KLAC vs NVMI: 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. KLAC and NVMI 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 KLAC and NVMI 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.

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

Nova Ltd. (NASDAQ and Tel Aviv: NVMI), headquartered in Rehovot, Israel, builds process-control metrology for semiconductor manufacturing. Metrology is measurement rather than inspection: instead of hunting for defects, Nova's systems characterize the dimensions, profiles, thin-film thickness, and material composition of structures on a wafer while it is still moving through the line. The portfolio splits into a Dimensional Metrology Division built on optical techniques (integrated and standalone optical critical dimension, or OCD, scatterometry) and a Materials Metrology Division built on x-ray methods, plus chemical metrology acquired with ancosys in 2022 and a modeling and analytics software layer that is arguably the real moat. A meaningful share of Nova's tools are integrated, meaning they are bolted directly onto another vendor's deposition or etch equipment, which makes Nova both a supplier to fabs and a partner to process-equipment makers. Customers are the logic foundries, memory makers, and packaging houses in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, China, and the United States, and manufacturing sits in Israel, Germany, and the United States, with a new Asian facility targeted to be operational by the end of 2026.

Full NVMI guide

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

• KLAC drivers: AI Infrastructure Drives Record Wafer Fab Equipment Spending; Near-Monopoly Market Position with Deep Switching Costs.
• NVMI drivers: Gate-all-around and the rising metrology intensity of leading-edge logic; Advanced packaging and high-bandwidth memory.

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: 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. For NVMI, nova sells capital equipment into an industry that has historically swung hard in both directions, so a pause in leading-edge capex at any of the handful of customers that matter would show up in orders within a quarter or two, and the current multiple leaves little room for that.

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 KLAC if you believe its drivers more; NVMI 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 KLAC and NVMI guides.

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.

NVMI. At about $324 a share, Nova is worth roughly $10.3B, down from about $12.5B in August 2026, and trades near 40x trailing and 24x forward earnings, so the trailing multiple is still a little above its own 15-year average of about 37x while the forward multiple is well below it. The premium is still being paid for a record set of results: fiscal 2025 revenue of ~$880.6M grew ~31% with GAAP net income of ~$259.2M, and both 2026 quarters so far set records, with Q2 non-GAAP EPS of $2.51 beating the $2.41 consensus. Analysts expect about $1.08B of revenue for 2026 and $1.36B for 2027, and consensus for the November 5 report is EPS of about $2.77 on about $282M of revenue.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): 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%; NVMI shows revenue (ttm) ~$938M (+16% YoY in Q2 2026), q2 2026 revenue ~$255.0M (+16% YoY, +8% QoQ, a company record), gross / operating margin (ttm) ~57% / ~30%, net income (ttm) ~$270M (EPS ~$8.00).

KLAC and NVMI 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 KLAC and NVMI exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.