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Lam Research

No base rate yet — LRCX has 2 graded prints on the record, and the bar is 3.Litho & fabWebsite
Ticker
LRCX
Beat
hardware
Size
Public Company
Revenue
$6.7B
as of Jun 2026
Cash
$5.6B
as of Jun 2026
Researched · Fresh
5 days ago

Best-in-class etch monopoly riding a once-a-decade memory/AI WFE upcycle into record margins — but at ~69x guided FY26 GAAP EPS the tape, not the business, is the risk; the moat is real, the multiple is borrowed from the future.

Orbit · who it trades with and competes with
10 on the rings · 7 trade · 3 rival
15 mentions across our dossiers
Focus · Hardware
Lam Research
LRCX · public
No published house view
Trades with
Competes with
Next prints in its web
Links · 10 companies · 7 trade · 3 rival
“Customers (extreme concentration): Top customers in 2025 were Lam Research, Applied Materials, and ASML.”Ichor Holdings · TRADE · from Ichor Holdings’s dossier
TholoBbrief←→step through the orbitESCcloseclick a company to open ittap a company to read it, tap again to open it
Price

Weekly closes

LRCX · weekly close
239.11 USD+3.9%
Friday 30 Oct 2026 · last 52 Fridays 142.65–389.04
pick a pin
Every pin is a dated row
Solid: filed with the SEC, settled at FINRA, or a recorded split. Hollow: the scheduled print, past the last close, never a price.
Height is the close · the ribbon is the stored record, a missing week a missing point · a pin stands on its Friday
  1. Insiders sold, 90 days: 9,557 sh · 1 filing, Form 4 · 9 Sept 2026
  2. Short interest: 25,810,795 sh · 2.62 days to cover, FINRA · settled 30 Sept 2026
  3. Next print: in 81 days, Scheduled · 20 Jan 2027, scheduled
239.11USD+3.9%hardware -0.4%LRCX · 112 weekly closes to 2026-10-30

Who is buying

Insiders sold, last 90 daysSEC Form 4 · newest 9 Sept 2026
1 filing · 9,557 shares
Shares sold shortFINRA · settled 30 Sept 2026
25,810,795 shares
Days to unwind the shortFINRA · settled 30 Sept 2026
2.62
see the whole series
Financials

The reported figures

Revenue · quarterly
$6.7B
latest, Q2 ’26 · 12 periods stored
Filed · primary
Q2 ’26
$6.7B USD
as of 28 Jun 2026
Source: sec.gov
Solid = filed (primary) · hollow dashed = estimate · a dashed floor tick is a period with no figure held · quarterly and annual never share an axis
Lam Research, quarterly figures held, Q3 ’23 to Q2 ’26
PeriodAs ofRevenueOperating marginCashShares outstandingGradingSource
Q3 ’2324 Sept 2023$3.5B USD29.4% share of revenue$5.1B USD131.8M sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q4 ’2324 Dec 2023$3.8B USD28.1% share of revenue$5.6B USD131.1M sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q1 ’2431 Mar 2024$3.8B USD27.9% share of revenue$5.7B USD130.7M sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q2 ’2430 Jun 2024$3.9B USD29.1% share of revenue$5.8B USD—Filed · primarysec.gov
Q3 ’2429 Sept 2024$4.2B USD30.3% share of revenue$6.1B USD1.29B sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q4 ’2429 Dec 2024$4.4B USD30.5% share of revenue$5.7B USD1.28B sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q1 ’2530 Mar 2025$4.7B USD33.1% share of revenue$5.5B USD1.28B sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q2 ’2529 Jun 2025$5.2B USD33.7% share of revenue$6.4B USD1.27B sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q3 ’2528 Sept 2025$5.3B USD34.4% share of revenue$6.7B USD1.26B sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q4 ’2528 Dec 2025$5.3B USD33.9% share of revenue$6.2B USD1.25B sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q1 ’2629 Mar 2026$5.8B USD35.0% share of revenue$4.8B USD1.25B sharesFiled · primarysec.gov
Q2 ’2628 Jun 2026$6.7B USD37.4% share of revenue$5.6B USD1.25B sharesFiled · primarysec.gov

Lam Research’s figures as the company reported them in its filings. Quarters are calendar quarters, so a company whose year ends in January shows each fiscal quarter under the calendar quarter it falls in. An empty slot is a quarter we hold no figure for.

Revenue · quarterlyQ3 ’23 – Q2 ’26
$6.7B+30% vs Q2 ’25

Q2 ’26 · as of Jun 2026

Revenue Q3 ’23: $3.5B, as of Sep 2023Revenue Q4 ’23: $3.8B, as of Dec 2023Revenue Q1 ’24: $3.8B, as of Mar 2024Revenue Q2 ’24: $3.9B, as of Jun 2024Revenue Q3 ’24: $4.2B, as of Sep 2024Revenue Q4 ’24: $4.4B, as of Dec 2024Revenue Q1 ’25: $4.7B, as of Mar 2025Revenue Q2 ’25: $5.2B, as of Jun 2025Revenue Q3 ’25: $5.3B, as of Sep 2025Revenue Q4 ’25: $5.3B, as of Dec 2025Revenue Q1 ’26: $5.8B, as of Mar 2026Revenue Q2 ’26: $6.7B, as of Jun 2026
Operating margin · quarterlyQ3 ’23 – Q2 ’26
37.4%+3.7 pts vs Q2 ’25

Q2 ’26 · as of Jun 2026

Operating margin Q3 ’23: 29.4%, as of Sep 2023Operating margin Q4 ’23: 28.1%, as of Dec 2023Operating margin Q1 ’24: 27.9%, as of Mar 2024Operating margin Q2 ’24: 29.1%, as of Jun 2024Operating margin Q3 ’24: 30.3%, as of Sep 2024Operating margin Q4 ’24: 30.5%, as of Dec 2024Operating margin Q1 ’25: 33.1%, as of Mar 2025Operating margin Q2 ’25: 33.7%, as of Jun 2025Operating margin Q3 ’25: 34.4%, as of Sep 2025Operating margin Q4 ’25: 33.9%, as of Dec 2025Operating margin Q1 ’26: 35.0%, as of Mar 2026Operating margin Q2 ’26: 37.4%, as of Jun 2026
Free cash flow · annualFY21 – FY25
$4.9B

FY25 · as of Dec 2025

Free cash flow FY21: $2.6B, as of Dec 2021Free cash flow FY22: $4.7B, as of Dec 2022Free cash flow FY24: $5.4B, as of Dec 2024Free cash flow FY25: $4.9B, as of Dec 2025

Operating cash flow minus capital spending.

Cash · quarterlyQ3 ’23 – Q2 ’26
$5.6Bdebt $3.7B

Q2 ’26 · as of Jun 2026

Cash Q3 ’23: $5.1B, as of Sep 2023Cash Q4 ’23: $5.6B, as of Dec 2023Cash Q1 ’24: $5.7B, as of Mar 2024Cash Q2 ’24: $5.8B, as of Jun 2024Cash Q3 ’24: $6.1B, as of Sep 2024Cash Q4 ’24: $5.7B, as of Dec 2024Cash Q1 ’25: $5.5B, as of Mar 2025Cash Q2 ’25: $6.4B, as of Jun 2025Cash Q3 ’25: $6.7B, as of Sep 2025Cash Q4 ’25: $6.2B, as of Dec 2025Cash Q1 ’26: $4.8B, as of Mar 2026Cash Q2 ’26: $5.6B, as of Jun 2026Debt Q2 ’24: $5.0B, as of Jun 2024Debt Q2 ’25: $4.5B, as of Jun 2025Debt Q2 ’26: $3.7B, as of Jun 2026

CashDebt

Shares outstanding · quarterlyQ3 ’23 – Q2 ’26
1.25B+849% since Q3 ’23

Q2 ’26 · as of Jun 2026

Shares outstanding Q3 ’23: 131.8M, as of Sep 2023Shares outstanding Q4 ’23: 131.1M, as of Dec 2023Shares outstanding Q1 ’24: 130.7M, as of Mar 2024Shares outstanding Q3 ’24: 1.29B, as of Sep 2024Shares outstanding Q4 ’24: 1.28B, as of Dec 2024Shares outstanding Q1 ’25: 1.28B, as of Mar 2025Shares outstanding Q2 ’25: 1.27B, as of Jun 2025Shares outstanding Q3 ’25: 1.26B, as of Sep 2025Shares outstanding Q4 ’25: 1.25B, as of Dec 2025Shares outstanding Q1 ’26: 1.25B, as of Mar 2026Shares outstanding Q2 ’26: 1.25B, as of Jun 2026

A rising count is dilution: each existing share owns less of the company.

Latest filing: sec.gov

The record

What happened

What happened
DateTypeWhat happenedSource
2026-10-26editorial noteSources added: 0 → 4The dossier's cited-link count grew from 0 to 4 (deep-dive-2026-07-25-refresh.md → deep-dive-2026-10-26.md).dossier
2026-10-26editorial noteMargin figure revised: 35.0% → 39.5%Margin moved from 35.0% (deep-dive-2026-07-25-refresh.md) to 39.5% (deep-dive-2026-10-26.md).dossier
2026-10-26editorial noteRevenue figure revised: $5.841B → $5.84BRevenue moved from $5.841B (deep-dive-2026-07-25-refresh.md) to $5.84B (deep-dive-2026-10-26.md).dossier
2026-10-22filing10-Q: quarter ended 27 Sep 2026, revenue $8.22bnQuarter ended 27 Sep 2026 revenue $8,219.4M (vs $5,324.2M); net income $2,753.1M, $2.19 diluted EPS; share repurchases $1,025.0M in the quarter.agent:company-events · SEC EDGAR 10-Q
2026-10-21guidanceLam Research reports quarter ended 27 Sep 2026 revenue of $8.22BRevenue $8,219,418K, net income $2,753,138K, diluted EPS $2.19 (GAAP). Guidance for the quarter ending Dec 2026: revenue $8.60B +/- $400M, diluted EPS $2.33 +/- $0.15.agent:company-events · SEC EDGAR 8-K
2026-07-25editorial noteVerdict changed: Best-in-class etch monopoly riding a once-a-decade memory/AI WFE upcycle into record margins — but at ~69x guided FY26 GAAP EPS the tape, not the business, is the risk; the moat is r…Before (deep-dive-2026-06-18.md): Best-in-class etch monopoly riding a once-a-decade memory/AI WFE upcycle into record margins — but at ~69x guided FY26 GAAP EPS the tape, not the business, is the risk; the moat is real, the multiple is borrowed from the future. After (deep-dive-2026-07-25-refresh.md): (no verdict)dossier
dossier age
5 days
researched 26 Oct 2026 · ring fills at 180
pick a section
Each column is a section of the dossier
Its height is how many times the section names a filing: 19 mentions across 5 sections. A dashed foot names none.
Primary sources
0 of 5 sections name no filing · Enter steps through them
  1. The dossier: 1 · What changed — the two prints against their guides, 264 words, 8 filing mentions
  2. The dossier: 2 · Mix — where the September growth came from (10-Q), 126 words, 2 filing mentions
  3. The dossier: 3 · What it does to the open question, 237 words, 3 filing mentions
  4. The dossier: 4 · Still open, 90 words, 2 filing mentions
  5. The dossier: Sources, 26 words, 4 filing mentions
Research

The Lam Research dossier

The verdict

Best-in-class etch monopoly riding a once-a-decade memory/AI WFE upcycle into record margins — but at ~69x guided FY26 GAAP EPS the tape, not the business, is the risk; the moat is real, the multiple is borrowed from the future.

Primary sources

SEC filings

Earnings calls

Source documents — open to read in full

1 · What changed — the two prints against their guides

QuarterGuide (given)Actual revenuevs guide midpointGAAP GMNon-GAAP GMNon-GAAP EPS (guide)Source
Mar 2026—$5,841.5M—49.8%——Form 8-KA filing for something that happened between reports and matters enough to tell shareholders now. 2026-07-29 Ex-99.1 (comparative column)
Jun 2026$6.6B ± $400M; GM 50.5% ± 1pt; EPS $1.65 ± $0.15 (given 2026-04-22, per prior dossier)$6,722.2M+1.8%51.7%52.0%$1.82 ($1.65)8-K 2026-07-29 Ex-99.1
Sep 2026$8.10B ± $400M; GM 52.0% ± 1pt; op margin 39.5% ± 1pt; EPS $2.15 ± $0.15 (given 2026-07-29)$8,219.4M+1.5%52.3%52.4%$2.20 ($2.15)8-K 2026-10-21 Ex-99.1
Dec 2026 (guide)$8.60B ± $400M; GM 52.5% ± 1pt; op margin 40.5% ± 1pt; EPS $2.33 ± $0.15; 1.253B diluted shares—————8-K 2026-10-21 Ex-99.1
  • Sequential growth: +15.1% (Mar→Jun), +22% (Jun→Sep); the Dec guide midpoint is +4.6% on September. (computed)
  • Calendar 2026 implied revenue: $5.84B + $6.72B + $8.22B + $8.60B (guide midpoint) ≈ $29.4B. (computed; the Dec figure is guidance, not a result)
  • Systems revenue $5,732.9M in September (+35% QoQ, +62% YoY); customer support and other $2,486.5M (roughly flat QoQ, +40% YoY) [Form 10-QThe quarterly version of the annual report. Lighter, and not audited. MD&A].
  • Cash $7.45B at Sep 27 vs $5.60B at Jun 28: operating cash flow $3.50B, less $1.02B buybacks (incl. a $1.00B ASR with two banks, ~2.3M shares initially delivered), $325.4M dividends, $257.7M Capital expenditureMoney spent on long-lived things — buildings, machines, servers — rather than on running costs. [10-Q].
  • Deferred revenue $2.66B (from $2.43B); Japan shipments held in inventory pending acceptance, ~$468.3M of future revenue (from $490.2M) [8-K 2026-10-21 Ex-99.1].
  • Board: Sohail Ahmed and Michael Cannon retire from the board effective 2026-11-02; the board goes from 12 to 10 [8-K 2026-08-27].

2 · Mix — where the September growth came from (10-Q)

Sep 2026Jun 2026Sep 2025
China share of revenue35%26%43%
Korea20%20%15%
Taiwan18%27%19%
Foundry (of systems + upgrades)46%44%60%
Memory46%46%34%
Logic / IDM8%10%6%
  • China revenue $2,885.6M in September vs $2,282.6M a year earlier; Korea $1,634.1M vs $776.3M (+111%) [10-Q segment note]. (growth computed)
  • The 10-Q attributes the QoQ rise in foundry share to "the timing of mature node investments within the China region". Year on year, memory grew faster than foundry in dollars.
  • China was 34% in the March quarter (prior dossier, §3), 26% in June — the decline management had guided — and 35% in September. The June dip did not persist.

3 · What it does to the open question

The prior dossier's "gap worth watching" (§3): "Lam's $140B CY2026 WFE call (with 'bias to the upside') sits ABOVE SEMI's ~$135B WFE and well above Morgan Stanley's ~$128B."

  • Not answered here. Neither the release nor the 10-Q states a WFE figure. The 10-Q says only that "wafer fabrication equipment investments have continued to grow in 2026 with the AI market driving higher semiconductor industry spending across both the memory and non-memory market segments." Lam's current WFE number lives in the 2026-10-21 call, which this pass did not read.
  • What the filings do bear on: the prior dossier's watch items. (a) The June raise held — $6.72B against $6.6B. (b) The June China drag happened (26%) and reversed (35%). (c) Gross margin did not "level out at ~50.5%" (the CFO frame quoted in the prior dossier): non-GAAP GM was 52.0% in June, 52.4% in September and is guided to 52.5% for December — about two points above that frame for three quarters running. The 10-Q credits "favorable customer and product mix".
  • Inference, labelled: a China share back at 35% on mature-node foundry is the same customer group the prior dossier tied to down-payments and affiliate-rule risk. The September mix is therefore not obviously the durable leading-edge core; it reopens rather than closes the "how much of this is China pull-in" question. This is a reading of the mix table, not a statement by the company.

4 · Still open

  1. Lam's CY2026 WFE figure as stated on the 2026-10-21 call, and whether it moved from ~$140B — read the transcript.
  2. Whether the September China rebound is pull-in ahead of further BIS action or sustained mature-node demand; the 10-Q names the timing, not the cause.
  3. Down-payment and customer-deposit trend (the prior dossier's ~$300M drawdown) — the 10-Q's contract-liability note was not read in this pass.
  4. our figures has not been updated with the June and September quarters; the figures above are the source to fill it from.

Sources

How our view changed

3 dossiers

Every dossier we have written on Lam Research, newest first.

  1. current

    Best-in-class etch monopoly riding a once-a-decade memory/AI WFE upcycle into record margins

  2. Best-in-class etch monopoly riding a once-a-decade memory/AI WFE upcycle into record margins

  3. Best-in-class etch monopoly riding a once-a-decade memory/AI WFE upcycle into record margins

Research trail

The research around Lam Research

Covered in the Knowledge Base

Hardware — Memory & Compute Architecture

Company details

IndustrySemiconductors
SizePublic Company
WebsiteVisit Lam Research

Others in hardware

5 names

Where Lam Research sits against the other names we cover on this beat. Each line is that company’s verdict, not a summary of it.