Lam Research (LRCX) might move higher on growing optimism about its earnings prospects, which is reflected by its upgrade to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Investors often turn to recommendations made by Wall Street analysts before making a Buy, Sell, or Hold decision about a stock. While media reports about rating changes by these brokerage-firm employed (or sell-side) analysts often affect a stock's price, do they really matter?
LRCX's 16% monthly fall contrasts with record revenues, strong AI equipment demand and rising earnings, strengthening the case for buying the stock.
LRCX, VRT and MBIN made it to the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) momentum stocks list on August 3rd, 2026.
In its July 29 Q4 print, Lam Research saw revenue $6.72B against a $6.60B guide; EPS $1.82, against a $1.65 guide; gross margin 52%, which is the highest quarterly level in twenty years, FY2026 revenue $23.2B; and a fourth consecutive record quarter. Customer advance deposits had fallen three quarters running, from $2.7B to $2.25B to $2.22B, and I wrote in the July 23 piece that this is the first thing that softens if an order book is quietly rolling over behind a strong revenue headline. The record quarter was mostly expected. What changed is that the market handed back roughly a sixth of the price while the evidence for the earnings moved the other way - and it did it for a reason that is about the sector's funding conditions rather than about this company's cash flows.
Lam Research shares LRCX soared on Thursday after the semiconductor equipment maker delivered better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter results and issued stronger guidance, reinforcing investor confidence in artificial intelligence-driven chip demand. The stock climbed about 23% in the session.
Lam Research tops Q4 FY26 estimates as NAND revenues more than double sequentially and support sales hit a third straight record.
Lam Research's AI-driven expansion boosts semiconductor opportunities as memory, packaging and wafer fab demand accelerate.
The headline numbers for Lam Research (LRCX) give insight into how the company performed in the quarter ended June 2026, but it may be worthwhile to compare some of its key metrics to Wall Street estimates and the year-ago actuals.
Lam Research NASDAQ: LRCX reported record revenue, operating margin and earnings per share for its June 2026 quarter, driven by a sharp increase in NAND-related revenue and continued growth in its Customer Support Business Group.
Lam Research (LRCX) came out with quarterly earnings of $1.82 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.69 per share. This compares to earnings of $1.33 per share a year ago.
Lam Research (NASDAQ:LRCX | LRCX Price Prediction) enters its July 29 Q4 earnings report with AI spending driving record results across its semiconductor equipment business.