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KLAC vs MPWR
Which Stock Would AI Choose? KLA Corporation (KLAC) vs. Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) Stock Comparison
Key Takeaways
- Both KLAC and MPWR have delivered strong year-to-date gains of around 42% and 71% respectively, fueled by AI-driven semiconductor demand.
- KLAC, a leader in process control equipment, reported Q3 FY2026 revenue of $3.42 billion, beating estimates amid advanced packaging growth.
- MPWR, a fabless power management IC provider, posted Q1 2026 revenue of $804 million, up 26% year-over-year, with upbeat Q2 guidance.
- Recent momentum shows MPWR outperforming with 48% monthly gains versus KLAC's 16%, reflecting power solutions' edge in data centers.
- Tickeron AI bots targeting semiconductors, including both tickers, show annualized returns up to 95% with win rates over 60%.
- Analyst consensus favors both with "Moderate Buy" ratings, but MPWR sees higher price target upside post-earnings.
Introduction
In the semiconductor sector, KLAC and MPWR stand out for their roles in enabling AI infrastructure growth. KLA Corporation supplies critical process control and inspection equipment for chip manufacturing, while Monolithic Power Systems delivers efficient power management semiconductors for data centers and computing. This stock comparison analyzes their recent performance, business models, and market positioning amid surging demand for advanced nodes and energy-efficient solutions. Traders seeking exposure to semiconductor upcycles and investors eyeing relative performance in tech will find insights into momentum, risks, and AI-driven trends shaping their trajectories.
KLAC Overview and Recent Performance
KLA Corporation (KLAC) is a leading provider of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and nanoelectronics industries. Its equipment enables advanced wafer inspection, metrology, and defect review, supporting chipmakers in achieving higher yields at leading-edge nodes. In recent market activity, KLAC shares have shown resilience, trading around $1,733 with year-to-date gains exceeding 42% and one-year returns near 152%. Q3 FY2026 results highlighted $3.42 billion in revenue, surpassing expectations, driven by AI-related demand for semiconductor tools and advanced packaging systems. The company expanded its share repurchase program and raised guidance, boosting sentiment despite supply chain and geopolitical pressures. Weekly volatility persists, with recent dips reflecting broader sector rotations, yet strong earnings revisions and analyst upgrades underscore sustained positioning in fab equipment cycles.
MPWR Overview and Recent Performance
Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. (MPWR) designs and sells high-performance, energy-efficient power management semiconductors, including DC-DC converters and ICs (integrated circuits), for enterprise data, automotive, and consumer applications. Operating a fabless model, it focuses on compact solutions for AI servers, storage, and communications. Recent weeks have seen MPWR shares surge around $1,588, with year-to-date advances of 71% and monthly gains over 48%, outpacing peers. Q1 2026 revenue reached $804 million, up 26% year-over-year and beating forecasts, fueled by enterprise data center demand. Guidance for Q2 at $900 million midpoint exceeded consensus, prompting multiple analyst upgrades. Sentiment has shifted positively on AI power needs, though customer concentration and supply risks remain factors influencing volatility.
Trending AI Robots
Tickeron’s Trending AI Robots page showcases the top 25 AI trading bots selected from over 351 total bots that trade thousands of tickers across diverse strategies and timeframes. These curated bots excel in current market conditions, leveraging momentum in high-growth sectors like semiconductors and AI infrastructure, with performance stats including annualized returns from 23% to 169%, win rates of 51% to 88%, and profit factors up to 11.7. For instance, a semiconductor manufacturing bot featuring KLAC alongside peers delivers 95% annualized returns and 63% win rate, while a dedicated MPWR bot achieves 83% returns at 68% win rate. Varying from short-term scalps (5min) to swing trades (up to 48 days), they adapt to volatility in semis, energy, and ETFs. Explore these high-conviction signals to align with prevailing trends.
Head-to-Head Comparison
KLAC and MPWR operate in complementary semiconductor niches: KLAC's capital-intensive equipment model generates recurring service revenue (around 80% of total), providing stability tied to fab expansions, while MPWR's fabless power ICs enable quicker design cycles and higher margins in end-system integration. Growth drivers converge on AI—KLAC via process control for advanced packaging, MPWR through efficient power delivery for data centers—but MPWR diversifies into automotive and industrial. Recent momentum tilts to MPWR's superior YTD and monthly gains, versus KLAC's steadier profile. Risks include cyclical capex for KLAC and concentration for MPWR, amplified by geopolitics and tariffs. Both exhibit strong sector exposure to semis, with positive sentiment from earnings beats, though MPWR trades at a growth premium.
Tickeron AI Verdict
Tickeron’s AI currently favors MPWR over KLAC, based on superior recent momentum, dedicated high-performing bots (83% annualized returns), and alignment with accelerating AI power demands in data centers. While KLAC offers trend consistency through scale and buybacks, MPWR's relative positioning and earnings catalysts suggest a higher probability of near-term outperformance in the semiconductor upcycle.
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 KLAC is a Hold and MPWR 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).
KLAC’s FA Score shows that 4 FA rating(s) are green whileMPWR’s FA Score has 2 green FA rating(s).
- KLAC’s FA Score: 4 green, 1 red.
- MPWR’s FA Score: 2 green, 3 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.
KLAC’s TA Score shows that 3 TA indicator(s) are bullish while MPWR’s TA Score has 3 bullish TA indicator(s).
- KLAC’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 5 bearish.
- MPWR’s TA Score: 3 bullish, 5 bearish.
Price Growth
KLAC (@Electronic Production Equipment) experienced а -3.93% price change this week, while MPWR (@Semiconductors) price change was -8.69% for the same time period.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Electronic Production Equipment industry was -5.88%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -0.04%, and the average quarterly price growth was +111.24%.
The average weekly price growth across all stocks in the @Semiconductors industry was -4.00%. For the same industry, the average monthly price growth was -14.11%, and the average quarterly price growth was +78.05%.
Reported Earning Dates
KLAC is expected to report earnings on Jul 23, 2026.
MPWR is expected to report earnings on Aug 03, 2026.
Industries' Descriptions
@Electronic Production Equipment (-5.88% 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.
@Semiconductors (-4.00% 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.
| KLAC | MPWR | KLAC / MPWR | |
| Capitalization | 308B | 63.3B | 487% |
| EBITDA | 6.06B | 857M | 707% |
| Gain YTD | 110.267 | 45.190 | 244% |
| P/E Ratio | 76.23 | 93.97 | 81% |
| Revenue | 13.1B | 2.96B | 443% |
| Total Cash | 613M | 932M | 66% |
| Total Debt | 6.15B | 20M | 30,725% |
KLAC | MPWR | ||
|---|---|---|---|
OUTLOOK RATING 1..100 | 50 | 50 | |
VALUATION overvalued / fair valued / undervalued 1..100 | 92 Overvalued | 78 Overvalued | |
PROFIT vs RISK RATING 1..100 | 2 | 23 | |
SMR RATING 1..100 | 13 | 46 | |
PRICE GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 2 | 45 | |
P/E GROWTH RATING 1..100 | 7 | 3 | |
SEASONALITY SCORE 1..100 | 50 | 90 |
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.
MPWR's Valuation (78) in the Semiconductors industry is in the same range as KLAC (92) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry. This means that MPWR’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 MPWR (23) in the Semiconductors industry. This means that KLAC’s stock grew similarly to MPWR’s over the last 12 months.
KLAC's SMR Rating (13) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is somewhat better than the same rating for MPWR (46) in the Semiconductors industry. This means that KLAC’s stock grew somewhat faster than MPWR’s over the last 12 months.
KLAC's Price Growth Rating (2) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry is somewhat better than the same rating for MPWR (45) in the Semiconductors industry. This means that KLAC’s stock grew somewhat faster than MPWR’s over the last 12 months.
MPWR's P/E Growth Rating (3) in the Semiconductors industry is in the same range as KLAC (7) in the Electronic Production Equipment industry. This means that MPWR’s stock grew similarly to KLAC’s over the last 12 months.
| KLAC | MPWR | |
|---|---|---|
| RSI ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 62% | N/A |
| Stochastic ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 64% | 3 days ago 84% |
| Momentum ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 78% | 3 days ago 76% |
| MACD ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 61% | N/A |
| TrendWeek ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 60% | 3 days ago 72% |
| TrendMonth ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 80% | 3 days ago 72% |
| Advances ODDS (%) | 13 days ago 77% | 10 days ago 77% |
| Declines ODDS (%) | 11 days ago 58% | 12 days ago 67% |
| BollingerBands ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 62% | 3 days ago 84% |
| Aroon ODDS (%) | 3 days ago 78% | 3 days ago 76% |
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