ICHR vs UCTT: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 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.

Reading it: UCTT is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

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. ICHR and UCTT 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 ICHR and UCTT 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.

Ichor Holdings designs, engineers, and manufactures critical fluid delivery subsystems and components used in the tools that make semiconductors. Its core products are gas delivery subsystems (which deliver, monitor, and control the specialty gases used in etch and deposition) and chemical delivery subsystems (which blend and dispense the reactive liquids used in electroplating and cleaning). Ichor acts as a turnkey outsourcing partner to major original equipment manufacturers, letting them hand off non-critical elements of tool design, production, and support. The company is headquartered in Fremont, California, and was incorporated in 1999.

Full ICHR guide

Ultra Clean Holdings (Nasdaq: UCTT) builds production tools, gas and chemical delivery systems, process modules, and other subsystems that go inside the machines its customers use to manufacture semiconductors. The business splits into a Products division (integrated outsourced subassemblies and high-precision manufacturing, the large majority of revenue) and a smaller Services division (tool chamber parts cleaning, coating, and micro-contamination analysis). Its customers are the big wafer fab equipment makers, and the company is a classic outsourced supplier, meaning its results rise and fall with how much its handful of large customers are spending.

Full UCTT guide

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

• ICHR drivers: Semiconductor capital equipment recovery; Margin expansion through proprietary content.
• UCTT drivers: AI-driven WFE upcycle; Leading-edge and advanced packaging demand.

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 severe: Lam Research and Applied Materials together account for the large majority of revenue (roughly 87 percent by one industry estimate), so a pullback in orders from either would hit results hard. For UCTT, customer concentration is the defining risk: the top few clients regularly account for over 70 percent of revenue, so losing share at, or a spending pullback from, a single large customer can swing results dramatically.

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 ICHR if you believe its drivers more; UCTT 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 ICHR and UCTT guides.

ICHR. As of May 2026 Ichor carried a market cap near $3.4 billion on roughly $960 million in trailing revenue, valuing it at close to 3.5 times sales despite thin gross margins. The company reported a non-GAAP profit in Q1 2026 (about $0.15 per share) but a GAAP loss, and 2025 as a whole was a GAAP net loss of about $52.8 million. Its valuation reflects expectations for a semiconductor upcycle and margin recovery rather than current earnings.

UCTT. Ultra Clean generated roughly $2.1 billion of revenue over the trailing twelve months at a mid-teens non-GAAP gross margin, and reported full-year 2025 non-GAAP EPS near $1.05 while posting a GAAP net loss driven largely by a non-cash goodwill impairment of about $151 million. The stock re-rated sharply higher in 2026 on the AI-equipment upcycle, pushing the market cap to roughly $5.4 billion, or a bit over 2.5 times trailing revenue, which is a rich multiple for a thin-margin, cyclical supplier. Because trailing GAAP earnings were negative, a conventional P/E is not meaningful, so investors tend to anchor valuation on forward WFE-driven earnings power.

Headline figures (approximate, MAY 2026): ICHR shows revenue (2025) ~$948M, revenue (ttm) ~$960M, q1 2026 revenue ~$256M, q1 2026 gross margin ~12.6%; UCTT shows revenue (ttm) ~$2.1B, fy2025 revenue ~$2.05B, q1 2026 revenue ~$533.7M, fy2025 non-gaap eps ~$1.05.

ICHR and UCTT 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 ICHR and UCTT exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.