CAMT vs KLAC: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of November 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. CAMT and KLAC share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined CAMT and KLAC exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Camtek Ltd. builds high-end optical inspection and metrology systems for semiconductor manufacturing. Its machines sit on the production floor at integrated device manufacturers, foundries and outsourced assembly and test houses (OSATs), scanning wafers and packages for defects and measuring three-dimensional features such as bumps, pillars and through-silicon vias. The Eagle family handles two-dimensional inspection and the Hawk line covers three-dimensional metrology. End applications span advanced interconnect packaging and heterogeneous integration, high-bandwidth memory, CMOS image sensors, compound semiconductors, MEMS and RF. The company is headquartered in Israel with manufacturing in Israel and Germany, files as a foreign private issuer on Nasdaq, and reported about 89 percent of sales into Asia Pacific in its most recent full geographic disclosure, with China alone around 31 percent.

Full CAMT guide

KLA Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and broader electronics industries worldwide. Its largest segment, Semiconductor Process Control, provides wafer and reticle inspection, metrology, and data analytics systems that chipmakers use to detect defects and measure critical dimensions during fabrication. A Specialty Semiconductor Process segment sells advanced vacuum deposition and etching tools, while a PCB and Component Inspection segment serves electronics manufacturers inspecting printed circuit boards and flat panel displays. KLA earns revenue through equipment sales and a growing base of high-margin service contracts that account for roughly a quarter of total revenue, providing resilience across equipment spending cycles.

Full KLAC guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• CAMT drivers: HBM and the memory stack; OSATs moving up the value chain.
• KLAC drivers: AI Infrastructure Drives Record Wafer Fab Equipment Spending; Near-Monopoly Market Position with Deep Switching Costs.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Customer concentration is real: a handful of memory makers, foundries and OSATs decide most of the year, and a single pushed order can move a quarter. For KLAC, the most acute near-term risk is U.S.-China export controls: restrictions already introduced have disrupted KLA's backlog, forced the return of customer deposits, and may further limit sales to Chinese fabs, which represent a meaningful share of global semiconductor investment.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick CAMT if you believe its drivers more; KLAC if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the CAMT and KLAC guides.

CAMT. Trailing GAAP earnings are still misleading. A roughly $89 million one-time capital loss on the repurchase of most of the 2021 convertible notes in the third quarter of 2025 left trailing GAAP net income near $48 million, which is why the headline trailing P/E screens near 194 while the forward P/E sits near 26. On the new outlook (2026 revenue near $595 million, 2027 above $800 million) and consensus 2027 EPS around $5.06, the shares trade at roughly 25 times next year's expected earnings after falling about 19 percent over three months.

KLAC. KLA's revenue grew about 24% in fiscal 2025 and about 12% in fiscal 2026, with net income rising faster than revenue in both years as operating leverage carried revenue gains into margin. At about $169 a share the stock trades near 46 times trailing earnings and about 25 times forward estimates, down from roughly 73 times trailing in June 2026 as earnings grew and the share price fell about 22% over three months, but still well above KLA's own five-year average of roughly 26 times trailing. The forward multiple leans on consensus for fiscal 2027 revenue of about $18.1 billion and EPS of $5.44, so the October 28, 2026 report and guidance matter. The company generates substantial cash and has raised its dividend for seventeen consecutive years, but the premium multiple leaves limited margin of safety if growth decelerates or export restrictions intensify.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): CAMT shows revenue (ttm) ~$499M (FY2025 ~$496M, up ~16%), q2 2026 revenue ~$133M; EPS $0.78 vs ~$0.76 est., q3 2026 revenue (preliminary) ~$160-161M, up ~27% YoY, guidance Q4 2026 ~$180M; FY2026 ~$595M; 2027 outlook >$800M; KLAC shows revenue (fy2026, ended june 30, 2026) ~$13.58 billion (up ~12%), net income (fy2026) ~$4.83 billion (up from ~$4.06 billion), june 2026 quarter Revenue ~$3.66 billion (up ~15% YoY); EPS ~$1.05 vs ~$1.00 consensus, gross / operating margin (ttm) ~61% / ~42%.

CAMT and KLAC are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined CAMT and KLAC exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.