EarningsQ1 2027 Earnings Report
MX:LRCX Q1 2027 EPS Results
Actual EPS$41.33
Consensus EPS$40.99
Beat/MissBeat by +$0.34
One Year Ago EPS$23.67
MX:LRCX Q1 2027 Revenue Results
Actual Revenue$154.42B
Expected Revenue$152.96B
Beat/MissBeat by +$1.46B
YoY Revenue Growth+54.38%
Earnings Announcement Details
QuarterQ1 2027
Date10/21/2026
TimeAfter Close
Conference CallWednesday, October 21, 2026
MX:LRCX Upcoming Earnings
Lam Research's next earnings date is estimated for January 27, 2027, based on past reporting schedules.
Q1 2027 Earnings Call Audio
MX:LRCX Q1 2027 Earnings Call
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Q1 2027 Earnings Slide Deck
Q1 2027 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Sentiment|Positive
The call was strongly positive, marked by record revenue, margins, EPS, cash flow and CSBG performance, strong AI-driven demand, expanding deposition and etch opportunities, multiple product wins, and an improved 2027 WFE outlook. The main challenges were supply chain and clean room constraints, a significantly lower expected China revenue mix in December, a higher tax rate, and customer mix pressure on gross margin. Management remained confident that these constraints can be managed and that Lam is positioned for continued outperformance.Company Guidance
Record September Quarter Revenue and Profitability
Lam reported its fifth consecutive quarter of record revenue, with September quarter revenue of $8.22 billion, up 22% sequentially and 54% from the same period in 2025. Gross margin reached a record 52.4%, operating margin reached a record 40.2% and exceeded 40% for the first time, and diluted EPS reached a record $2.20.
Strong 2026 Systems Revenue and WFE Outperformance
Including the midpoint of December quarter guidance, Lam expects calendar year 2026 systems revenue to grow well over 40% year-over-year. The company expects 2026 WFE to be in the mid $150 billion range and expects 2026 to mark its third consecutive year of WFE outperformance.
Positive 2027 WFE Outlook
Lam's preliminary 2027 WFE outlook is for more than $200 billion of spending, with percentage growth led by DRAM, followed by leading-edge foundry logic and NAND. The company said customer visibility extends through 2028.
AI-Driven Semiconductor Demand
Lam said AI adoption by enterprises and consumers is underpinning WFE growth, with reported average weekly token usage up roughly 250-fold in the past 18 months. The company said demand for compute, memory and storage continues to expand as AI moves toward autonomous agentic workflows.
Expanded Served Available Market
Increasing device complexity and the push toward greater 3D scaling have driven a four-point expansion of Lam's served available market as a percentage of WFE. Lam expects further opportunities from rising deposition and etch intensity across device types and advanced packaging.
Memory Systems Revenue Growth
Memory represented 46% of September quarter systems revenue, consistent with the prior quarter, and reached a record dollar level that was up 120% from the same period in 2025. Non-volatile memory increased to 26% of systems revenue from 23% in June.
NAND Spending and Upgrade Cycle
NAND revenue increased approximately 40% sequentially as the industry continued spending on conversions to 256-layer and above devices, with initial spending on 384-layer devices. Lam said there is still room to go in the upgrade cycle and expects the current cycle to finish in 2027 before moving into the next upgrade cycle.
AI-Related NAND Storage Opportunities
Lam said QLC, TLC and SLC-class NAND are being optimized for different AI workloads and expects all three storage tiers to grow. Converting from TLC to SLC-class devices reduces bits per device by roughly 3 times; for each percentage point mix shift of NAND bits to SLC-class devices, approximately 2% more installed wafer capacity would be needed to support the same bit demand.
Record Foundry Revenue and Product Growth
Foundry achieved record revenue, increasing to 46% of systems revenue from 44% in June, driven by investment in leading-edge nodes including advanced packaging and mature-node spending in China. Foundry logic and DRAM accounted for approximately 80% of Lam's systems revenue growth year-to-date.
Akara and Advanced Patterning Adoption
Multiple chip makers are adopting Akara for high-aspect-ratio etching and profile control. The tool is delivering up to a 50% reduction in wafer-to-wafer and lot-to-lot variability and up to a 50% gain in wafer output per fab footprint.
Aether Revenue Outlook Increased
Lam's Aether dry resist solution demonstrated sub-10 nanometer resolution at the highest pattern density and fidelity with High-NA EUV while requiring 10% lower exposure dose. Aether is ramping in HBM high-volume manufacturing with Low-NA EUV, and cumulative Aether-related revenue is now expected to reach approximately $2.5 billion by the end of the decade, roughly $1 billion above prior expectations.
Backside Power Tool Wins
Lam said its Vector, Sabre and Flex tools are well-suited for backside power at 2 nanometer and below, while Halo is gaining traction for emerging molybdenum applications. The company secured tool-of-record wins for all four products at a leading customer.
Advanced Packaging Customer Wins
Lam's Syndion product won advanced logic and HBM TSV positions and attained four new positions across multiple customers. Striker ALD achieved multiple TSV liner wins, while Vector and VECTOR TEOS 3D secured additional wins for high-adhesion bonding films and interdie gap-fill applications.
Panel-Level Packaging Momentum
Lam has shipped panel plating systems to more than 20 customers worldwide across panel sizes ranging from 300 by 300 millimeter to 600 by 600 millimeter. The company expects its panel-level packaging market share to surpass its already strong position in wafer-level packaging, supported by momentum in fan-out packaging, glass core substrates and through-glass via applications.
Customer Support Business Group Growth
CSBG generated a fourth consecutive quarter of record revenue at nearly $2.5 billion, up 40% from the same period in 2025. Calendar year 2026 CSBG revenue is expected to grow more than 30% year-over-year, and calendar year 2027 revenue is expected to grow over 15% year-over-year. Growth is broad-based across upgrades, spares and services.
Equipment Intelligence and Service Contract Wins
Lam's Equipment Intelligence and Dextro Cobots helped secure performance-based service contracts with multiple memory manufacturers. Management said spares remain the largest CSBG component, while utilization, upgrades, services and Reliant also remained strong.
December Quarter Guidance
Lam guided to December quarter revenue of $8.6 billion plus or minus $400 million, gross margin of 52.5% plus or minus 1 percentage point, operating margin of 40.5% plus or minus 1 percentage point, and EPS of $2.33 plus or minus $0.15.
Strong Cash Flow and Shareholder Returns
September quarter free cash flow was a record $3.24 billion. Lam allocated approximately $1 billion to share repurchases and paid $325 million in dividends, returning approximately 41% of free cash flow during the quarter and 59% calendar year-to-date. The company has $3 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization and maintains a long-term goal of returning 85% of free cash flow to shareholders.
Improved Balance Sheet and Working Capital Metrics
Cash and short-term investments increased to $7.5 billion from $5.6 billion in June, despite capital returns and capital expenditures. Days sales outstanding improved to 63 days from 72 days, while inventory turns strengthened to 3.4x from 3x, the highest level in nearly seven years.
Investment in Capacity and Workforce
Lam increased capital expenditures to $258 million from $189 million as it expanded lab infrastructure and global manufacturing facilities. Regular full-time employees increased by approximately 1,900 from the prior quarter to approximately 24,300, primarily in factory, field and R&D teams.
Gross Margin Expansion Opportunity
Management said near-term gross margin should remain generally around current levels but reiterated an opportunity to expand gross margin into the mid-50s over the next several years, supported by differentiated new products, close-to-customer manufacturing and pricing actions.
MX:LRCX Earnings History
The table shows recent earnings report dates and whether the forecast was beat or missed. See the change in forecast and EPS from the previous year.
Beat
Missed