Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Issues Q3 2026 Earnings Guidance

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) issued an update on its third quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Wednesday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 1.250-1.450 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 1.200. The company issued revenue guidance of $5.4 billion-$6.0 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $5.3 billion.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LRCX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Lam Research from $260.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Lam Research in a report on Monday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $262.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $80.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their target price on Lam Research from $150.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.39.

Lam Research Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:LRCX traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $242.79. 3,939,696 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,232,577. Lam Research has a 52-week low of $56.32 and a 52-week high of $251.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market cap of $304.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.47, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.37.

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 60.60% and a net margin of 29.66%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Lam Research has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 1.250-1.450 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lam Research will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 3rd were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 3rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Lam Research’s payout ratio is presently 22.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Bethany Mayer sold 1,298 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total transaction of $207,667.02. Following the sale, the director owned 1,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,303.48. This represents a 44.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.60, for a total value of $6,036,048.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 987,237 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $148,677,892.20. This represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 41,408 shares of company stock valued at $6,248,501 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Lam Research

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat across the board — Lam reported $1.27 EPS on $5.34B revenue, beating estimates and showing 22% y/y revenue growth; management gave Q3 EPS guidance of $1.25–1.45 and revenue above Street expectations, underpinning the rally. Reuters: Lam Research forecasts strong quarterly results on chipmaking tool demand
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are upgrading and lifting targets — Needham bumped its target to $300 (Buy), TD Cowen raised its target to $290 (Buy), Summit Insights upgraded to Buy and other shops (Stifel, Evercore) have raised targets — reinforcing upside expectations. (See Benzinga / firm notes for specific upgrades.) Benzinga: Analyst coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Market commentary highlights structural demand drivers — coverage notes Lam is benefiting from AI-led content gains, expanding foundry and NAND investments, and tight supply for its tools. These secular drivers support higher bookings and revenue visibility. InsiderMonkey: Lam Research poised to benefit
• Positive Sentiment: Positive media reaction to earnings — outlets like Barron’s and Zacks called the quarter “extraordinarily bullish” or highlighted the beat, which can attract momentum and fund flows into LRCX. Barron’s: Why earnings were bullish
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials and call transcript are available for detail — investors can review the press release, slide deck and call transcript for bookings, customer cadence and regional commentary. Lam press release/slide deck Call transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Price action and valuation are mixed — LRCX has rallied strongly over the past year, and some reports simply note new 12‑month highs and upgrades without deeper risk analysis. AmericanBankingNews: Analyst-driven move
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and pullback risk flagged — commentary warns the stock’s rapid run-up increases vulnerability to large corrections and raises questions about whether current multiples fully reflect the recovery. Forbes: Valuation/reality-check piece
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/regional risk remains — coverage notes China-related demand and policy dynamics could weigh on the outlook or produce volatility even amid strong AI-driven demand. MSN: China risks

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lam Research

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Lam Research in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Lam Research in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Lam Research in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the third quarter worth about $65,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

About Lam Research

Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX) is a global supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services to the semiconductor industry. Founded in 1980 by David K. Lam and headquartered in Fremont, California, the company develops and manufactures systems used in multiple stages of semiconductor device production, including thin film deposition, plasma etch, wafer cleaning and related process modules and automation.

Lam’s product portfolio covers core process technologies employed by logic and memory manufacturers, with equipment designed to support advanced-node patterning, 3D NAND and other emerging device architectures.