By Adam Levine

Lam Research reported excellent third-quarter earnings results Wednesday afternoon. Its shares were up 4% in after-hours trading.

This is breaking news. Read a preview of Lam Research's earnings below and check back for more analysis soon.

Semiconductor manufacturing equipment-maker Lam Research reports its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday afternoon as its customers' purchases continue to ramp up during an extended upcycle.

On average, the analysts tracked by FactSet expect third-quarter adjusted earnings-per-share of $1.36, up from $1.04 last year. Sales for the quarter are seen at $5.75 billion, up 22% from 2025.

Lam makes equipment for the crucial "etching" stage of chipmaking in which the microscopic transistors that make up chips are carved into layers atop silicon wafers. Lam is a leading provider of equipment to this market along with Applied Materials and Tokyo Electron.

Like many of its competitors in this industry, Lam has had a cyclical sales pattern driven by consumer electronics demand, but that has shifted in the artificial-intelligence age. The current upcycle, which began in late 2023, looks to extend through next year. Demand for chips to fill AI data centers is off the charts, and if the Wall Street consensus is right, Lam will notch its third quarter in a row of record sales.

Lam's customers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Micron make the chips that go into these data centers, and they are accelerating their capital expenditures this year, and very likely into next year.

The stock is up 322% in the past year as investors anticipate this extended upcycle. The average price target from analysts is $286, implying that they may see 2026 and 2027 sales growth as already built into the stock's price. There may even be some investors trying to game the next down-cycle.

Write to Adam Levine at adam.levine@barrons.com

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April 22, 2026 16:11 ET (20:11 GMT)

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