KLA (KLAC) Gains From Advanced Nodes, HBM and Packaging

KLA (KLAC) Gains From Advanced Nodes, HBM and Packaging

Mon, August 24, 2026 at 4:24 PM GMT+3 3 min read

• KLAC -3.44%
• CL=F -2.00%

Guinness Global Innovators, an investment management company, recently released its Q2 2026 quarterly investor update for its "Guinness Global Innovators Fund". You can download the letter here. The Guinness Global Innovators Fund focuses on investing in global companies that benefit from innovation in technology, communication, globalization, and management strategies. In the second quarter of 2026, the Guinness Global Innovators Fund returned 13.8% in GBP, compared with 13.0% for the MSCI World Index and 13.1% for the IA Global sector average. Easing Middle East tensions, falling oil prices, and renewed enthusiasm for artificial intelligence helped reverse much of the caution seen earlier in the year, with investors rotating back toward growth stocks and AI infrastructure beneficiaries. The Fund benefited from its overweight position in the Information Technology sector, while its overweight position in Communication Services detracted. Avoiding weaker Utilities, Materials, and Energy also supported relative performance. Also, please check the Fund's top five holdings to see its best picks for 2026.

In its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, Guinness Global Innovators Fund highlighted KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) as a notable contributor. KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) designs, manufactures, and markets process control, process-enabling, and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related electronics industries worldwide. On August 21, 2026, KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) closed at $183.99 per share. The one-month return of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) was -9.52% and its shares gained 109.19% over the past 52 weeks. KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) has a market capitalization of $240.39 billion.

Guinness Global Innovators Fund stated the following regarding KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) in its Q2 2026 investor letter:

"The Fund holds three semiconductor equipment manufacturers, which provide wafer fabrication equipment (WFE). They were the top performers over the quarter: Applied Materials (+111.8% in USD) KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) (+105.2%), and LAM Research (+103.0%). WFE companies sit at the heart of the semiconductor value chain, supplying the highly specialised tools needed to manufacture advanced chips. As demand for AI, high-performance computing and data centre infrastructure has accelerated, foundries and integrated device manufacturers have responded with record levels of capital expenditure, driving a strong upcycle in WFE spending. The AI infrastructure build-out is particularly supportive, as hyperscalers require not only more chips, but increasingly complex and advanced architectures, materially increasing equipment intensity across the manufacturing process. As a result, these companies have been printing strong quarterly earnings reports. KLA, the leader in process control and yield management, continues to play a critical role as semiconductor manufacturing becomes increasingly complex. Demand for its inspection and metrology tools remains structurally supported by the transition to advanced nodes, high-bandwidth memory and advanced packaging, where small improvements in yield have a large economic impact for customers. While valuations of WFE stocks have become more demanding following strong performance, the combination of structural AI demand, rising equipment intensity and highly recurring service revenues reinforces our conviction in these holdings as high-quality beneficiaries of the next tailwind to semiconductor growth."

KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) is not on our list of the 40 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 71 hedge fund portfolios held KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) at the end of the first quarter which was 67 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

In another article, we covered KLA Corporation (NASDAQ:KLAC) and shared TCW Funds' insight on the company. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q2 2026 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.