KLA (KLAC) Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference 2026 summary

Business performance and outlook

• Projected strong growth with 12% in 2024, 19% in 2025, and low 20% range for 2026, with operating margins improving over 400 basis points in three years.

• Industry growth expectations revised upward to a low $150 billion range for 2026, translating to a mid-20% growth rate over 2025, with momentum expected to continue into 2027.

• Backlog exceeds $12 billion, providing strong visibility and supporting multi-year investment cycles and sustained growth into 2028.

• Focus areas include executing on opportunities, next-generation development, and supporting customers with high service levels.

• Company is preparing for bullish scenarios, ensuring it is not a bottleneck in the supply chain and investing to support growth through 2030.

AI integration and technology advancements

• AI is deeply embedded in systems, processing massive image data with GPU-based architectures, improving cost, capability, and power consumption.

• AI adoption spans product development and operations, with company-wide Copilot licenses and focus on driving efficiency and productivity.

• AI and machine learning are used for supply chain optimization and repetitive process automation, aiming for long-term operational leverage.

• Engineering teams benefit from AI in code development and debugging, with increased spending on AI tools but growing efficiency.

Market position and regional dynamics

• Deep engagement with leading U.S. semiconductor players, supporting expansions by TSMC, Samsung, Micron, and Intel, and collaborating with new entrants like Terafab.

• U.S. market share is stable, with investments in service and applications to support a broader footprint and leverage opportunities as operations scale.

• Advanced packaging market share has grown from 2% in 2023 to 7-8% in 2024, driven by capability requirements and portfolio readiness.

• Process control intensity is rising due to larger die sizes, advanced packaging, and integration of memory and logic, increasing the need for inspection and yield management.