KLA Corporation management check
KLAC · Information Technology · Semiconductor Materials & Equipment · CEO Richard Wallace
Filings as of
5 good · 2 to watch · 0 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Good
Have owners done well?
Beat its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2022 grew to $939, against $426 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.91 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Good
What does the CEO cost owners?
0.6% of net income$30.0m of reported pay in fiscal 2026, against $4.8bn of net income.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 4.1 years of payThe CEO holds 706,924.55 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 4.1 years of pay. 7 insiders sold $96.5m in the last six months and none bought. 18 of 20 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- Watch
Are owners being diluted?
Stock pay 2.2% of revenueStock-based pay was 2.2% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
7 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Richard Wallace. 7 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Information Technology.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 100 | 33 | |
| Pay for performance | 95 | 87 | |
| CEO cost | 67 | 35 | |
| Skin in the game | 45 | 47 | |
| Dilution | 85 | 56 | |
| Stable leadership | 90 | 85 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Semiconductor Materials & Equipment, by management score. KLA Corporation is 7th of 73 in its sector.
- 27AMATApplied Materials85
- 35KLACKLA Corporation83
- 36APHAmphenol83
- 81LRCXLam Research78
- 412TERTeradyne52
- 450QQnity Electronics46
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed September 22, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Richard Wallace | $30.0m | $507.9m | $7.1m | $939 | $426 | $4.8bn |
| 2025 | — | $25.1m | $34.8m | $6.0m | $489 | $278 | $4.1bn |
| 2024 | — | $22.8m | $90.8m | $6.6m | $448 | $274 | $2.8bn |
| 2023 | — | $26.6m | $66.6m | $8.5m | $265 | $184 | $3.4bn |
| 2022 | — | $20.6m | $30.4m | $5.4m | $174 | $128 | $3.3bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Free cash flow margin. Its other key measures: Non-GAAP operating margin dollars, Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Richard P Wallace (President and CEO) held 706,924.55 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Sep 15, 2026, roughly $121.5m at that filing's price.
7 insiders sold $96.5m in the last six months and none bought. 18 of 20 sales ran on pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans.
- SoldRichard P WallacePresident and CEO · 10b5-1 plan$47.9mSep 15, 2026
- SoldBren D. HigginsEVP & Chief Financial Officer · 10b5-1 plan$14.0mAug 12, 2026
- SoldBrian LorigEVP, KLA Global Services · 10b5-1 plan$12.4mAug 13, 2026
- SoldMary Beth WilkinsonEVP, CLO and Secretary · 10b5-1 plan$12.3mAug 10, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Aug 7, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 8, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 1, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 15, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 20, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 25, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Nov 3, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 24, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 5, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Nov 7, 2025, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $13.7bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 88% of net income, and $887.9m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $6.9bn | $9.2bn | $10.5bn | $9.8bn | $12.2bn |
| Net income | $2.1bn | $3.3bn | $3.4bn | $2.8bn | $4.1bn |
| Stock-based pay | $111.8m | $126.9m | $171.4m | $212.7m | $265.0m |
| Buybacks | $938.6m | $4.0bn | $1.3bn | $1.7bn | $2.1bn |
| Dividends | $559.4m | $638.5m | $732.6m | $773.0m | $904.6m |
| Diluted shares | 155m | 152m | 140m | 1362m | 1338m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.