KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) Q4 2024 Earnings Conference Call July 24, 2024 5:00 PM ET Company Participants Kevin Kessel - VP, IR and Market Analytics Richard Wallace - CEO Bren Higgins - CFO Conference Call Participants Vivek Arya - Bank of America Securities CJ Muse - Cantor Fitzgerald Harlan Sur - JPMorgan Atif Malik - Citi Christophe Caso - Wolfe Research Krish Sankar - TD Cowen Joseph Quattrocci - Wells Fargo Toshiya Hari - Goldman Sachs Joe Moore - Morgan Stanley Srinivas Pajjuri - Raymond James Bria ...

For the quarter ended June 2024, KLA (KLAC) reported revenue of $2.57 billion, up 9.1% over the same period last year. EPS came in at $6.60, compared to $5.40 in the year-ago quarter. 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 KLA performed in the just reported quarter in terms of the metrics most widely monitored and projected by Wall Street a ...

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates four times. KLA shares have added about 38.9% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 16.5%. Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for KLA: favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform ...

2 Includes $3B Accelerated Share Repurchase (ASR) 3 Excludes $16.50 per share special dividend in CY15 KLA Non-Confidential | Unrestricted 10 $832M June Quarter Free Cash Flow* 32% June Quarter FCF Margin* September 2024 Quarter Guidance $198M June Quarter Dividends Paid (Above) The 8935 high productivity patterned wafer inspection system detects a wide variety of critical defects that affect the yield and reliability of semiconductor chips. Provides high throughput, inline defect detection and binning, hel ...

Financial Performance - KLA reported Q4 FY2024 GAAP net income of $836.4 million and diluted EPS of $6.18 on total revenues of $2.57 billion[1] - For the full fiscal year 2024, KLA achieved GAAP net income of $2.76 billion and diluted EPS of $20.28 on total revenues of $9.81 billion[1] - Q4 FY2024 non-GAAP net income was $893 million, with non-GAAP diluted EPS of $6.60[3] - Full year FY2024 non-GAAP net income reached $3.23 billion, with non-GAAP diluted EPS of $23.74[5] - Total revenues for the quarter were $2.569 billion, at the upper end of the guidance range of $2.5 billion +/- $125 million[36] - GAAP diluted EPS for the quarter was $6.18, and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $6.60, both above the midpoints of their respective guidance ranges[24] - Total revenues for the fiscal year were $9.81 billion, down 6.5% year-over-year[17] - Net income for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $836.4 million, up from $684.7 million in the same period in 2023[41] Revenue Breakdown - Q4 FY2024 product revenues were $1.95 billion, while service revenues were $613.9 million[8] - Full year FY2024 product revenues totaled $7.48 billion, and service revenues were $2.33 billion[8] - Semiconductor Process Control segment revenues for the quarter were $2.31 billion, up 10% year-over-year[17] - Specialty Semiconductor Process segment revenues for the quarter were $121.3 million, down 6% year-over-year[17] - PCB and Component Inspection segment revenues for the quarter were $140.0 million, up 9% year-over-year[17] Expenses and Margins - Q4 FY2024 R&D expenses were $325.8 million, representing 12.7% of total revenues[8] - Full year FY2024 R&D expenses were $1.28 billion, accounting for 13.0% of total revenues[8] - Q4 FY2024 pre-tax GAAP to non-GAAP adjustments totaled $76.5 million, primarily from acquisition-related charges and restructuring costs[14] - KLA's Q4 FY2024 operating margin was 38.1% on a GAAP basis and 40.5% on a non-GAAP basis[8] - GAAP gross margin for the quarter was 59.9%, and non-GAAP gross margin was 61.5%[23] Cash Flow and Capital Returns - Cash flow from operating activities for the quarter was $892.6 million, and free cash flow was $831.9 million[24] - Capital returns for the quarter were $667.8 million, including $197.5 million in dividends and $470.3 million in stock repurchases[27] - Net cash provided by operating activities for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $892.6 million, compared to $959.1 million in the same period in 2023[39] - Free cash flow for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $831.9 million, down from $880.4 million in the same period in 2023[39] - Capital expenditures for the three months ended June 30, 2024, were $60.7 million, compared to $78.7 million in the same period in 2023[41] Balance Sheet and Equity - Cash and cash equivalents at the end of June 30, 2024, were $1.98 billion, up from $1.93 billion at the end of June 30, 2023[43] - Total current assets as of June 30, 2024, were $10.03 billion, compared to $8.37 billion as of June 30, 2023[43] - Total liabilities as of June 30, 2024, were $12.07 billion, up from $11.15 billion as of June 30, 2023[43] - Stockholders' equity as of June 30, 2024, was $3.37 billion, compared to $2.92 billion as of June 30, 2023[43] Future Guidance - For the first quarter of fiscal 2025, total revenues are expected to be in the range of $2.75 billion +/- $150 million[23]

For the quarter, total revenues were $2.569 billion, at the upper end of the guidance range of $2.5 billion +/- $125 million; For the quarter, GAAP diluted EPS attributable to KLA was $6.18 and non-GAAP diluted EPS attributable to KLA was $6.60, each finishing above the midpoints of the respective guidance ranges; Cash flow from operating activities for the quarter and fiscal year was $892.6 million and $3.31 billion, respectively, and free cash flow was $831.9 million and $3.03 billion, respectively; and C ...

Investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has KLA (KLAC) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out. KLA is a member of the Computer and Technology sector. This group includes 617 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of th ...

KLA Corp. Operations I believe the build-out of regional Al factories will drive demand for more advanced nodes as competition for speed and power consumption becomes more frece. Many of the hyperscalers, including Microsoft Azure (MSFT) and Amazon AWS (AMZN) are designing their own accelerators in order to provide more tailored services in relation to data consumption and power efficiency. Despite the drive to bring Al to the edge on smartphones and PCs, I do not anticipate as much eapacity to be catered t ...

When deciding whether to buy, sell, or hold a stock, investors often rely on analyst recommendations. Media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm-employed (or sell-side) analysts often influence a stock's price, but are they really important? Let's take a look at what these Wall Street heavyweights have to say about KLA (KLAC) before we discuss the reliability of brokerage recommendations and how to use them to your advantage. KLA currently has an average brokerage recommendation (ABR) of 1.8 ...

About KLA: All earnings disclosures as well as the live earnings webcast will be available on the Investor Relations page of KLA's website at ir.kla.com. A replay of the webcast will be posted after the event. KLA Corporation ("KLA") develops industry-leading equipment and services that enable innovation throughout the electronics industry. We provide advanced process control and process-enabling solutions for manufacturing wafers and reticles, integrated circuits, packaging and printed circuit boards. In c ...