MKS Inc. (MKSI) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
You can invest in MKS Inc. (MKSI) by buying shares or fractional shares at any major broker, through an ETF that holds it, or as one holding in a thematic basket. MKS is a cyclical, smaller-cap semiconductor sub-system supplier of vacuum systems, lasers, and process-control components that sit inside equipment built by Applied Materials and Lam Research, plus electronics chemistry from the Atotech acquisition. AI-driven chip capex, Atotech integration, and debt paydown drive it, so MKSI behaves like a higher-volatility, two-steps-upstream AI and semiconductor play.
MKSI stock price
As of 2026-07-24, MKS Inc. (MKSI) last closed at $329.18, up 230.8% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $89.62 and $444.80.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or MKS Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does MKS Inc. (MKSI) do?
MKS Inc. (formerly MKS Instruments) is a specialty supplier of vacuum systems, lasers, and precision motion components used in semiconductor manufacturing, advanced electronics, and other precision industrial applications. The company's semiconductor business spans pressure measurement and control, vacuum technology, ozone and plasma processing, and chemical vapor delivery. Many of these are critical sub-systems inside the equipment that companies like Applied Materials and Lam Research build.
MKS has expanded materially through acquisitions: Atotech (added specialty plating and chemical solutions for electronics manufacturing) and Photon Control (vacuum sensors). The company is the result of decades of consolidation in vacuum and process control technology. Founded in 1961, headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts. John Lee has been CEO since 2020.
What's driving MKS Inc. (MKSI)?
1. Semiconductor equipment capex cycle.
MKS's revenue tracks semiconductor equipment investment closely because its products are sub-systems inside that equipment. The current AI-driven capex cycle is positive for MKS.
2. Atotech integration and electronics chemistry.
The Atotech acquisition added specialty plating solutions for printed circuit boards and other electronics applications. Integration has been ongoing; the combined business is more diversified than legacy MKS.
3. Industrial laser business.
MKS has a substantial industrial laser business serving precision manufacturing in semiconductors and other industries. This segment is cyclical but provides product diversity.
4. Debt paydown and capital structure.
MKS took on substantial debt for the Atotech acquisition. Paying down that debt while continuing to invest in growth is a meaningful capital allocation focus.
What are the risks to MKS Inc. (MKSI)?
Semiconductor capex cyclicality affects MKS materially. Integration risks from Atotech and other acquisitions. Debt levels are higher than peers, creating financial risk during cyclical troughs.
How is MKS Inc. (MKSI) valued? (approximate, early 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see MKS Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$3.7 billion
- Operating margin: ~13% (cyclical)
- Net income (TTM): ~$200 million
- EPS (TTM): ~$3.00
- P/E (TTM): ~30x
- Price to sales: ~2x
- Dividend yield: ~1.0%
- Free cash flow: ~$300 million annually
- Net debt: Meaningful from Atotech acquisition; paying down
MKS valuation balances the AI-driven semiconductor capex tailwind against the debt overhang and the cyclical end markets. The multiple expands meaningfully during semiconductor up-cycles.
Which ETFs hold MKS Inc. (MKSI)?
What themes does MKS Inc. (MKSI) fit?
These are the investment theses MKSI naturally fits into. Each links to a full theme guide listing every other stock that belongs and the ETFs commonly used as a passive proxy.
Who competes with MKS Inc. (MKSI)?
Vacuum and process control sub-systems
Specific niche competitors in pressure measurement, mass flow controllers, gas delivery, and plasma sources. Competitors include Pfeiffer Vacuum, Edwards (part of Atlas Copco), Ferrotec, and various specialty suppliers. The market is fragmented.
Industrial lasers
Coherent (now II-VI), IPG Photonics, and various specialty laser companies. Industrial laser market is competitive across many applications and laser types.
Electronics chemistry (Atotech)
DuPont electronic chemistry, Element Solutions (ESI), Versum Materials (Merck KGaA), and various specialty competitors in PCB plating chemistry.
What stocks are similar to MKS Inc. (MKSI)?
Other names that show up alongside MKSI in the same themes. Worth a look if you're thinking about diversification within a single thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.
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How to invest in MKS Inc. (MKSI)
There are three common ways to get MKSI exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it (IJH, QTUM, SCHA), which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic basket, so MKSI sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the basket route. Describe a thesis where MKSI fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on MKS Inc. (MKSI)
MKS Inc. (MKSI) is an upstream semiconductor sub-system and electronics-chemistry supplier whose revenue tracks chip-equipment capex at thinner margins than the toolmakers it sells to, carrying meaningful Atotech-related debt. In a portfolio it behaves as a cyclical, smaller-cap satellite position within semiconductor and AI-infrastructure exposure, more volatile than the large equipment names and sensitive to the capex cycle and its balance sheet.
More on MKS Inc. (MKSI)
Whether MKSI is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is MKSI a buy?, and where the stock could go from here in the MKSI stock forecast.
For income investors, whether MKSI pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does MKSI pay a dividend? And to weigh MKSI against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: MKSI vs NVDA and MKSI vs AMD.
Build a basket around MKSI with Walnut
Use MKS Inc. as one constituent in a thematic basket Walnut's AI helps you assemble. Describe a thesis you believe in, the AI proposes the holdings and weights, and you approve before any broker order.
FAQ
What is MKS Inc.'s ticker symbol?
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MKSI, listed on Nasdaq. Officially MKS Inc. (formerly MKS Instruments, Inc.). Founded 1961, headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts. Trades during US market hours.
Who are MKS's competitors?
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MKS competes in multiple specialty markets. Vacuum and process control: Pfeiffer Vacuum, Edwards (Atlas Copco), Ferrotec. Industrial lasers: Coherent, IPG Photonics. Electronics chemistry (Atotech business): DuPont, Element Solutions, Versum Materials. The competition is fragmented across each of MKS's product categories.
Is MKS an AI stock?
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Indirectly yes. MKS supplies sub-systems used inside semiconductor manufacturing equipment that produces AI accelerator chips. AI-driven semiconductor capex (TSMC, Samsung, Intel, Micron) drives MKS revenue. The exposure is two steps upstream from NVIDIA but in the same overall AI infrastructure trend.
What is MKS's P/E ratio?
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Approximately 30x trailing twelve months as of early 2026. Premium reflecting the AI-driven semiconductor capex tailwind. Earnings are recovering from the 2023-2024 cyclical trough; forward P/E is lower.
What does MKS do?
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MKS supplies specialty vacuum systems, lasers, precision motion components, and electronics chemistry. Most revenue comes from sub-systems used inside semiconductor manufacturing equipment (pressure measurement, vacuum technology, plasma processing, chemical vapor delivery). The Atotech business adds specialty chemistry for printed circuit boards.
Who owns the most MKS stock?
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Major institutional holders include Vanguard, BlackRock, and various specialty manufacturing-focused funds. Insider ownership is low. MKS is broadly institutionally owned.
Which ETFs have the most MKS exposure?
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SOXX (iShares Semiconductor) includes MKSI as part of its broader semiconductor equipment universe at modest weight. SMH does not consistently include MKSI given its narrower top-25 methodology. Mid-cap and equipment-themed ETFs hold MKSI at higher weights but those funds have lower AUM. VOO and SPY hold MKSI at fractional weight.
Which thematic baskets typically include MKS?
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Two themes on Walnut. AI infrastructure (vacuum systems, lasers, and process control sub-systems sit inside the equipment that produces AI chips) and Semiconductors (sub-system supplier across the semiconductor equipment industry). MKSI is often included in semiconductor supply chain baskets as a smaller-cap supplier complement to the larger equipment makers.
Is MKS in the S&P 500?
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Yes. MKSI was added to the S&P 500 several years ago and has remained in the index continuously. It is typically a smaller S&P 500 holding by market cap.
What is MKS's market cap?
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Approximately $7 billion as of early 2026. Market cap has been more volatile than the largest equipment names because of MKS's exposure across multiple cyclical end markets and the debt load from the Atotech acquisition. Recovery from the 2023-2024 cyclical trough has supported share price.
Does MKS pay a dividend?
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Yes. MKSI yields approximately 1.0% as of early 2026, paid quarterly. The dividend has been maintained through the cyclical trough; growth has been moderate. Capital allocation has been prioritized for debt paydown from the Atotech acquisition over dividend growth.
What is the Atotech acquisition?
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MKS acquired Atotech in 2022 for approximately $5 billion. Atotech brought specialty chemistry for PCB manufacturing and surface finishing. The integration has been ongoing; the combined company is more diversified than legacy MKS but also carries meaningfully higher debt. Margin synergies have been a focus.
Why are MKS's sub-systems important?
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Semiconductor equipment is built from thousands of precision sub-systems: vacuum pumps, gas flow controllers, plasma sources, lasers, motion stages. MKS is one of the largest specialty suppliers for these sub-systems. Equipment makers (AMAT, Lam, KLA, TEL) buy MKS sub-systems and integrate them into their tools. The upstream position gives MKS leverage to semi capex but at thinner margins than the equipment makers themselves.
How does MKS compare to peers?
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Pfeiffer Vacuum (Vacuum), Edwards (Atlas Copco-owned), and Ferrotec compete in vacuum and process control. Coherent and IPG Photonics compete in industrial lasers. None directly competes across MKS's full product range; MKS's breadth is unusual. Atotech adds electronics chemistry exposure that competes with DuPont electronics materials and Element Solutions.
Should I own MKS directly or through SOXX?
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Both common. Direct MKSI ownership gives concentrated semiconductor sub-system supplier exposure. SOXX includes MKSI at modest weight along with broader semiconductor equipment exposure. Many Walnut users hold MKSI as a satellite position to broader semi exposure given its smaller market cap and higher volatility.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with MKS Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.