At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestMU13.8x
Fastest growthMU+256.3%
Strongest balance sheetMU0.04
Highest qualityKLAC89 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
KLAC
stronger →← stronger
MU
89
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
82
85
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
94
21
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
72
MU is stronger on 2 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
KLAC
MU
$3.8bB
FCF
$59.0bA
+11.7%B
Rev
+256.3%A
0.97C
D/E
0.04A-
53.4xC+
P/E
13.8xA-
1.88C+
PEG
0.16A
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
KLAC
MU
391% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
62% above
~55%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~25%/yr
-82%
1-yr DCF upside
-47%
-80%
5-yr DCF upside
-38%
-76%
10-yr DCF upside
-23%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Semiconductor Equipment & Materials · market cap $255.2b. Down 36% from 52-week high of $307.37 — deep drawdown territory. Revenue growing +12%, comfortably above the S&P median. 26 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $232.77 (implying +19% upside).
Moat
Net margin 36% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 76% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $255.2b market cap places it among the largest companies in the sector — distribution, R&D, and customer-acquisition costs amortize across a base peers can't replicate.
Risk
Trailing P/E 53.4x prices in sustained high growth — any quarter that disappoints triggers sharp re-rating. Down 36% from the 52-week high — the market is pricing in something the screen can't see; verify the bear case before sizing up. Beta 1.45 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return.
MUMicron Technology, Inc.
Semiconductors · $1,029.00 · beta 2.23
Why now
Semiconductors · market cap $1.2T. 18% off the 52-week high of $1255.00. Revenue growing +256% — in hypergrowth territory. PEG 0.16 — paying under fair value for the growth rate. 46 sell-side analysts rate this a Strong Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $1,555 (implying +51% upside).
Moat
Net margin 64% is exceptional — pricing-power territory rare outside premium software, branded staples, and specialty pharma. ROE 61% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. $1.2T market cap places it among the largest companies in the sector — distribution, R&D, and customer-acquisition costs amortize across a base peers can't replicate.
Risk
Beta 2.23 implies above-market volatility — position-size to the drawdowns this name will produce in a market correction, not to its bull-case return. Semiconductor cyclicality — inventory corrections compress margins faster than analysts model. Monitor channel inventory and book-to-bill ratios as leading indicators.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where KLAC and MU diverge
On the headline score the gap is 28.1 points in favor of MU. They get there differently, though — each leads on a different pillar, so the better pick depends on which you weight.
ValueKLAC 21.0 · MU 72.3MU +51.3
GrowthKLAC 84.7 · MU 93.6MU +8.9
QualityKLAC 88.9 · MU 81.9KLAC +7.0
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is MU or KLAC the better stock?
MU scores higher: MU 82.1, KLAC 54.0 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do MU and KLAC differ most?
The widest gap is value, where MU leads by 51 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. Neither name sweeps: they trade the lead across the three pillars, so the comparison is a trade-off rather than one being better on every measure.
How are MU and KLAC scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.