New York, Jan 5, 2026, 15:44 EST — Regular session
KLA Corp (KLAC.O) shares rose about 6.4% to $1,356 in afternoon trading on Monday, after touching an intraday high of $1,371.82 and setting up for a record closing high.
The move matters because chip-equipment stocks often act as a real-time gauge of expectations for semiconductor factory spending, which can swing quickly with demand signals. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was up about 1% on the day, pointing to a broader bid for the sector rather than a single-stock story.
Investors were also positioning ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where commentary can reset expectations for AI hardware demand that drives leading-edge chip production. Nvidia said CEO Jensen Huang is scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. PT on Monday in Las Vegas.
Other equipment makers moved in tandem, with Applied Materials (AMAT.O) up about 5.6%, Lam Research (LRCX.O) up 5.4% and U.S.-listed ASML (ASML.O) up 5.5%.
A positive supply-chain read-through helped set the tone. Taiwan’s Foxconn, a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple, reported record fourth-quarter revenue up 22.07% from a year earlier, citing strong demand for AI products, Reuters reported.
“Investors realize the great data-center build-out is still not reflected across all of the stocks that are impacted,” Gil Luria, head of technology research at D.A. Davidson, told MarketWatch. Marketwatch
Brokerage moves also fed into the rally narrative. Bernstein upgraded ASML to “Outperform” and lifted its price target to $1,528 from $935, Barron’s reported. Barron’s
KLA does not make chips; it sells process-control equipment and services used to inspect and measure wafers and reticles during manufacturing — tools that help customers detect defects and improve yields, or the rate of usable chips per wafer.
What traders watch next is whether the optimism shows up in guidance from the equipment vendors themselves when they report. In its last results update, KLA forecast second-quarter revenue of about $3.225 billion plus or minus $150 million and non-GAAP (adjusted) EPS of $8.70 plus or minus $0.78 for the quarter that ended Dec. 31.
But the upside case has clear pressure points. In its latest quarterly filing, KLA warned that evolving U.S. Commerce Department export rules could affect its ability to sell products and provide services to certain customers in China; the company also reported that China accounted for 39.5% of revenue in the September quarter on a ship-to basis.
Investors are now looking for KLA to lock in the date for its next earnings report and to update its outlook for 2026 spending trends. MarketBeat estimates the company will report on Jan. 29 after the close, based on past reporting patterns, keeping focus on whether equipment demand broadens and margins hold after Monday’s sharp run-up.
