KLAC vs ONTO: 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.

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 ONTO 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 ONTO 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

Onto Innovation designs and builds inspection, metrology, lithography, and data-analysis systems that semiconductor manufacturers use to measure and check chips during production. It was formed from the 2019 merger of Rudolph Technologies and Nanometrics, and it competes in areas like thin-film and critical-dimension (OCD) metrology, macro defect inspection, and advanced packaging inspection. Its tools, including the Dragonfly inspection platform and the Atlas and newer G-series metrology systems, are used across advanced logic nodes, specialty devices, and the packaging steps that stitch AI accelerators and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) together.

Full ONTO 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.
• ONTO drivers: Advanced packaging and HBM; Advanced logic nodes.

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 ONTO, onto is a semiconductor capital-equipment company, so its revenue is cyclical and can drop sharply in a chip-spending downturn.

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; ONTO 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 ONTO guides.

KLAC. KLA's fiscal 2025 revenue grew approximately 24% year over year, reflecting the AI-driven acceleration in semiconductor capital equipment spending, and net income grew even faster at roughly 47% as operating leverage amplified revenue gains into margin expansion. The trailing P/E of approximately 73x is well above KLA's own five-year average of roughly 26x, indicating that the market is pricing in continued strong growth from AI infrastructure investment. Investors weighing the valuation should note that the company generates substantial free cash flow 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.

ONTO. Onto trades at a mid-cap valuation that reflects its growth exposure to AI packaging rather than a deep-value multiple. Gross margin has run in the roughly 50-56% range depending on mix, and management guided second-quarter 2026 revenue to $320-$330 million with non-GAAP EPS of about $1.65-$1.73. These figures are as of May 2026 and will change with each quarterly report.

Headline figures (approximate, 2026-06-19): KLAC shows revenue (fy2025, ended june 30, 2025) ~$12.16 billion, revenue (ttm through sept 30, 2025) ~$12.52 billion, net income (fy2025) ~$4.06 billion, gross margin (ttm) ~61%; ONTO shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.03 billion, fy2025 revenue ~$1.005 billion, q1 2026 revenue ~$292 million (record, ~+9.5% YoY), q1 2026 non-gaap eps ~$1.42.

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