Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The semiconductor company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.02, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $8.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.14 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 67.60% and a net margin of 31.27%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 54.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS.

Here are the key takeaways from Lam Research’s conference call:

• Lam reported record September-quarter results, with revenue up 54% year over year to $8.22 billion, gross margin of 52.4%, operating margin above 40% for the first time, and record non-GAAP EPS of $2.20.
• Management expects a strong multiyear semiconductor investment cycle, forecasting 2026 WFE in the mid-$150 billion range and preliminary 2027 WFE above $200 billion. Lam expects to outperform WFE for a third consecutive year as deposition, etch, and advanced-packaging intensity increases.
• Product momentum remains broad, including higher Aether revenue expectations of approximately $2.5 billion cumulatively by 2030, new wins in backside power and advanced packaging, and growing opportunities in NAND storage tiers such as SLC. CSBG revenue is expected to grow more than 30% in 2026 and over 15% in 2027.
• Near-term supply-chain constraints limited the December-quarter outlook; management said revenue guidance of $8.6 billion could have been higher and expects some delayed shipments to move into March. Clean-room availability and component constraints may continue to restrict industry growth in 2027.
• China represented an unusually high 35% of September-quarter revenue, but management expects its contribution to be meaningfully lower in December, primarily because of weaker domestic-customer spending. The company also expects its non-GAAP tax rate to remain elevated at roughly 16.5% versus 11% in the prior quarter.

Lam Research Stock Down 1.0%

Lam Research stock opened at $260.81 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Lam Research has a 12-month low of $135.50 and a 12-month high of $438.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $306.08 and its 200 day moving average is $309.80. The company has a market capitalization of $326.38 billion, a PE ratio of 45.28, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.85.

Lam Research Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 23rd were paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 23rd. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Lam Research’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. Lam Research’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lam Research news, insider Ava Harter sold 5,000 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction on Monday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.46, for a total value of $1,512,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,843,056.52. The trade was a 10.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 9,557 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $314.74, for a total value of $3,007,970.18. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,995 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,607,966.30. This trade represents a 31.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on LRCX. B. Riley Financial upped their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $350.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Lam Research from $325.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (down from $450.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Lam Research from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.07.

Key Stories Impacting Lam Research

Here are the key news stories impacting Lam Research this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lam Research reported fiscal Q1 revenue of $8.22 billion, up 54.4% year over year, and adjusted earnings of $2.20 per share. Both figures narrowly exceeded Wall Street expectations of $8.14 billion and $2.18 per share. Lam Research financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Management guided for approximately $8.6 billion in next-quarter revenue, broadly in line with analyst forecasts, while continuing to see strong demand from AI infrastructure and memory-chip customers. Lam Research results and guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth opportunities include expected cumulative Aether dry-resist revenue of $2.5 billion and more than 30% annual growth in the Customer Support Business Group. Lam Research long-term investor takeaways
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings beat was relatively small, and the next-quarter outlook largely matched expectations rather than raising forecasts. That limited the potential for a positive surprise after the stock’s substantial prior rally. Lam Research outlook
• Negative Sentiment: Supply constraints are preventing Lam from fully converting demand into sales, while management expects China’s revenue contribution to fall substantially from 35% in September. These issues raise concerns about near-term growth and regional exposure. Lam Research supply and China update
• Negative Sentiment: The results reignited fears that AI infrastructure spending and semiconductor capital expenditures may not justify elevated expectations. The weakness has spread across chip stocks, making LRCX’s decline partly sector-driven. Chip stock rebound and AI spending fears

About Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) is a semiconductor equipment company that develops and manufactures systems used to fabricate integrated circuits. Its technologies support key stages of wafer processing, helping semiconductor manufacturers create the increasingly complex structures found in memory, logic and other types of chips.

The company’s product portfolio includes etch systems, which selectively remove materials from wafers; deposition systems, which apply thin films; and cleaning solutions used to remove contaminants and residue during manufacturing.