Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.10 EPS

Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The semiconductor company reported $1.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.10, FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.23 billion. Lam Research had a return on equity of 60.60% and a net margin of 29.66%.The firm’s revenue was up 22.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Lam Research updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 1.250-1.450 EPS.

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

• Record financials: Fiscal 2025 revenue hit $20.6 billion (+27% YoY) with December-quarter revenue of $5.34 billion and gross/operating margins and EPS all beating the high end of guidance.
• AI-driven demand and WFE outlook: Lam sees 2026 WFE around $135 billion driven by DRAM and leading-edge foundry logic, expects to expand SAM and gain share across successive nodes, and forecasts advanced packaging growth of >40% in 2026.
• Capacity constraints limit near-term upside: Management says semiconductor spending is being constrained by a shortage of clean-room space, making 2026 second-half weighted and preventing a clear quantification of lost WFE today.
• Product and services momentum plus capital return: New product wins (notably Acara etch), CSPG installed base topping 100,000 chambers, traction for Dextro/autonomous-fab initiatives, and $1.4 billion of buybacks in the quarter (with $5.1 billion remaining) support growth and shareholder returns.

Lam Research Price Performance

Shares of LRCX traded up $3.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $242.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,939,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,232,577. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $183.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $144.37. Lam Research has a fifty-two week low of $56.32 and a fifty-two week high of $251.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $304.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.47, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.77.

Lam Research Announces Dividend

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

Key Stories Impacting 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

Insider Activity at Lam Research

In related news, CFO Douglas R. Bettinger sold 40,080 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.60, for a total transaction of $6,036,048.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 987,237 shares in the company, valued at approximately $148,677,892.20. This trade represents a 3.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Bethany Mayer sold 1,298 shares of Lam Research stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.99, for a total transaction of $207,667.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $264,303.48. This trade represents a 44.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,408 shares of company stock valued at $6,248,501. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lam Research

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of LRCX. Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in Lam Research during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lam Research in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lam Research during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lam Research in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.61% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LRCX has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price (up previously from $190.00) on shares of Lam Research in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays set a $250.00 price target on Lam Research in a research note on Thursday. New Street Research lifted their price objective on shares of Lam Research from $140.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Lam Research in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-seven have issued a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.39.

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.