What smart money is saying about KLA
KLAC · Technology · Semiconductors · Market cap $242.45B
12 funds in our archive have pitched KLA, most recently Baillie Gifford Positive Change Strategy in September 2026.
Company profile
KLA Corporation specializes in creating, manufacturing, and distributing advanced solutions vital for process control, process optimization, and yield enhancement throughout the global semiconductor and broader electronics industries. The company organizes its business into four main segments: Semiconductor Process Control, Specialty Semiconductor Process, PCB, Display and Component Inspection, and an 'Other' category. For integrated circuit (IC) fabrication, KLA offers a comprehensive range of products. These include systems for wafer inspection, review, and metrology; defect inspection and metrology for both wafers/substrates and reticles; chemical and materials quality analysis tools; and real-time process management and wafer handling diagnostics essential for IC and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) production. Furthermore, the company develops software for live process control, defect excursion identification, process corrections, and defect classification. KLA also supplies refurbished and remanufactured equipment. Beyond IC manufacturing, KLA supports specialty semiconductor production. This includes benchtop metrology, surface characterization, and electrical property measurement services suitable for general-purpose and laboratory use. They also provide technologies and solutions for etching, plasma dicing, deposition, and various other wafer processing tasks within the semiconductor and microelectronics sectors. Within the printed circuit board (PCB) market, KLA delivers solutions such as direct imaging, inspection, optical shaping, additive printing, and computer-aided manufacturing and engineering. For the display industry, their offerings encompass inspection and electrical testing systems to pinpoint and categorize defects, as well as equipment for defect repair. KLA also supplies inspection and metrology systems designed to improve quality control and yield in both advanced and conventional semiconductor packaging markets. Established in 1975, the company was initially known as KLA-Tencor Corporation before rebranding as KLA Corporation in July 2019. Its corporate headquarters are situated in Milpitas, California.
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Fund signal · last 12 months
49 lettersFunds are split between buying and selling
+5
Net flow
11 buys · 7 new positions · 65%6 sells · 2 full exits
Moves described in fund letters in our archive. A sentence published word for word by several funds of one house in the same quarter counts once.
Position history
Between Q4 2024 and Q4 2026, 51 fund letters reported a position in KLA, with 11 buys (opened or added) and 6 sells (trimmed or exited).
| Quarter | Letters | Bought | Sold | Theses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2026 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Q3 2026 | 25 | 7 | 2 | 7 |
| Q2 2026 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Q1 2026 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Q4 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Q3 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Q1 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Q4 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Bought and Sold count moves: the same sentence published by several funds of one house in a quarter counts once.
Fund activity · 51 positions · 23 moves
- October 2026
“On the negative side, semiconductor equipment company KLA was the largest detractor from performance in the third quarter despite reporting solid operating results and raising full-year guidance.”
KLA - September 2026
“Microsoft, Taiwan Semiconductor, Murata, KLA, Qualcomm and Applied Materials are businesses we are happy to own at a sensible weight.”
KLA - September 2026
“In semiconductors and AI infrastructure, we initiated positions in Advanced Micro Devices, ARM and KLA, which offer differentiated exposure to high-performance computing, power-efficient processor architecture and advanced-chip inspection and metrology.”
KLA - HoldsFindlay Park American FundSeptember 2026
“The largest detractors were concentrated in technology and industrials. KLA, Applied Materials and Entegris pulled back alongside the broader sell-off in AI infrastructure businesses.”
KLA - September 2026
“Our conviction also rests on the companies’ competitive advantages: ASML’s unique position in EUV lithography and KLA’s leadership in process control.”
KLA - September 2026
“During the quarter, we added to Arm and KLA, building our exposure to two high-quality businesses involved in the design and manufacture of leading-edge semiconductors.”
KLA - September 2026
“ASML and KLA , which contributed strongly earlier in the year as beneficiaries of AI investment, have weakened this quarter as investors question the sustainability and prospective returns of rising spending.”
KLA - New positionBaillie Gifford US Equity GrowthSeptember 2026
“Enormous demand for computing capacity has produced shortages across parts of the semiconductor supply chain. In some cases, scarcity has generated extraordinary profits. Memory company Micron’s recent growth has been driven almost entirely by pricing rather than volume. But scarcity and competitive advantage are not the same thing. Supply eventually responds, bottlenecks move elsewhere in the system, and prices normalise. Rather than chasing these bottlenecks, we want to find the enduring winners of this extraordinary demand. During the quarter, we initiated positions in semiconductor companies Arm and KLA.”
KLA - September 2026
“KLA Corporation KLA detracted from performance in the third quarter despite record fiscal fourth quarter results and a guide for roughly 9% sequential revenue growth.”
KLA - September 2026
“The leading individual Portfolio detractors during the quarter were KLA Corp (KLAC) and Stryker Corp (SYK).”
KLA - September 2026
“Given the strength of this investment cycle, we have selectively added to our semiconductor holdings, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM), NVIDIA (NVDA), KLA (KLAC), and Marvell Technology (MRVL).”
KLA - September 2026
“KLA Corporation provides advanced equipment and process control software and services to chipmakers. We initiated a position in the stock after a pullback in the sector.”
KLA - September 2026
“KLA Corporation underperformed as concerns over a slowdown in AI spending weighed on the premium valuations of semiconductor equipment stocks.”
KLA - September 2026
“KLA Corporation, Corning Inc, and Broadcom Inc., were among the top detractors from performance.”
KLA - September 2026
“Detractors KLA and Applied Materials were the largest detractors, falling 35.3% and 29.2%. KLA beat expectations and raised its view of the 2026 wafer-equipment market to the $150 billion range, while Applied Materials grew adjusted earnings per share 41%, with DRAM revenue, including high-bandwidth memory, up 52%. Analysts raised their earnings estimates for both companies over the quarter, so the declines reflected lower valuations rather than weaker expectations. The strategy benefited from our disciplined rebalancing process, as these names were trimmed at the end of June after having significant gains in the second quarter.”
KLA - New positionLiontrust Sustainable Future Global Growth FundSeptember 2026
“KLA (Better monitoring of supply chains and quality control) is the global leader in semiconductor process control, providing the inspection and measurement technologies essential to advanced chip manufacturing.”
KLA - September 2026
“KLA (Better monitoring of supply chains and quality control) is the global leader in semiconductor process control, providing the inspection and measurement technologies essential to advanced chip manufacturing.”
KLA - September 2026
“Trading activity during the quarter focused on adding to high-conviction holdings where we see attractive near- term upside, while carefully managing the portfolio’s broader factor exposures. In particular, we have sought to reduce the portfolio’s exposure to factors that have weighed on performance during 2026, particularly sensitivity to rising bond yields and the balance between perceived AI winners and losers while maintaining exposure to companies where our fundamental conviction remains strong. Buys Fujikura (Improving the efficiency of energy use) is a Japanese manufacturer specialising in ultra-high-density optical fibre and cabling used in AI data centres. Its products form part of the physical connectivity infrastructure of data centres, where higher fibre density helps reduce space requirements and cabling complexity. As AI workloads become more demanding, fast, high-bandwidth connections between GPUs become increasingly important in minimising communication bottlenecks and improving overall data-centre efficiency. Fujikura’s advanced high-density fibre solutions give it a strong competitive position in this market, leaving it well placed to benefit from continued investment in AI infrastructure. KLA (Better monitoring of supply chains and quality control) is the global leader in semiconductor process control, providing the inspection and measurement technologies essential to advanced chip manufacturing.”
KLA - New positionLiontrust Sustainable Future Managed Growth FundSeptember 2026
“Buys Fujikura (Improving the efficiency of energy use) is a Japanese manufacturer specialising in ultra-high-density optical fibre and cabling used in AI data centres. Its products form part of the physical connectivity infrastructure of data centres, where higher fibre density helps reduce space requirements and cabling complexity. As AI workloads become more demanding, fast, high-bandwidth connections between GPUs become increasingly important in minimising communication bottlenecks and improving overall data-centre efficiency. Fujikura’s advanced high-density fibre solutions give it a strong competitive position in this market, leaving it well placed to benefit from continued investment in AI infrastructure. KLA (Better monitoring of supply chains and quality control) is the global leader in semiconductor process control, providing the inspection and measurement technologies essential to advanced chip manufacturing.”
KLA - September 2026
“KLA (Better monitoring of supply chains and quality control) is the global leader in semiconductor process control, providing the inspection and measurement technologies essential to advanced chip manufacturing.”
KLA - September 2026
“TOP CONTRIBUTORS Microsoft added approximately 60 basis points to relative performance, as the fund benefited from benchmark exposure to this leading enterprise software and cloud franchise. Underweight positioning to KLA Corporation and Caterpillar (CAT) benefited relative results as those benchmark constituents lagged during the quarter.”
KLA - HoldsFairtree Asset Management Global Equity FundSeptember 2026
“Notable detractors were Renesas Electronics (-25bps absolute and -24bps relative), Samsung Electronics (-24bps absolute and -18bps relative) and KLA Corporation (-22bps absolute and -8bps relative).”
KLA - August 2026
“KLA (-39.4% USD), Lam Research (-32.4% USD), Applied Materials (-29.8% USD) It was an extraordinary H1 for the Fund’s three semiconductor equipment manufacturers, each of which delivered returns over 100%. However, they ended July as the Fund’s bottom-performing holdings in the context of a broad pull-back in semiconductor sentiment, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (the ‘SOX’) falling 20.6%. Over 2026, these stocks were viewed as some of the key beneficiaries of rising capex expectations from the hyperscalers. Each is exposed to a different area of the semiconductor manufacturing value chain and is an industry leader in its space. Lam Research is a specialist in etch and deposition (adding, patterning, and removing materials on a silicon wafer). KLA is focused on process control (monitoring and identifying areas to increase yield and ensure quality), and Applied Materials is a larger but broader player, which competes not only in etch and deposition and process control, but also front-end (transistor and interconnect formation, chemical mechanical planarization, etc.) and back-end processes (advanced packaging). The AI infrastructure build-out is a significant tailwind for these firms as hyperscalers require greater volumes of increasingly complex chips, driving chipmakers to invest heavily in capacity and cutting-edge technologies. STOCK PERFORMANCE OVER JULY 14 Guinness Global Innovators August 2026 Source: Bloomberg. Data as of 31.07.2026 As discussed earlier in this commentary, semiconductor sentiment suffered during the month amid concerns that the AI rally had run too far too fast, questions over the sustainability of hyperscaler capex, the risk of future oversupply as chipmakers unveiled aggressive expansion plans, and continued progress from Chinese AI players – in particular, Moonshot, whose latest model, Kimi K3 introduced questions over the trajectory of hyperscaler spending plans. These concerns were compounded by the unwind of the highly leveraged hedge fund Situational Awareness. From a stock-specific perspective, however, fundamentals remained strong, with both KLA and Lam Research reporting robust results during the month. KLA delivered another beat-and-raise quarter, supported by strong growth in its core process-control business, services and advanced packaging, while management once again upgraded its expectations for industry spending on wafer fabrication equipment (WFE).”
KLA - August 2026
“We hold Microsoft, Taiwan Semiconductor, Adobe, Brother and KLA, and we are comfortable owning them at these weights.”
KLA - July 2026
Listed in Guinness Global Innovators Fund’s reported holdings.
KLA - New positionLongriver Partners FundJuly 2026
“WHAT THIS MEANS FOR OUR PORTFOLIO Our Fund has been invested in TSMC and Meta since 2023, and Nvidia since 2025. I invested in semiconductor equipment supplier KLA Corp earlier this year and reinvested in Amazon, too.”
KLA - ExitedVlatava fund Vltava Fund SICAV, plcJune 2026
“We sold the troika Lam Research, Applied Materials, and KLA Corporation, all of which are key suppliers of manufacturing equipment and process control solutions for the semiconductor industry.”
KLA - June 2026
Listed in Guinness Global Innovators Fund’s reported holdings.
KLA - HoldsFindlay Park American FundJune 2026
“Other strong contributors included KLA, Applied Materials, Entegris and Keysight, which provide critical equipment, materials, testing and measurement capabilities to the semiconductor ecosystem.”
KLA - June 2026
“Performance commentary The performance of the fund was behind the benchmark over the quarter. The relative high weighting in the energy sector contributed to the underperformance during a period in which energy stocks gave back some gains from the previous quarter, after agreement appeared to have been struck to end the US conflict with Iran and the ‘war premium’ in commodity prices faded. Some of the fund’s best performers over the quarter were stocks benefiting from investors’ increasingly positive view on the semiconductor cycle and AI-related demand. Holdings in Micron, Applied Materials, KLA Corp and Lam Research were among the main positive contributors.”
KLA - New positionBaillie Gifford Positive ChangeJune 2026
“TSMC posted first-quarter results of 40 percent year-over-year revenue growth coupled with an increase in profitability (operating margin is now 58 percent) due to scale, product mix and capacity utilisation. New holding KLA provides process control equipment and services that help chip manufacturers improve production efficiency and reduce waste, water and energy intensity during semiconductor manufacturing.”
KLA - June 2026
“TOP 5 CONTRBUTORS as of June 30, 2026 KLA Corp Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ASML Holding NV Alphabet Inc Eli Lilly and Co”
KLA “We also harvested gains in Alphabet and KLA Corp following strong share-price appreciation and reallocated capital to more attractively priced opportunities while maintaining significant exposure to both companies.”
KLA- June 2026
“KLA (KLAC) was another large contributor.”
KLA - June 2026
Listed in Liontrust GF Sustainable Future US Growth Fund’s reported holdings.
KLA - June 2026
“Alongside the memory and interconnect reductions above, we exited Ciena, Ultra Clean, KLA, Kokusai Electric, Arista Networks, Fabrinet and Vertiv, several having closed the gaps we originally underwrote, and released further capital from Tesla, Shopify, Mercadolibre and Robinhood to concentrate the Fund on the technology stack itself; the ServiceNow exit completed in April.”
KLA - June 2026
“Alongside the memory and interconnect reductions above, we exited Ciena, Ultra Clean, KLA, Kokusai Electric, Arista Networks, Fabrinet and Vertiv, several having closed the gaps we originally underwrote, and released further capital from Tesla, Shopify, Mercadolibre and Robinhood to concentrate the Fund on the technology stack itself; the ServiceNow exit completed in April.”
KLA - June 2026
“Semiconductor equipment company KLA was another large contributor.”
KLA - June 2026
“KLA Corporation KLA Corporation contributed to performance in the second quarter, benefiting from the AI-driven WFE upcycle and reinforcing its position as the leading process control beneficiary of rising semiconductor manufacturing complexity.”
KLA - June 2026
“KLA Corporation KLA Corporation contributed to performance in the second quarter, benefiting from the AI-driven WFE upcycle and reinforcing its position as the leading process control beneficiary of rising semiconductor manufacturing complexity.”
KLA - June 2026
“Demand for AI infrastructure continued to climb, which buoyed the shares of the Fund’s top three contributors: • Applied Materials, a supplier of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, • Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a leading semiconductor manufacturer, and • KLA, which makes tools to inspect and control chip production quality.”
KLA - June 2026
“we purchased in late April, is a diversified construction and building-services company with broad exposure across US end markets, from pharmaceutical manufacturing to data centres.”
KLA - New positionBaillie Gifford Worldwide Positive Change FundJune 2026
“New holding KLA provides process control equipment and services that help chip manufacturers improve production efficiency and reduce waste, water and energy intensity during semiconductor manufacturing.”
KLA - New positionBaillie Gifford Positive Change StrategyJune 2026
“We also initiated a position in KLA this quarter.”
KLA - TrimmedFlexible Equity FundMarch 2026
“ We eliminated Uber Technologies (UBER) and trimmed Canadian National Railway (CNI), reducing the weighting in Industrials. We initiated a position in Watsco (WSO). Our weighting in Information Technology increased during the period as we initiated positions in NVIDIA (NVDA) and SAP SE Sponsored ADR (SAP). We exited Workday (WDAY) and trimmed Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) and KLA Corporation (KLAC).”
KLA - March 2026
“Relative results were partially offset by Lam Research, KLA, and Costco Wholesale.”
KLA - March 2026
“KLA Corporation contributed to performance in the first quarter, as accelerating AI infrastructure investment continues to drive a robust demand outlook for leading-edge wafer fabrication equipment.”
KLA - March 2026
Listed in Alger Growth & Income Fund’s reported holdings.
KLA - December 2025
“KLA, a provider of process control and yield management semiconductor equipment, also benefited from another strong earnings report. The company enables and supports the AI infrastructure build-out.”
KLA - September 2025
“KLA Corporation (KLAC) provides semiconductor capital equipment that is essential within the manufacturing value chain, while Marvell Technology (MRVL) is making significant strides as a supplier of custom ASICs for the AI “factories” currently under development.”
KLA - March 2025
“KLA Corporation, a provider of process control and yield management semiconductor equipment, added to performance following strong earnings.”
KLA
Also mentioned · 10
These funds discuss KLA as a competitor, benchmark or comparable, without disclosing a position in it.
- September 2026
“On an individual stock basis, the largest contributors to relative returns were Thermo Fisher Scientific and not owning Applied Materials, KLA, Lam Research and Caterpillar.”
KLA - September 2026
“The sharp pullback in several semiconductor and AI infrastructure-related stocks was positive for relative performance. These stocks, including Lam Research and KLA Corporation, had previously driven market gains.”
KLA - MentionedRoyal London AM US Equity Fund (IRL)September 2026
“These stocks, including Lam Research and KLA Corporation, had previously driven market gains.”
KLA - September 2026
“The sharp pullback in several semiconductor and AI infrastructure-related stocks was positive for relative performance.”
KLA - June 2026
“The largest relative detractors included Netflix and Intuitive Surgical as well as not holding Advanced Micro Devices, Lam Research and KLA.”
KLA - June 2026
“Much of the negative attribution over the quarter came from stocks that we do not own, especially those related to the AI-memory boom. Not holding Lam Research and KLA Corp had a negative effect on relative returns.”
KLA - June 2026
“Performance commentary (continued) Performance and activity PA Performance Fund (%) Benchmark (%) Relative (%) Quarter 15.65 14.93 0.72 YTD 11.28 11.25 0.03 1 Year 23.39 23.67 (0.28) 3 Years (p.a.) 19.68 19.68 (0.00) Since inception (p.a.) 12.57 11.30 1.27 Past performance is not a guarantee or reliable indicator of future returns. The impact of fees or other charges, including tax, where applicable, can be material on the performance of your investment. The impact of fees reduces your investment. Please refer to the Glossary for the basis of calculation and impact of fees. Performance and since inception date based on Z Acc USD. Source: Royal London Asset Management; Gross performance; Since inception date of the share class is 20 July 2021. Performance commentary The fund outperformed its benchmark over the quarter, which was mainly the result of positive stock selection. Holdings in the healthcare and information technology sectors proved particularly beneficial. Some of the best performers were stocks benefiting from investors’ increasingly positive view on the semiconductor cycle and AI-related demand. Holdings in the Intel, SK Hynix and Micron Technology were among the fund's strongest contributors. Much of the negative attribution over the quarter came from stocks that we do not own, especially those related to the AI-memory boom. Not holding LAM Research, ASML or KLA Corp hit relative returns.”
KLA - MentionedRoyal London AM US Equity Fund (IRL)June 2026
“Not holding Lam Research and KLA Corp had a negative effect on relative returns.”
KLA - MentionedBuffalo funds Blue Chip Growth FundJune 2026
“The largest relative detractors also included portfolio underweights to strong benchmark performers. Lam Research and KLA each benefited from improving semiconductor capital-equipment sentiment, and the funds underweights detracted approximately 82 basis points and 61 basis points, respectively, from relative results.”
KLA - June 2026
“KLA Corporation outperformed as hyperscalers (Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Oracle) ramp spending from roughly $630 billion in 2026 to an estimated $1 trillion+ in 2027 towards the AI infrastructure buildout. KLA is a beneficiary as they provide equipment to the chipmakers, who need to expand capacity.”
KLA
Fund coverage · 12 theses
- Baillie Gifford Positive Change StrategySeptember 2026
KLA provides inspection and measurement equipment for chipmakers and is valued for its leading position and rising demand as chip complexity increases.
Read the full thesis - Liontrust Sustainable Future Global Growth FundSeptember 2026
KLA is the global leader in semiconductor process control with a dominant market position, high margins and exposure to AI-chip manufacturing demand.
Read the full thesis - Aristotle Atlantic Large Cap Growth StrategySeptember 2026
KLA Corporation remains structurally leveraged to the AI buildout, with management pointing to accelerating growth into 2027.
Read the full thesis - Baillie Gifford Positive ChangeSeptember 2026
KLA benefits from ongoing AI-related semiconductor investment and is supported by leadership in process control and durable competitive advantage.
Read the full thesis - Baillie Gifford US Equity Growth StrategySeptember 2026
KLA Corporation is a high-quality leading-edge semiconductor business with attractive, resilient margins and leverage to AI-driven growth.
Read the full thesis - Baillie Gifford US Equity GrowthSeptember 2026
KLA Corporation should benefit as chip manufacturing becomes more complex and defect tolerance falls, strengthening its competitive position over time.
Read the full thesis - Guinness Global Innovators FundJuly 2026
KLA is a process-control leader whose inspection and metrology demand is supported by advanced-node and AI-related semiconductor complexity.
Read the full thesis KLA Corporation benefits from the AI-driven semiconductor equipment upcycle and its dominant process control market share.
Read the full thesisKLA supplies process control equipment and services that improve chip manufacturing efficiency while reducing waste, water and energy intensity.
Read the full thesis- Bristolgate U.S. Equity StrategyJune 2026
KLA Corporation is a dominant semiconductor process-control provider benefiting from complexity-driven demand and strong dividend growth.
Read the full thesis - Alger Growth & Income FundDecember 2024
KLA is a leading semiconductor capital equipment company that supplies advanced inspection tools and metrology systems essential for the production of smaller
Read the full thesis - Parnassus Core Equity FundDecember 2024
KLA is well-positioned for long-term growth due to high switching costs, strong demand for advanced semiconductors, and effective management, despite recent stock price concerns related to weaker demand in China.
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