KLAC Scales in Advanced Packaging: Is Growth Set to Increase Further?

Core Insights - KLA Corporation (KLAC) is expanding its advanced packaging business to meet rising demand for High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) and advanced logic nodes, essential for AI workloads [1][4] - The company’s inspection and metrology tools are crucial for enhancing performance and yield in multi-die architectures, particularly in 2.5D and 3D integration [1][4] Advanced Packaging Business - KLAC's advanced packaging business is part of the Semiconductor Process Control segment, which reported $2.74 billion in revenue for Q3 FY25, reflecting a 31% year-over-year increase [3][10] - Advanced packaging revenues are expected to exceed $850 million in 2025, driven by increased demand from foundry and memory customers [3][10] Competitive Landscape - KLAC faces increasing competition from Applied Materials (AMAT) and ASML Holdings (ASML), both enhancing their roles in complex integration for logic and memory devices [5] - Applied Materials is advancing with solutions for high-density packaging, while ASML's EUV lithography systems are critical for advanced patterning steps that support packaging performance [6][7] Stock Performance and Valuation - KLAC's shares have increased by 46.2% year-to-date, outperforming the broader Zacks Computer & Technology sector, which rose by 5.7% [8] - The stock is trading at a forward 12-month Price/Sales ratio of 10.11X, significantly higher than the industry average of 3.2X [12] Earnings Estimates - The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KLAC's Q4 FY25 earnings is $8.53 per share, indicating a year-over-year growth of 29.24% [15] - For the full year 2025, the consensus estimate for earnings is $32.46 per share, reflecting a 36.73% increase year-over-year [15]