.8x at that time. That multiple would be lower than KLA's current 47.9x and below the present 47.0x figure cited for the wider US semiconductor group. This implies some multiple compression even as profits move higher in the consensus view. These same reports note that the analyst numbers are discounted back using an 11.36% rate in the Simply Wall St model, while the more specific fair value example refers to an 11.4% discount rate. The slight difference is not large in the context of a multi year forecast, yet it underlines how sensitive present value estimates can be to modest changes in inputs when growth expectations run high. For readers, it reinforces the need to sanity check any model against personal assumptions about future spending cycles, China risk, and the cost of capital. KLA's narrative projects US$24.7b revenue and US$10.4b earnings by 2029. This setup assumes 22.1% yearly revenue growth and an earnings increase of US$5.6b from US$4.8b today. Uncover why KLA's fair value indicates a 58% potential upside to its current price that may not last much longer. For a very different angle on KLA, focus on the bullish view that advanced packaging could reshape the story. The most optimistic analysts were pencilling in about US$29.7b of revenue and US$13.4b of earnings by 2029 before this earnings release. That outlook is far more upbeat, and it shows how sharply opinions can diverge. Use this pre news spread in expectations as a prompt to compare several viewpoints before deciding how much weight to give the upcoming October 28 update. Explore 6 other KLA fair value estimates, including one that suggests as much as 105% upside from the current price! Don't just follow the ticker. Dig into the data and build a conviction that's truly your own. - A great starting point for your KLA research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision. - See our latest analysis for KLA. The report includes a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual, the Snowflake, making it easy to evaluate KLA's overall financial health at a glance. If the KLA setup has sharpened your thinking and you want to broaden your watchlist, the Simply Wall St Screener can help you quickly scan other opportunities that fit different priorities. - For investors who care most about quality at a reasonable entry point, check stocks that screen as 30 high quality undervalued stocks based on strong fundamentals. - If balance sheet strength is non negotiable for you, start with a list of solid balance sheet and fundamentals (26 results) so you can focus on businesses with room to absorb shocks. - For readers hunting for ideas that are not yet heavily followed, widen the search with a 20 high quality undiscovered gems that combine financial strength with lower market attention. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include KLAC. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email [email protected]

By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK, Oct 23 (Reuters) - US stock investors face a pivotal week, with corporate earnings reports led by major AI players and a Federal Reserve meeting posing critical tests for a suddenly shaky market rally. Weakness in technology shares left investors on edge about the state of the AI trade that has ‌driven the US equity bull market that just marked its fourth anniversary. The Nasdaq Composite posted a slim loss on Friday, a day after the tech-heavy index suffered ‌its biggest daily drop since June. Investors were disappointed by quarterly reports from Meta and Lam Research. Meta is one of the hyperscalers spending massively to build out data centers, while Lam is a high-flying semiconductor company, one of ​a group that has been among the biggest AI stock winners. Three other hyperscalers -- Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon -- headline a packed week of quarterly results, including about one-third of S&P 500 companies. The Fed's interest rate policy meeting on Wednesday also could rattle markets. "There are a lot of balls in the air," said Nick Giorgi, chief equity strategist at Alpine Macro. "Next week, you have a lot more tech earnings, and right now the market is taking a discerning eye as it relates to all the spending that goes along with artificial intelligence," Giorgi said. "The market's just not giving the benefit of ‌the doubt to companies that are spending a ton of money ⁠on building this all out, which to us is actually very healthy, but still does augur for some short-term pain." Investors also have their focus trained on the US midterm elections on November 3, with growing bets that the Democrats will wrest control of the US Congress away from President Donald ⁠Trump's Republican party. The series of market catalysts could ratchet up volatility over the next couple of weeks and challenge optimism that has helped lift the benchmark S&P 500 index up 11% in 2026. HYPERSCALERS ON THE HOT SEAT Robust US profit growth has underpinned the stock market's gains this year in the face of headwinds including spiking Treasury yields and rising energy costs stemming from the Middle East conflict. With more than ​100 ​companies having posted results so far, third-quarter S&P 500 earnings are on pace to have climbed more than ​32% from a year ago, according to LSEG IBES data. Next week ‌is the busiest of the reporting season. "I think earnings will determine whether this ... tech pullback is a buying opportunity, or is there a deeper correction ahead," said King Lip, chief strategist at BakerAvenue Wealth Management. "What we need is just another round of really strong earnings." Alphabet and Microsoft report on Wednesday. Amazon's results are due Thursday. Focus will be on the guidance the companies give on capital spending plans and whether they are seeing returns on the massive outlays. Capital spending from hyperscalers, expected to be around $800 billion this year, is boosting the bottom lines for a wide swath of companies involved in the AI buildout. But investors are wary of the sustainability of such spending amid mounting financing costs. "Earnings are critical to the overall confidence level of the ‌AI trade and how much longer the spend will continue," said Kevin Mahn, president and chief investment officer ​at Hennion & Walsh Asset Management. FED EXPECTED TO PAUSE ON RATES, FOR NOW Quarterly reports next week from chip companies Intel ​and Sandisk also could influence the AI trade. Elsewhere, other high-profile companies set to report ​next week include drugmaker Eli Lilly, oil majors Exxon and Chevron and industrial equipment giant Caterpillar. The prospect for more interest rate hikes also comes into ‌focus with the Fed meeting. The Fed raised rates in September for ​the first time since 2023, in an effort ​to control above-target inflation, but Fed funds futures late on Friday suggested a less-than 10% chance the Fed will hike again when it gives its policy statement on Wednesday, according to LSEG data. One factor: Investors are dubious that the Fed will want to increase rates just a week before the midterm elections. However, markets are leaning toward a hike ​at the next meeting in December, with futures suggesting a roughly ‌80% probability of such a move then. Walter Todd, chief investment officer at Greenwood Capital, said he will be watching for any hints about the rate path at Fed ​Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference following the decision. "Does he say something to give an idea about December, because right now the expectation is there is going ​to be a hike," Todd said. (Reporting by Lewis Krauskopf, editing by Colin Barr and David Gregorio)

- Interested in Lam Research Corporation? Here are five stocks we like better. - Record September-quarter results: Lam Research reported $8.22 billion in revenue, up 22% sequentially and 54% year over year, with record 52.4% gross margin, 40.2% operating margin and $2.20 in non-GAAP EPS. - Strong AI- and memory-driven outlook: Lam forecast December-quarter revenue of $8.6 billion and expects 2027 wafer-fabrication equipment spending to exceed $200 billion, led by DRAM, leading-edge foundry logic and NAND demand. - Growth remains constrained by capacity and supply: Near-term component shortages and clean-room limitations could delay shipments, while China revenue is expected to decline significantly in the December quarter. Lam generated record $3.24 billion in free cash flow and returned approximately 41% of it through buybacks and dividends. - From High Dividend Growth to High Yield, These 3 Stocks Just Boosted Dividend Payouts Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) reported record revenue, profitability and earnings per share for its September 2026 quarter, as demand tied to artificial intelligence, advanced semiconductor manufacturing and packaging continued to support spending on deposition and etch equipment. Revenue for the September quarter totaled $8.22 billion, up 22% sequentially and 54% from the same period in 2025, Chief Financial Officer Doug Bettinger said. The company recorded a gross margin of 52.4%, an operating margin of 40.2% and diluted non-GAAP earnings per share of $2.20, all records. Operating margin exceeded 40% for the first time, according to the company. → The AI Sell-Off Continues—These 3 Stocks Keep Raising Guidance Anyway - Analysts Just Raised Price Targets On These 3 Semiconductor Equipment Stocks "In the September quarter, Lam again delivered record revenue and profitability," President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Archer said. He said AI-driven semiconductor demand and rising device complexity were increasing the intensity of deposition and etch processes across memory, logic and advanced-packaging applications. For the December 2026 quarter, Lam forecast revenue of $8.6 billion, plus or minus $400 million. The company expects gross margin of 52.5%, plus or minus one percentage point; operating margin of 40.5%, plus or minus one percentage point; and earnings per share of $2.33, plus or minus $0.15. → Tesla's Roadster Reveal Hints at 2 Much Bigger Moves - Why Lam Research Still Looks Like a Buy After a 300% Rally Bettinger said the December revenue outlook would have been "a little bit higher" without near-term supply-chain constraints. He did not quantify the impact, but said shipments delayed from the December period because of timing would move into the March quarter. Lam expects calendar-year 2026 wafer-fabrication equipment, or WFE, spending to be in the mid-$150 billion range. Its preliminary forecast for 2027 calls for more than $200 billion in WFE spending, with percentage growth led by DRAM, followed by leading-edge foundry logic and NAND. → Luxury's Middle Market Is Cracking—These 3 Stocks Could Win Archer said clean-room availability and supply constraints for certain components may limit the industry's ability to fully meet demand in 2027. The company is working with suppliers to expand capacity, he said, and expects to improve the supply situation shortly. Bettinger added that Lam expects 10 new Tier 1 fabs to come online during 2027. At the midpoint of its December-quarter outlook, Lam expects calendar-year 2026 systems revenue to grow more than 40% year over year. Archer said the company expects 2026 to be its third consecutive year of WFE outperformance, supported by growth in Lam's served available market and product share gains. Memory represented 46% of September-quarter systems revenue, unchanged from the prior quarter, while foundry accounted for 46%, up from 44%. Logic and other applications represented 8% of systems revenue. Memory systems revenue reached a record dollar level and increased 120% from a year earlier. NAND accounted for 26% of systems revenue, compared with 23% in the June quarter, as customers continued converting to 256-layer and higher-class devices. NAND revenue rose about 40% sequentially, and Lam said it is seeing initial spending on 384-layer-class devices. DRAM revenue also reached a record, with spending focused on technology additions and upgrades at the 1α, 1β and 1γ nodes for DDR5, LPDDR5 and high-bandwidth memory. Archer said Lam expects etch and deposition intensity to increase as DRAM architectures become more three-dimensional. The company also discussed potential new NAND demand related to AI storage tiers. Archer said QLC NAND supports cost-effective data storage, TLC is used for higher-bandwidth context-memory and key-value-cache workloads, and SLC-class NAND is emerging for low-latency access in agentic AI applications. Lam said shifting NAND production from TLC to SLC-class devices reduces bits per device by roughly three times. For every one-percentage-point shift of NAND bits toward SLC-class devices, about 2% more installed wafer capacity would be needed to support the same bit demand, according to the company. Archer said foundry logic and DRAM accounted for about 80% of Lam's systems-revenue growth year to date. The company highlighted demand for its Akara etch, conductor etch and Aether dry-resist products in advanced patterning applications. Lam said its Aether dry-resist solution has demonstrated sub-10-nanometer resolution with High-NA EUV and can reduce exposure dose by 10%. Aether products are ramping in high-volume HBM manufacturing using Low-NA EUV, Archer said. Lam now expects cumulative Aether-related revenue to reach about $2.5 billion by the end of the decade, approximately $1 billion above its previous expectation. The company also cited opportunities in backside power delivery, where it has secured tool-of-record wins for four products at a leading customer. In advanced packaging, Lam said its Syndion etch product won four new positions across multiple customers for advanced logic and HBM through-silicon-via applications. Lam expects advanced-packaging revenue to grow about 70% during calendar 2026. Archer said panel-level packaging is an emerging growth opportunity, with Lam having shipped panel plating systems to more than 20 customers globally. The company expects to achieve panel-level packaging market share exceeding its position in current wafer-level packaging. China represented 35% of September-quarter revenue, up from 26% in the June quarter, due to investments from domestic and multinational customers. Bettinger said China's contribution is expected to be significantly lower in the December quarter, primarily due to lower domestic-customer revenue, while multinational demand in the region should remain reasonably strong. Korea accounted for 20% of revenue and Taiwan contributed 18%. Lam's Customer Support Business Group generated nearly $2.5 billion in revenue, its fourth consecutive quarterly record and a 40% increase from a year earlier. The company expects full-year 2026 CSBG revenue growth of more than 30%, followed by growth of more than 15% in 2027. Lam generated record free cash flow of $3.24 billion in the September quarter. It repurchased about $1 billion of shares and paid $325 million in dividends, returning roughly 41% of quarterly free cash flow to shareholders. The company ended the quarter with $7.5 billion in cash and short-term investments and $3 billion remaining under its authorized share-repurchase program. Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is a semiconductor equipment company that develops and manufactures systems used to fabricate integrated circuits. Its technologies support key stages of wafer processing, helping semiconductor manufacturers create the increasingly complex structures found in memory, logic and other types of chips. The company's product portfolio includes etch systems, which selectively remove materials from wafers; deposition systems, which apply thin films; and cleaning solutions used to remove contaminants and residue during manufacturing. This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected]. The article "Lam Research Q1 Earnings Call Highlights" was originally published by MarketBeat. View MarketBeat's top stocks for October 2026.

- Carpenter Technology shares fell 22% today after first-quarter revenue of $798.2 million came in about 4% below consensus, even though EPS of $3.25 beat. - Operating income set a first-quarter record of $196.4 million, up 28%, and management kept its full-year profit outlook. - The selloff looks bigger than the miss, but Carpenter guided the second quarter flat, so it needs a much stronger back half. - TTM Technologies, Lam Research and Nokia also sank today despite beating estimates, and Forgent Power Solutions fell after announcing its CFO is leaving. Carpenter Technology (CRS:NYSE) just posted record first-quarter operating income, and its stock sank 22% today anyway. CEO Tony Thene said Carpenter "delivered another strong quarter" in its results before the bell. Investors looked at the sales line instead. For the quarter ended Sept. 30: - Revenue of $798.2 million, up 8.8% from a year ago but about 4% below the $830.7 million consensus - EPS of $3.25, ahead of the $3.03 consensus - Operating income of $196.4 million, up 28% Strip out surcharges, which pass raw-material costs on to customers, and sales grew just 5.3%. They also fell $44.9 million from the fourth quarter. Thene said on the call that the quarter was essentially at guidance, and the shortfall might come down to a single shipment that slipped past quarter-end. Operating income also landed near the low end of the $195 million to $200 million Carpenter guided for in July. For the second quarter, it expects $192 million to $197 million. Pricing and a richer mix keep fattening Carpenter's margins… The first quarter came in higher still, at nearly 25%. Wall Street also expects sales growth to speed up… That's about 12% growth this fiscal year, against 8.8% in the first quarter. At Wednesday's close, investors were paying 27x forward earnings for that growth. Today's drop takes it closer to 21x. TIKR tracks 8 analysts on Carpenter Technology. How many say "Buy"? See the full breakdown of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings on Carpenter Technology, along with Wall Street's revenue and earnings estimates, all in one place. More than 500,000 investors use TIKR to research stocks like this one. See Carpenter Technology's Analyst Ratings Carpenter had company. TTM Technologies (TTMI:NASDAQ) sank [28%] despite a beat and record revenue, up 60%, because its fourth-quarter outlook only matched estimates. Lam Research (LRCX:NASDAQ) fell [10%] after a record quarter because its December-quarter guide only came in roughly in line. Nokia (NOK) fell [11%] as its revenue beat came with an unchanged full-year outlook and weaker cash flow expectations. And Forgent Power Solutions (FPS:NYSE) dropped [24%] after saying its CFO is stepping down. Carpenter kept its fiscal 2027 operating income outlook of $850 million to $880 million, up 21% to 25%. Thene also told analysts on the call, "My outlook on demand is stronger than it was a quarter ago." My take: a roughly 4% sales miss doesn't justify a [22%] drop when the profit outlook didn't budge. Of course, with the second quarter guided flat, Carpenter needs a much bigger back half to hit that outlook. Its next report, early next year, is the first check. TIKR lets you forecast the future price of any stock in less than a minute. Just enter a few assumptions into TIKR's valuation model and see what Carpenter Technology could be worth. Start from Wall Street consensus estimates, or adjust the inputs to reflect your own view of the business. It's free to use. Value Carpenter Technology for free

Lam Research Corporation LRCX outlined expectations for a significant expansion in semiconductor equipment spending during its first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings call, supported by accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) demand and increasing chip manufacturing complexity. Management projected wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) spending exceeding $200 billion in calendar 2027, while highlighting growing opportunities in advanced packaging, memory technology and next-generation semiconductor manufacturing. Near-term supply constraints remain a challenge. CEO Timothy Archer expects calendar 2026 WFE spending in the mid-$150 billion range, followed by spending exceeding $200 billion in 2027. DRAM is projected to lead percentage growth, followed by leading-edge foundry/logic and NAND. Archer emphasized that increasing deposition and etch requirements across semiconductor devices should support continued market outperformance. Lam expects calendar 2026 to mark its third consecutive year of WFE outperformance. During discussions with Goldman Sachs and Bernstein analysts, CFO Douglas Bettinger identified cleanroom availability and component supply as constraints on industry expansion. Management indicated that customer demand visibility extends through 2028. Bettinger guided December-quarter revenues to $8.6 billion, plus or minus $400 million, with a non-GAAP gross margin of 52.5% and operating margin of 40.5%. Earnings are projected at $2.33 per share, plus or minus $0.15. The CFO acknowledged that supply chain bottlenecks prevented stronger revenue guidance. Responding to UBS, he clarified that affected December shipments would move into the March quarter, without quantifying their value. Lam reported September-quarter revenues of $8.22 billion, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.14 billion. Adjusted earnings of $2.20 per share surpassed the $2.17 consensus estimate. Revenues increased 54% year over year. Lam Research Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Lam Research Corporation Quote Archer identified emerging NAND storage requirements as another growth opportunity. AI workloads increasingly require differentiated storage technologies, including QLC, TLC and low-latency SLC-class NAND. Management estimated that every percentage-point shift in NAND bit demand toward SLC-class devices would require approximately 2% additional installed wafer capacity to maintain equivalent bit output. During exchanges with Deutsche Bank and Jefferies analysts, Archer explained that NAND technology upgrades should continue through 2027, while newer storage architectures could create incremental equipment demand. However, management did not quantify prospective SLC adoption. Archer highlighted accelerating adoption of Akara conductor etch and Aether dry resist technologies in DRAM and foundry/logic manufacturing. These platforms address increasingly demanding semiconductor patterning requirements. Lam raised its cumulative Aether-related revenue expectation to approximately $2.5 billion by decade-end, an increase of roughly $1 billion from its previous outlook. Management attributed the revision to additional customer adoption and expanding production volumes. Advanced packaging represents another growth opportunity. Bettinger reaffirmed approximately 70% growth expectations for calendar 2026. Archer also reported panel-plating system shipments to more than 20 customers, emphasizing opportunities associated with larger semiconductor packages. Archer expects the Customer Support Business Group (CSBG) to deliver revenue growth exceeding 30% in calendar 2026, followed by growth above 15% in 2027. The business benefits from equipment upgrades, replacement parts, maintenance services and increased semiconductor factory utilization. Management also highlighted growing customer interest in Equipment Intelligence and Dextro robotic maintenance solutions. Responding to JPMorgan, Bettinger identified spare parts as the largest individual CSBG component. He also emphasized continued strength in NAND upgrades and Reliant equipment serving mature semiconductor manufacturing processes. Management's overall message centered on expanding manufacturing capacity while preserving profitability amid rising semiconductor equipment demand. Bettinger reported record non-GAAP operating margin of 40.2% and quarterly free cash flow of $3.24 billion. Lam continues investing in research, manufacturing infrastructure and supplier readiness to support anticipated industry expansion. LRCX currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating favorable near-term prospects based on earnings estimate revision trends. Its Momentum Score of A and Growth Score of B highlight relatively attractive price momentum and growth characteristics. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. However, its Value Score of D indicates less favorable valuation characteristics, while its VGM Score of C reflects a mixed overall investment-style profile. Although the Zacks Rank is favorable, the combined scores offer a more balanced assessment. The Zacks Rank may change as analysts revise their earnings estimates following the latest quarterly results. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

- Kaiser Aluminum shares fell 23% today after third-quarter adjusted EPS of $1.89 missed estimates and its adjusted EBITDA margin slid to 19.1% from 23.2%. - Most of that margin drop traces to a roughly $29 million swing in metal price lag from a year ago, which Kaiser expected, while conversion revenue grew 25%. - Operational problems, including a planned plant outage and start-up costs, cost about 6.4 points of margin and helped push 2026 adjusted EBITDA growth toward the low end of Kaiser's 45% to 55% range. - TTM Technologies, Lam Research and Nokia also fell sharply today on reports that only held the line, and Forgent Power Solutions sank after its CFO stepped down. Kaiser Aluminum (KALU:NASDAQ) sank 23% today after third-quarter earnings missed estimates. Most of Kaiser's margin drop comes from a swing it saw coming. The "operational challenges" are the part to watch. Adjusted EPS of $1.89 edged past last year's $1.86 but missed estimates, and its adjusted EBITDA margin slid to 19.1% from 23.2%. Chairman, President and CEO Keith Harvey blamed metal price lag, the gap between the aluminum price Kaiser pays and the market's, which flattered last year's quarter: "Despite this headwind, as well as other operational challenges that impacted third quarter margins, the business delivered meaningful underlying improvement year over year." The numbers back him up. Metal price lag added about $28 million to EBITDA a year ago and cost about $1 million this quarter, a $29 million swing. Kaiser still grew adjusted EBITDA 3% to $84 million, as conversion revenue jumped 25% to $439 million. But the operational problems cost about 6.4 points of margin: higher metal costs from using less scrap, a planned outage at its Bellwood plant, and roll coat start-up costs in packaging. Since Harvey called the lag's disappearance expected, those look like the bigger surprise. They're part of why Kaiser now sees 2026 adjusted EBITDA growth near the low end of its 45% to 55% range. TIKR tracks 5 analysts on Kaiser Aluminum. How many say "Buy"? See the full breakdown of Buy, Hold, and Sell ratings on Kaiser Aluminum, along with Wall Street's revenue and earnings estimates, all in one place. More than 500,000 investors use TIKR to research stocks like this one. See Kaiser Aluminum's Analyst Ratings Heading into the report, analysts expected Kaiser's earnings to more than double this year… A low-end finish should trim that 2026 figure. And the stock already traded at 14x forward earnings at Wednesday's close, against a five-year average of 20x… After today's drop, it's closer to 11x, below even its five-year low of 13x. Kaiser had company. TTM Technologies (TTMI:NASDAQ) fell 29% despite a record quarter, on an outlook that only matched estimates. Lam Research (LRCX:NASDAQ) dropped 11% on an in-line guide as well. My take: this selloff looks overdone. The biggest hit was expected, much of the rest came from a planned outage and start-up costs, and the stock trades below its cheapest multiple in five years. Of course, the operational problems have to clear. Fred Stephan takes over as CEO on Nov. 1, and his first report early next year will show whether they have. TIKR lets you forecast the future price of any stock in less than a minute. Just enter a few assumptions into TIKR's valuation model and see what Kaiser Aluminum could be worth. Start from Wall Street consensus estimates, or adjust the inputs to reflect your own view of the business. It's free to use. Value Kaiser Aluminum for free

Lam Research Corporation LRCX reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 non-GAAP earnings of $2.20 per share, up 74.6% year over year and 20.9% sequentially. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.17 by 1.38%, supported by favorable product mix and improving operating leverage. Revenues jumped 54.4% from the prior-year quarter and 22.3% sequentially to $8.22 billion, beating the consensus mark of $8.14 billion by 0.98%. Growth reflected strong foundry and NAND investments, while customer support posted its fourth consecutive quarterly revenue record. Systems revenues rose 61.6% year over year and 34.9% sequentially to $5.73 billion. Memory made up 46% of systems revenues compared with 34% a year earlier, with its dollar contribution more than doubling. Non-volatile memory accounted for 26% of systems revenues, up from 23% in the previous quarter. NAND sales increased about 40% sequentially, benefiting from conversions to 256-layer-and-above devices and initial investments in 384-layer technology. DRAM contributed 20%, versus 23% sequentially, as spending supported DDR5 and high-bandwidth memory. Lam Research Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Lam Research Corporation Quote Foundry reached record revenues, representing 46% of systems sales versus 44% in the June quarter. Demand came from leading-edge chipmaking and advanced packaging as well as mature-node capacity spending in China. China represented 35% of total revenues, up from 26% in the previous quarter, with domestic and multinational customers contributing. Korea generated 20% of revenues, unchanged sequentially, while Taiwan accounted for 18%, down from 27%. Lam Research expects China's revenue share to fall significantly in the December quarter. Customer support-related revenues and other reached $2.49 billion, up 40% year over year and 0.6% sequentially. The Customer Support Business Group ("CSBG") benefited from high equipment utilization, NAND upgrades and demand for spares and services. The company's Equipment Intelligence offerings and Dextro maintenance cobots helped win performance-based contracts with multiple memory manufacturers. Management expects CSBG revenue growth of more than 30% in calendar year 2026 and more than 15% in calendar year 2027. Non-GAAP gross margin climbed 180 basis points year over year and 40 basis points sequentially to a record 52.4%, aided by favorable customer and product mix. Non-GAAP operating margin reached 40.2%, rising 520 basis points year over year and 180 basis points sequentially. Non-GAAP operating expenses increased to $1 billion from $916 million in the previous quarter, primarily on higher incentive compensation tied to profitability. The company also stepped up investment in product programs, with research and development comprising roughly two-thirds of total operating expenses. Its non-GAAP tax rate increased to 16.5% from 11%, reflecting higher U.S. taxation of foreign earnings and shifts in the geographic income mix. Lam Research expects calendar year 2026 wafer fabrication equipment spending in the mid-$150-billion range and projects more than $200 billion in 2027. DRAM is expected to lead growth, followed by leading-edge foundry and NAND. Management also projects calendar year 2026 systems revenue growth well above 40%. In foundry and DRAM, its Akara etch and Aether dry resist products are gaining traction. Management lifted its cumulative Aether revenue outlook to approximately $2.5 billion by decade-end, up roughly $1 billion from its prior view. Panel plating systems have reached more than 20 customers, reflecting opportunities in advanced packaging. Operating cash flow increased to $3.50 billion from $1.46 billion in the June quarter, lifting free cash flow to a record $3.24 billion. Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash grew to $7.45 billion from $5.60 billion. Inventory increased to $4.55 billion from $4.28 billion as Lam Research prepared for higher demand, but inventory turns improved to 3.4 from 3.0. Capital expenditures rose to $258 million from $189 million for laboratory and manufacturing expansion. The company repurchased about $1.01 billion in shares and paid $325 million in dividends. For the second quarter of fiscal 2027, Lam Research expects revenues of $8.60 billion, plus or minus $400 million. Non-GAAP earnings are projected at $2.33 per share, plus or minus 15 cents, based on approximately 1.253 billion shares. The company forecasts a non-GAAP gross margin of 52.5%, plus or minus one percentage point, and an operating margin of 40.5%, plus or minus one percentage point. Management noted that December revenue guidance would have been slightly higher without near-term supply constraints, while customer mix is expected to weigh on gross margin. Lam Research currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Computer and Technology sector are NVIDIA NVDA, Micron Technology MU and ASE Technology ASX, each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. Shares of NVIDIA have risen 19.1% year to date (YTD). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NVIDIA's fiscal 2027 earnings has been revised upward by a penny to $9.30 per share over the past seven days, indicating a 95% year-over-year increase. Shares of Micron Technology have skyrocketed 220.2% YTD. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Micron Technology's fiscal 2027 earnings has improved 12.2% to $177.73 per share over the past 30 days, calling for a rise of 135.3% year over year. ASE Technology shares have surged 163.5% YTD. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASX's 2026 earnings has been revised upward by 4 cents over the past 30 days to $1.27 per share, implying an increase of 122.8% year over year. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) : Free Stock Analysis Report NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) : Free Stock Analysis Report ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. (ASX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research

For the quarter ended September 2026, Lam Research (LRCX) reported revenue of $8.22 billion, up 54.4% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $2.20, compared to $1.26 in the year-ago quarter. The reported revenue represents a surprise of +0.99% over the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $8.14 billion. With the consensus EPS estimate being $2.17, the EPS surprise was +1.38%. While investors closely watch year-over-year changes in headline numbers -- revenue and earnings -- and how they compare to Wall Street expectations to determine their next course of action, some key metrics always provide a better insight into a company's underlying performance. As these metrics influence top- and bottom-line performance, comparing them to the year-ago numbers and what analysts estimated helps investors project a stock's price performance more accurately. Here is how Lam Research performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street analysts: - Leading- and non-leading-edge equipment and upgrade Revenue - Memory: 46% compared to the 45.7% average estimate based on two analysts. - Leading- and non-leading-edge equipment and upgrade Revenue - Logic/integrated device manufacturing: 8% compared to the 10.7% average estimate based on two analysts. - Leading- and non-leading-edge equipment and upgrade Revenue - Foundry: 46% versus the two-analyst average estimate of 43.7%. - Revenue- Customer support-related revenue and other: $2.49 billion compared to the $2.5 billion average estimate based on three analysts. The reported number represents a change of +40% year over year. - Revenue- Systems: $5.73 billion versus $5.61 billion estimated by three analysts on average. Compared to the year-ago quarter, this number represents a +61.6% change. View all Key Company Metrics for Lam Research here>>> Shares of Lam Research have returned -15.3% over the past month versus the Zacks S&P 500 composite's +1% change. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), indicating that it could outperform the broader market in the near term. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com). Zacks Investment Research