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Signal Ledger valuation · LRCX

Lam Research Corp

What the shares are worth today on our research (management’s own targets for each business, plus our judgment calls): every line valued at the end of FY2030, net debt rolled forward, then discounted back to Sep 27, 2026.

Signal Ledger valuation$128.99−44% vs $230.15Includes 2 judgment calls of ours · see them ↓
Business value at FY2030
$173B
FY2030 revenue
$36B
FY2030 EPS · P/E
$11.77 · 15×
Discount rate (WACC · equity)
9.80% · 9.87%

Researched Oct 23, 2026 from SEC filing 0000707549-26-000054 · price $230.15 at research time · Valuation methodology

Latest quarter in this research: Q1 FY2027

Reported Oct 21, 2026 for the quarter to Sep 27, 2026 (company release ↗). This valuation already reflects these results (researched Oct 23, 2026).

Revenue$8.22B
Operating income$3.28B40.0% margin
Net income$2.75B
Diluted EPS$2.19
SegmentRevenuevs a year agoOperating incomeMargin
Systems$5.73B+62%——
Customer Support and Other$2.49B+40%——
  • Revenue$8.219418B, GAAP operating margin 39.95%; this is not a cycle-trough profit starting point.
  • December-quarter revenue guide$8.60B±$0.40B and GAAP operating margin 40.5%±1pp.
  • Quarterly repurchases$1.011B; September 27 common shares 1.249145B. Future buybacks are not assumed.
  • Latest presentation expectsCY2027 support revenue growth>15% and customer visibility through 2028; neither is a new consolidated FY2028/2030 dollar target.

What each business is worth

BusinessModelFY2030 revenueValue todayPer share2030 multipleValue from beyond FY2030
SystemsMargin$24B$106B$84.7811.0× EBIT59%
Customer Support and OtherMargin$12B$52B$41.2411.0× EBIT59%
All businesses$36B$157B$126.03

Our judgment calls

Where the evidence leaves room for judgment, we make the call ourselves and say why (Signal Ledger, Oct 21, 2026). These 2 calls are part of the valuation above; every other input follows the research file and the published rules.

AssumptionOur callWhy
Systems: FY2030 revenue$24BHeld at the FY2027 level instead of falling to $13.9B. Lam's only long-term revenue target, $25–27B for calendar 2028 (2025 Investor Day, https://filecache.investorroom.com/mr5ir_lamresearch2/1436/Lam%20Research%202025%20Investor%20Day%20FINAL2.pdf), is already below the current run rate: September-quarter revenue was $8.22B with $8.60B guided for December (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/707549/000070754926000052/lrcx_exhibitx991xq1x2027.htm). A superseded target should not force a 40% decline. Wafer-fab equipment is cyclical, so we assume no growth beyond the FY2027 level rather than extending this year's ~60% Systems growth.
Customer Support and Other: FY2030 revenue$12BHeld at the FY2027 level instead of falling to $8.4B, for the same reason as Systems: the 2025 Investor Day target for calendar 2028 is below today's run rate (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/707549/000070754926000052/lrcx_exhibitx991xq1x2027.htm). Support revenue follows the installed base, which keeps growing after the current build-out; holding it flat is conservative.

From 2030 back to today

  1. Enterprise value at end of FY2030$173B
  2. Plus net cash at FY2030$44B
  3. Equity value at FY2030$217B
  4. ÷ (1 + 9.87%)^3.8 years at the cost of equity$152B
  5. + dividends paid on the way, discounted$4.4B

This reconciliation checks the published Signal Ledger valuation against the net-debt path. The difference is 2.8%, inside our 5% tolerance.

From businesses to one share

  1. All businesses, valued today$157B
  2. − borrowings$3.7B
  3. − finance leases$0B
  4. + cash and short-term investments$7.4B
  5. ÷ diluted shares1.249B
  6. Signal Ledger valuation$128.99

Year by year to FY2030

Fiscal yearRevenueEBITDACapexFree cash flowNet debt at year end
FY2027part already reported$36B$13B$1.5B$9.9B$10B cash
FY2028$36B$14B$1.5B$11B$20B cash
FY2029$36B$15B$1.5B$12B$31B cash
FY2030$36B$16B$1.5B$13B$44B cash

What must be true

  • Systems holds revenue roughly flat, from $24.1B in FY2027 to $24.1B in FY2030.
  • Customer Support and Other holds revenue roughly flat, from $11.7B in FY2027 to $11.7B in FY2030.
  • Systems raises its EBIT margin from 35.3% to 44.0%.
  • Customer Support and Other raises its EBIT margin from 35.3% to 44.0%.
  • The company spends $6.0B of capital expenditure through FY2030.
  • The company stays net cash throughout (lowest point $3.7B of net cash in FY2026).

What the price implies

To reach $230.15 at our discount rate, Lam Research Corp would need about $67.9B of FY2030 sales (growth of about 30.7% a year from FY2026) with 44.0% GAAP EBIT margin — versus $35.7B and 44.0% GAAP EBIT margin in our research.

At the research price of $230.15 (2026-10-23), the price asks more than our assumptions overall. These are operating requirements at that price, not additional valuations or forecasts.

If sales and margins changed together

Each row matches the same research price at our unchanged discount rate, by scaling every operating line's margin by one common factor. Sales cover margin and capacity lines only; other valuation lines stay fixed. Margins are revenue-weighted within each metric, before separately modeled corporate costs and eliminations. The conclusion uses the row at our research margins when sales alone can match the price, otherwise the solved row needing the least sales growth; this is a trade-off between growth and profitability, not a forecast.

FY2030 sales factorFY2030 salesFY2026–30 CAGRRequired FY2030 marginRequirement
1.50×$53.6B23.2%—InfeasibleCannot reach the price within 50% EBIT / 100% EBITDA limits.
1.90×At research margins$67.9B30.7%
44.0% GAAP EBIT
Within margin guardrails
2.00×$71.5B32.4%
42.0% GAAP EBIT
Within margin guardrails
3.00×$107.2B46.6%
29.4% GAAP EBIT
Within margin guardrails

CAGR uses $23.2B of same-scope FY2026 sales from the published model or its sourced research base, over four fiscal years. “Within margin guardrails” checks numeric limits only, not commercial plausibility. Each line and year must stay at or below 50.0% GAAP EBIT and 100% EBITDA, or our research margin where that is higher; capacity EBIT uses the engine's equipment depreciation. Unsolved margins are not extrapolated.

Implied discount rate
6.7%

The WACC that makes model value equal the price, shifting WACC and cost of equity by the same amount. Model: 9.8% WACC · 9.9% cost of equity.

All-business FY2030 sales factor
1.90×

FY2030 revenue would need to reach $67.9B (model: $35.7B) across the margin and capacity businesses. FY1 stays fixed; the sales change ramps to FY2030 and stays at that factor thereafter.

If only one business changed

Businesses with margin or capacity revenue paths, ordered by value today. Revenue and margin are separate alternatives; these requirements are not added together.

Systems

Revenue alone
FY2030 revenue would need to reach $54.1B (model: $24.1B).
Margin alone

FY2030 EBIT margin would need to reach 93.2% (model: 44.0%).

Customer Support and Other

Revenue alone
FY2030 revenue would need to reach $41.8B (model: $11.7B).
Margin alone

FY2030 EBIT margin would need to reach 145.2% (model: 44.0%).

Mechanical requirements, not forecasts. The separate sales-only and single-business factors are searched from 0.1× to 6×; an unsolved comparison means this business alone cannot get there within those bounds. Single-business revenue changes apply from FY2 onward; margin changes scale the full EBIT or EBITDA margin path. Mixed groups show revenue-weighted EBIT and EBITDA margins separately. Requirements above 100% are not feasible margins. Joint rows instead search non-negative uniform margin factors only up to the EBIT/EBITDA guardrails; the entire margin path scales, including post-FY2030 convergence. Sales and margins change together only in that table. The rate search runs from the largest terminal growth rate plus 0.5 percentage points to 30% WACC.

The discount rate

Cost of equity
9.87%

r_f 3.87% (5-year average 10-year Treasury yield 3.87% (spot 5.13% on 2026-10-21)) + β 1.20 after Blume adjustment × 5%, rounded to 0.01% (1bp)

WACC
9.80%

methodology §4.5: market-weighted WACC, not rounded

10-year Treasury · model / spot
3.87% · 5.13%

The model uses the recorded 5-year average Treasury yield. The spot yield is shown for context.

Every input, with its source

Show 20 inputs · reported, guidance and rule-based
InputValueBasisWhy
Revenue FY2027Systems$24.1BReportedtarget (methodology §4.2), growth 61.6% filecache.investorroom.com ↗
Revenue FY2030Systems$24.1BRuleSignal Ledger judgment: Held at the FY2027 level instead of falling to $13.9B. Lam's only long-term revenue target, $25–27B for calendar 2028 (2025 Investor Day, https://filecache.investorroom.com/mr5ir_lamresearch2/1436/Lam%20Research%202025%20Investor%20Day%20FINAL2.pdf), is already below the current run rate: September-quarter revenue was $8.22B with $8.60B guided for December (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/707549/000070754926000052/lrcx_exhibitx991xq1x2027.htm). A superseded target should not force a 40% decline. Wafer-fab equipment is cyclical, so we assume no growth beyond the FY2027 level rather than extending this year's ~60% Systems growth. Our judgment calls · Read methodology ↗
EBIT margin FY2030Systems44.0%Guidancelinear path to 44.0% by FY2030 (management target) fool.com ↗ · investor.lamresearch.com ↗
Maintenance capexSystems4.2%ReportedCash capex plus finance-lease additions divided by FY2026 revenue. sec.gov ↗
Terminal growthSystems3.0%Rulemethodology §4.2 terminal growth for a growth line Valuation methodology §4.2 · Read methodology ↗
Revenue FY2027Customer Support and Other$11.7BReportedtarget (methodology §4.2), growth 40.0% filecache.investorroom.com ↗
Revenue FY2030Customer Support and Other$11.7BRuleSignal Ledger judgment: Held at the FY2027 level instead of falling to $8.4B, for the same reason as Systems: the 2025 Investor Day target for calendar 2028 is below today's run rate (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/707549/000070754926000052/lrcx_exhibitx991xq1x2027.htm). Support revenue follows the installed base, which keeps growing after the current build-out; holding it flat is conservative. Our judgment calls · Read methodology ↗
EBIT margin FY2030Customer Support and Other44.0%Guidancelinear path to 44.0% by FY2030 (management target) fool.com ↗ · investor.lamresearch.com ↗
Maintenance capexCustomer Support and Other4.2%ReportedCash capex plus finance-lease additions divided by FY2026 revenue. sec.gov ↗
Terminal growthCustomer Support and Other3.0%Rulemethodology §4.2 terminal growth for a growth line Valuation methodology §4.2 · Read methodology ↗
YTD revenue through 2026-09-27Systems$5.732907BReportedQ1 FY2027 Systems reported product revenue through the September 27 balance-sheet T0. Product EBIT is not disclosed; omitted EBIT/D&A/capex retain the existing estimates. sec.gov ↗
YTD revenue through 2026-09-27Customer Support and Other$2.486511BReportedQ1 FY2027 Customer Support and Other reported product revenue through the September 27 balance-sheet T0. Product EBIT is not disclosed; omitted EBIT/D&A/capex retain the existing estimates. sec.gov ↗
WACCDiscount rates9.80%Rulemethodology §4.5: market-weighted WACC, not rounded FRED DGS10 2021-10-20..2026-10-21
Cost of equityDiscount rates9.87%Ruler_f 3.87% (5-year average 10-year Treasury yield 3.87% (spot 5.13% on 2026-10-21)) + β 1.20 after Blume adjustment × 5%, rounded to 0.01% (1bp) 60 monthly returns vs SPY, 2021-09..2026-09 (adjusted closes)
Tax rateDiscount rates15.0%GuidanceCFO expects mid-teens tax starting September 2026 and likely beyond; use 15%. fool.com ↗
Cash and short-term investmentsBalance sheet$7.4BReportedcash, cash equivalents and short-term investments us-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue · 0000707549-26-000054 (filed 2026-10-22)
BorrowingsBalance sheet$3.7BReportedborrowings due within a year plus long-term borrowings us-gaap:LongTermDebtAndCapitalLeaseObligationsCurrent · 0000707549-26-000054 + us-gaap:LongTermDebtAndCapitalLeaseObligations · 0000707549-26-000054
Finance leasesBalance sheet$0.0BReportedfinance leases not separately tagged; retained inside combined debt, with no additional lease deduction balance sheet 2026-09-27
SharesBalance sheet1.249BReportedshares outstanding as of 2026-10-20 cover page of 10-Q 0000707549-26-000054
Dividends per yearShareholders$1.4BReportedLast four payments through October 14, 2026: $0.26 + $0.26 + $0.26 + $0.33; do not annualize the new dividend to $1.32. × 1.249B shares investor.lamresearch.com ↗

Research notes

  • share-count comparison: 1.255768B quarter 2026-06-29..2026-09-27 · 0000707549-26-000054; point-in-time denominator retained
  • Systems: dated YTD inputs through 2026-09-27; omitted metrics retain estimates, company capital-pool amounts allocated once
  • Customer Support and Other: dated YTD inputs through 2026-09-27; omitted metrics retain estimates, company capital-pool amounts allocated once
  • cost of equity 9.87% (β 1.20 after Blume adjustment), WACC 9.8%

Signal Ledger research under one stated scenario — management's targets are delivered, with our stated judgment calls — not a forecast that they will be and not investment advice. The research desk (GPT-6.1 (Codex)) gathers filings, guidance and targets; deterministic code applies the samepublished rules to every company and checks the result. Inputs may contain errors; follow the source links before relying on them. Read our valuation methodology →