Advertisement
AMD vs KLAC
Which Stock Would AI Choose? Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) vs. KLA Corporation (KLAC) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- AMD has delivered stronger YTD gains of approximately 66%, outpacing KLAC's 43%, fueled by robust AI data center demand.
- Recent quarters show AMD revenue up 38% year-over-year to $10.25 billion in Q1 2026, while KLAC reported Q3 FY2026 revenue of $3.42 billion, up 11.8%.
- Both stocks benefit from AI-driven semiconductor growth, but AMD exhibits higher volatility with a market cap of ~$579 billion versus KLAC's ~$226 billion.
- KLAC offers superior profitability with a 35.7% profit margin and dividends, contrasting AMD's growth-focused profile at 12.5% margin.
- Sector momentum favors AMD in recent weeks due to earnings beats and AI accelerator sales, while KLAC gains from process control demand in advanced nodes.
Introduction
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and KLA Corporation (KLAC) are pivotal players in the semiconductor ecosystem, with AMD designing high-performance chips for AI and data centers, and KLAC supplying critical process control equipment for chip manufacturing. This stock comparison is relevant for traders seeking exposure to AI infrastructure growth and investors evaluating relative performance in the volatile semiconductor sector. Amid surging demand for advanced computing and fabrication tools, both have posted strong year-to-date returns, highlighting contrasts in growth trajectories, risk profiles, and market positioning. Understanding these dynamics aids informed decisions on portfolio allocation in today's tech-driven market.
AMD Overview and Recent Performance
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), a fabless semiconductor designer, specializes in CPUs, GPUs, and AI accelerators like EPYC processors and Instinct GPUs for data centers, alongside Ryzen for PCs and gaming. In recent market activity, AMD shares surged over 17% following Q1 2026 earnings that beat expectations, with revenue reaching $10.25 billion (up 38% year-over-year) driven by 57% growth in data center sales to $5.8 billion. Sentiment has shifted positively due to strong AI demand for inferencing and agentic workloads, analyst upgrades (e.g., Goldman Sachs raising target to $450), and YTD gains of 66%. However, elevated P/E ratio (137x TTM) reflects growth premiums amid competition from Nvidia. Broader performance shows 74% monthly rise, underscoring momentum in AI compute.
KLAC Overview and Recent Performance
KLA Corporation (KLAC), a leader in process control and yield management, provides inspection, metrology, and software solutions for semiconductor wafer fabrication, reticles, and packaging. Recent quarters reflect resilience, with Q3 FY2026 revenue at $3.42 billion (up 11.8% year-over-year) and non-GAAP EPS of $9.40, surpassing estimates amid AI-linked demand for advanced nodes. The company announced a $7 billion share repurchase and 21% dividend hike, boosting confidence despite some weekly dips. YTD performance stands at 43%, with a more moderate P/E (49x TTM) and high profitability (36% margin). Influences include fab expansions for sub-3nm chips and geopolitical supply risks, contributing to steady gains over recent months while trading near 52-week highs.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron’s Trending AI Robots page features a curated selection of 25 top-performing AI trading bots from over 351 available, each designed to trade thousands of tickers across diverse strategies, timeframes, and market conditions. These bots deliver real-time signals for copy trading, boasting annualized returns from +23% to +169%, win rates of 51-88%, and profit factors up to 11.7, with average trade durations spanning 1-48 days and profit-to-drawdown ratios exceeding 17 in top performers. Styles range from trend-following and volatility plays to fundamental analysis (FA) agents using TP/SL corridors (e.g., 3% take-profit/2% stop-loss). Highlighted bots target sectors like semiconductors (e.g., one with +95% return on LRCX, TER, AMAT, KLAC, etc.) and AI ETFs, including coverage of AMD in high-momentum portfolios. Explore these adaptable tools to enhance your strategy in dynamic markets.
Head-to-Head Comparison
AMD’s fabless model targets end-user AI demand via accelerators and CPUs, contrasting KLAC’s upstream focus on metrology for fab yields, exposing AMD to compute cycles and KLAC to equipment capex. Growth drivers differ: AMD leverages data center surges (57% recent growth), while KLAC benefits from AI node complexity. Recent momentum favors AMD (74% monthly vs. KLAC’s 16%), but KLAC shows stability via dividends (0.44% yield) and buybacks. Risk factors include AMD’s high beta/volatility and KLAC’s cyclicality/geopolitics. Both share semiconductor/AI exposure, yet AMD trades at premium multiples (137x P/E vs. 49x), trading growth for KLAC’s margins (36% vs. 13%). Sentiment tilts bullish on both amid AI tailwinds.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI currently favors AMD due to superior trend consistency in recent weeks, explosive data center catalysts, and relative YTD outperformance amid AI accelerator demand. While KLAC offers stability and profitability, AMD’s positioning suggests a higher probabilistic edge for near-term momentum, though with elevated volatility.
Disclaimer
The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full Disclaimers and Limitations.
To compare these two companies we present long-term analysis, their fundamental ratings and make comparative short-term technical analysis which are presented below. The conclusion is AMD is a Hold and KLAC is a Hold.
Long-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a long-term outlook for a ticker by using Fundamental Analysis (FA) ratings. The rating of 1 to 100, where 1 is best and 100 is worst, is divided into thirds. The first third (a green rating of 1-33) indicates that the ticker is undervalued; the second third (a grey number between 34 and 66) means that the ticker is valued fairly; and the last third (red number of 67 to 100) reflects that the ticker is undervalued. We use an FA Score to show how many ratings show the ticker to be undervalued (green) or overvalued (red).
AMD’s FA Score shows that 3 FA rating(s) are green whileKLAC’s FA Score has 4 green FA rating(s).
- AMD’s FA Score: 3 green, 2 red.
- KLAC’s FA Score: 4 green, 1 red.
Short-Term Analysis
It is best to consider a short-term outlook for a ticker by using Technical Analysis (TA) indicators. We use Odds of Success as the percentage of outcomes which confirm successful trade signals in the past.
If the Odds of Success (the likelihood of the continuation of a trend) for each indicator are greater than 50%, then the generated signal is confirmed. A green percentage from 90% to 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bullish trend. A red percentage from 90% - 51% indicates that the ticker is in a bearish trend. All grey percentages are below 50% and are considered not to confirm the trend signal.
AMD’s TA Score shows that 4 TA indicator(s) are bullish while KLAC’s TA Score has 4 bullish TA indicator(s).
- AMD’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 4 bearish.
- KLAC’s TA Score: 4 bullish, 4 bearish.
Price Growth
AMD (@Semiconductors) experienced а +11.61% price change this week, while KLAC (@Electronic Production Equipment) price change was +21.64% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Semiconductors industry was +3.36%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +5.97%, and the average quarterly price growth was +97.49%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Electronic Production Equipment industry was +10.62%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was +10.11%, and the average quarterly price growth was +143.49%.
Reported Earning Dates
AMD is expected to report earnings on Aug 04, 2026.
KLAC is expected to report earnings on Jul 23, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Semiconductors (+3.36% weekly)The semiconductor industry manufacturers all chip-related products, including research and development. These chips are used in innumerable electronic devices, including computers, cell phones, smartphones, and GPSs. Intel Corporation, NVIDIA Corp., and Broadcomm are some of the prominent players in this industry. Semiconductor companies usually tend to do well during periods of healthy economic growth, thereby inducing further research and development in the industry – which in turn augurs well for productivity and growth in the economy. In the near future, demand for semiconductor products (and possibly innovation within the segment) should only expand further, with the proliferation of 5G, autonomous vehicles, IoT, and various AI-driven electronics set to herald a new, advanced chapter in the technology-driven world as we know it. With burgeoning prospects comes great competition. In 2015, SIA estimated that U.S. semiconductor industry ranks as the second most competitive U.S. industry out of 2882 U.S. industries designated manufacturers by the U.S. Census Bureau.
@Electronic Production Equipment (+10.62% weekly)The electronic production equipment industry makes equipment used to produce semiconductors. Such equipment includes wafer fabrication, plasma etching and photo-resist processing equipment. The industry also makes chemical vapor deposition processing systems and photomasks, which are high-purity quartz plates that contain patterns to define integrated circuits layouts. Applied Materials, Inc., Lam Research Corporation, and KLA-Tencor Corporation are examples of electronic production equipment manufacturing companies.
| AMD | KLAC | AMD / KLAC | |
| Capitalization | 892B | 335B | 266% |
| EBITDA | 8.09B | 6.06B | 133% |
| Gain YTD | 155.538 | 116.847 | 133% |
| P/E Ratio | 182.42 | 72.62 | 251% |
| Revenue | 37.5B | 13.1B | 286% |
| Total Cash | 12.3B | 613M | 2,007% |
| Total Debt | 3.87B | 6.15B | 63% |
AMD | KLAC | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 75 | 35 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 82 Overvalued | 90 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 8 | 2 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 79 | 13 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 2 | 2 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 11 | 8 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 50 |
Tickeron ratings are formulated such that a rating of 1 designates the most successful stocks in a given industry, while a rating of 100 points to the least successful stocks for that industry.
AMD's Valuation (82) in the Semiconductors industry is in the same range as KLAC (90) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry. This means that AMD’s stock grew similarly to KLAC’s over the last 12 months.
KLAC's Profit vs Risk Rating (2) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is in the same range as AMD (8) in the Semiconductors industry. This means that KLAC’s stock grew similarly to AMD’s over the last 12 months.
KLAC's SMR Rating (13) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is significantly better than the same rating for AMD (79) in the Semiconductors industry. This means that KLAC’s stock grew significantly faster than AMD’s over the last 12 months.
KLAC's Price Growth Rating (2) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is in the same range as AMD (2) in the Semiconductors industry. This means that KLAC’s stock grew similarly to AMD’s over the last 12 months.
KLAC's P/E Growth Rating (8) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is in the same range as AMD (11) in the Semiconductors industry. This means that KLAC’s stock grew similarly to AMD’s over the last 12 months.
| AMD | KLAC | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 77% | 2 days ago 69% |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 86% | 2 days ago 68% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 80% | 5 days ago 81% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 70% | 2 days ago 84% |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 78% | 2 days ago 77% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 77% | 2 days ago 79% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 78% | 2 days ago 77% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 7 days ago 75% | 19 days ago 61% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 70% | 2 days ago 68% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 2 days ago 79% | 2 days ago 82% |
Advertisement