New York, February 9, 2026, 12:45 EST — Regular session
KLA Corp slid 0.2% to $1,439.93 by midday Monday, with the stock swinging from $1,415.31 up to $1,458.06 during the session.
The stock barely budged while chip stocks attempt a rebound following last week’s tech selloff. Traders are watching upcoming U.S. economic data, aware it could alter the outlook for Federal Reserve rate cuts. “It’s an eye-popping number,” said Anna Rathbun, founder and CEO of Grenadilla Advisory, referring to Big Tech’s AI investment pace. 1
Semiconductor stocks found some strength, but KLA trailed its rivals. Applied Materials added roughly 1.7%, ASML was up near 1.5%. Lam Research slipped.
Shares of KLA are up nearly 18% year-to-date, handily outpacing the S&P 500’s modest 2% gain, Yahoo Finance data shows. 2
KLA’s board has approved a quarterly cash dividend of $1.90 per share, according to a filing. The payout lands on March 3 for shareholders holding stock as of Feb. 17. 3
KLA posted its latest quarterly numbers on Jan. 29, topping analysts’ expectations and projecting third-quarter revenue and profit ahead of consensus. Shares, though, dropped roughly 7% in after-hours trading following the release. Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital Advisors, summed up the March quarter outlook as “steady growth rather than renewed acceleration.” 4
China looms larger as the main headache for KLA and its chip-equipment peers. Beijing’s drive for homegrown tools is gathering speed, putting pressure on foreign firms. That squeeze comes just as U.S. export curbs are making it harder to get advanced machinery into the country. 5
Traders are quick to react to shifts in the industry’s own jargon—wafer fabrication equipment (WFE), the gear behind chip production. Even modest tweaks to spending projections have a way of rippling through toolmakers’ order books.
Coming up, traders have their eyes on the postponed U.S. nonfarm payrolls numbers due out Wednesday, and January’s CPI lands Friday. Over at KLA, the dividend record date is set for Feb. 17 and that’s closing in fast.
