KLA Raises 2026 Chip Equipment Forecast to $150B, Citing AI Demand

KLA raised its September-quarter revenue guidance to $4 billion, citing surging demand for AI chip manufacturing equipment.¹ The company lifted its 2026 wafer fabrication equipment market forecast to the low-billions range.¹

KLA also raised its advanced packaging process control revenue target to billions.¹ Advanced packaging tools inspect and measure the multi-chip assemblies used in AI accelerators and high-bandwidth memory (HBM).¹ All three revisions came within the same reporting cycle, alongside a 10-for-1 stock split.¹

The guidance increase signals equipment makers are booking orders tied directly to AI accelerator fabrication capacity.¹ Wafer equipment spending funds the tools that produce logic and memory chips powering AI data centers.¹ A billions 2026 market outlook would mark continued growth in capital spending across the chip supply chain.¹

The revenue and outlook increases point to sustained order strength for semiconductor capital equipment over the next one to two quarters.¹ Rising AI chip fabrication demand is the stated driver.¹ Peer equipment makers, including Applied Materials, Lam Research, and ASML, could report similar guidance increases as the same demand flows through their order books.¹

Advanced packaging is a bottleneck step in AI chip production, connecting processors to HBM stacks.¹ KLA's billions target for that segment signals equipment makers expect packaging capacity, not just wafer fabrication, to expand alongside AI accelerator output.¹ Combined with the wider wafer equipment forecast, the guidance suggests capacity expansion is occurring across multiple stages of AI hardware production simultaneously.¹

The 10-for-1 stock split does not change the company's underlying business but typically accompanies a period of sustained share price appreciation.¹ Together, the guidance raises indicate equipment suppliers are positioning for continued AI-driven capital expenditure into next year.¹