On October 21, 2026, Lam Research, one of the largest makers of wafer fabrication equipment, reported results for the quarter ended September 27, 2026. Revenue was $8.22 billion, up 22% from $6.72 billion in the June quarter and up from $5.32 billion a year earlier. GAAP gross margin was 52.3%, operating margin 40.0%, and diluted earnings per share $2.19.
CEO Tim Archer said: “With AI driving higher semiconductor demand and greater device complexity, our focus on operational execution helped Lam deliver record revenue, profit, and earnings per share in the September quarter.” Systems revenue, which covers new deposition, etch and clean equipment, was $5.73 billion.
By region, China was 35% of revenue, Korea 20%, Taiwan 18%, Japan 9% and the United States 8%. For the December 2026 quarter Lam guided to revenue of $8.60 billion plus or minus $400 million, with a 40.5% operating margin.
Why it matters: Lam sells the tools that etch and deposit the layers in memory and logic chips, including the high-bandwidth memory stacked next to AI accelerators. Its numbers sit one step upstream of TSMC, Samsung, SK hynix and Micron, so a record quarter and higher guidance mean chipmakers are still adding capacity for AI rather than pausing.
What it does not show: Lam does not break out revenue attributable to AI, so the CEO’s attribution is a characterization, not a measured figure. A 35% China share also leaves the business exposed to export-control changes that have nothing to do with AI demand.