FREMONT, Calif., March 4, 2026, 12:51 (PST)
- Lam’s CFO is projecting wafer-fab equipment spending could reach around $135 billion in 2026. That’s a jump from about $110 billion seen last year.
- He pointed to advanced packaging and HBM memory as main sources of demand, adding that cleanroom capacity is currently holding things back.
- Lam shares picked up roughly 2.3% by midday.
Lam Research Corporation CFO Doug Bettinger said he sees global wafer-fab equipment (WFE) spending climbing to around $135 billion in 2026, compared with an estimated $110 billion for 2025. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, Bettinger described the sector as “clean room constrained,” noting demand is running even hotter than those levels suggest. He pointed to 2027 as shaping up to be “a pretty darn strong year.” Investing.com
The comments come as investors debate if the AI buildout is settling into sustained factory investment, rather than just a quick surge of orders over several quarters. For equipment makers, cycles often depend as much on real-world constraints as they do on available budgets.
Lam climbed roughly 2.3% by midday. Shares have moved with the semiconductor equipment sector, reflecting changes in the outlook for AI server orders and memory investment.
Bettinger highlighted advanced packaging—essentially clustering or stacking multiple chips—as another growth driver, with high-bandwidth memory (HBM) sitting right next to AI processors. Lam, he pointed out, has a “very strong footprint” in Through-Silicon Via (TSV) steps. “We own nearly the entirety of the market in the TSV,” he said. Investing.com Canada
HBM—short for high-bandwidth memory—is a stacked form of DRAM, the kind servers rely on for fast, temporary data access as AI chips demand ever quicker retrieval. NAND, on the other hand, is the memory behind solid-state drives. Demand for both is driving chipmakers to adopt more advanced processing steps. That’s where Lam steps in, supplying its etch and deposition equipment.
China stood out as a tougher spot. Questioned about rivals like Naura and MEC, Bettinger described China’s wafer fab equipment market as “flat-ish” for this year. He also pointed out that Chinese firms are making gains with customers off limits to U.S. equipment makers. Right now, China pulls in 35% of Lam’s total revenue, he said in the last quarter. Investing.com Nigeria
Still, there’s risk on the table. Stricter controls on tool exports to China—or if memory demand bounces back slower than hoped—could push out order timelines and squeeze profits, even with long-term spending plans holding steady.
For years, Lam has worked to broaden its footprint outside its core NAND base, carving out more share in foundry and logic and increasing its reliance on service and upgrades from the existing installed base. That approach could prove crucial if memory spending slows again.
Lam in late January put its March-quarter revenue outlook at $5.7 billion, give or take $300 million. CEO Tim Archer pointed to the company’s portfolio as a driver, saying it’s enabling customers to shift toward more complex 3D devices and packaging.
For Lam, as well as competitors like Applied Materials, the real test now is if chipmakers’ tool orders keep up with their ambitious capacity chatter. Bettinger’s comments on clean rooms bring up a separate bottleneck—not so much demand, but the pace at which fabs can expand space and receive equipment.
