Lam Research Corporation Q1 FY2027 Earnings Call

· Earnings call transcript and AI-powered summary

Lam Research (LRCX) - September 2026 Quarter Earnings Summary

Key Context: Lam delivered record results driven by AI-fueled semiconductor demand, higher device complexity, and 3D scaling. All comparisons below reference the prior quarter (June 2026) or year-ago period (September 2025) unless noted. WFE outlook: CY2026 mid-$150B range; preliminary CY2027 >$200B (DRAM-led growth).

Financial Highlights

  • Revenue: $8.22B (record), +22% QoQ, +54% YoY. Deferred revenue $2.66B (+$227M QoQ).
  • Gross Margin: 52.4% (record; +0.4 pts QoQ from 52.0%), driven by favorable mix and pricing/cost balance.
  • Operating Margin: 40.2% (record; first time >40%; +1.8 pts QoQ from 38.4%).
  • EPS: $2.20 (record; diluted shares ~1.26B).
  • Free Cash Flow: $3.24B (record). Cash & short-term investments: $7.5B (vs $5.6B June). Returned ~41% of FCF via buybacks/dividends; long-term target 85%.
  • Operating Expenses: $1.0B (+$84M QoQ), primarily higher incentives and R&D investments (Akara, Halo, panel, Dextro).
  • Tax Rate: 16.5% (vs 11% June); expected to remain elevated.

Systems Revenue by Segment (46% Memory / 46% Foundry / 8% Logic & Other)

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Operator: Please also note, today's event is being recorded. I would now like to turn the conference over to Ram Ganesh, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead. Ram Ganesh: Thank you, and good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the Lam Research quarterly earnings conference call. With me today are Tim Archer, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Doug Bettinger, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. During today's call, we will share our overview on the business environment, and we will review our financial results for the September 2026 quarter and our outlook for the December 2026 quarter. The press release detailing our financial results was distributed a little after 1:00 P.M. Pacific Time. The release and the accompanying presentation slides for today's call can be also found on the investor section of the company's website. Today's presentation and Q&A include forward-looking statements based on our current beliefs, expectations, and assumptions. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. For a discussion of factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, please refer to the risk factors in our most recently filed periodic reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, and subsequent filings with the SEC and the cautionary statement in the accompanying presentation slides. Today's discussion of our financial results will be pr
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