Lam Research Soars After Earnings. Are they the Top Semiconductor Equipment Buy?

Lam Research Soars After Earnings. Are they the Top Semiconductor Equipment Buy?

Wed, August 5, 2026 at 6:50 PM GMT+3

• LRCX -0.54%

In this segment of the AI Investor Podcast from 24/7 Wall St., Eric Bleeker reviews Lam Research, a semiconductor equipment holding originally recommended to the million dollar AI portfolio he manages as part of a collection of memory-adjacent stocks. The quarter itself was solid: $1.82 in EPS against $1.70 expected, with the standout being guidance of $2.15 for next quarter versus a street estimate of $1.84. The stock jumped about 20% the next morning, though Bleeker attributes most of that to how far it had fallen during July's selloff rather than to the results, which he characterizes as good but not spectacular.His hesitation is valuation. Against a full-year estimate of $9.40, the shares trade a bit above 30 times forward earnings, which he considers the upper end of the historical range. He is not planning to add more with other opportunities across the market after a steep July sell-off. The broader read on semiconductor equipment is more bullish. Taiwan Semiconductor raised capex, Intel sounded optimistic on capex needs, and Bleeker guesses 2028 equipment spending could come in roughly 25% above where Wall Street currently models it. He is particularly interested in advanced packaging and testing, sub-verticals growing faster than the overall space. Lam remains a core long-term holding and, in his view, among the best operators in semi equipment.