Lam Research reported revenue of $8.22 billion for the quarter ended 27 September 2026, up 54% from $5.32 billion a year earlier (our arithmetic), in its results release on 21 October 2026. Chief executive Tim Archer said that “With AI driving higher semiconductor demand and greater device complexity,” Lam delivered “record revenue, profit, and earnings per share in the September quarter.”
The chip-equipment maker guided to revenue of $8.60 billion, plus or minus $400 million, for the quarter ending 27 December 2026. Customers in China accounted for 35% of the quarter’s revenue, up from 26% in the June quarter.
Business Pill · CAPEX AND DEPRECIATION
A short explainer on capex and depreciation: how money spent on long-lived assets such as chip factories and data centres turns into a cost over years. It teaches the general idea only and says nothing about Lam Research’s results.
The key insight: As we read it, the number that matters most is the 54% year-on-year rise in revenue to $8.22 billion (our arithmetic), which Lam’s chief executive ties to “AI driving higher semiconductor demand and greater device complexity.”
Revenue was $8,219 million, up 22% from $6,722 million in the June 2026 quarter, Lam said. In July Lam had guided to $8.10 billion, plus or minus $400 million, for the September quarter, so the result came in above the midpoint of that range.
On a US GAAP basis, gross margin was 52.3% of revenue, operating margin 40.0% and net income $2.75 billion, or $2.19 per diluted share. In the June quarter those figures were 51.7%, 37.4% and $2.28 billion, or $1.81 per share. Non-GAAP earnings per share were $2.20.
Systems revenue, which Lam defines as sales of new leading-edge equipment in deposition, etch, clean and other wafer fabrication markets, was $5,733 million, against $3,548 million a year earlier, a rise of about 62% (our arithmetic). Customer support-related revenue and other was $2,487 million.
Lam Research quarterly revenue from the September 2025 quarter to the September 2026 quarter, from its results releases, and the $8.60 billion midpoint of its guidance for the December 2026 quarter.
Lam Research revenue in the quarter ended 27 September 2026 against the same quarter of 2025, from its results releases; the 54% rise is our arithmetic.
Where the Revenue Came From
Lam lists revenue by customer location. In the September quarter China accounted for 35%, Korea 20%, Taiwan 18%, Japan 9%, the United States 8%, Southeast Asia 6% and Europe 4%. In the June quarter Taiwan was the largest at 27% and China was 26%; in the March quarter China was 34%.
In plain terms, Lam makes the machines that deposit and etch the microscopic layers on silicon wafers. Lam describes itself as a global supplier of wafer fabrication equipment and services and says that “nearly every advanced chip is built with Lam technology.”
Cash and the Outlook
Net cash provided by operating activities was $3.50 billion in the quarter, against $1.46 billion in the June quarter. Lam spent $258 million on capital expenditures and intangible assets, $1.02 billion on treasury stock purchases and $325 million on dividends. Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash rose to $7.45 billion from $5.60 billion. Deferred revenue rose to $2.66 billion from $2.43 billion.
For the December quarter Lam guided to revenue of $8.60 billion, plus or minus $400 million, gross margin of 52.5%, operating margin of 40.5% and diluted earnings per share of $2.33, each plus or minus a stated range. Archer said Lam’s “strategic investments in technology inflections and manufacturing capacity are paying off, strengthening our ability to outgrow the wafer fabrication equipment market as the industry expands.”
Connecting the Coverage
On 21 October we reported that Micron says AI context grows 30x a year and that it plans HBM6 by 2030 (our Micron piece).
The same day Nvidia said it had advanced $1.1 billion to KYEC for new US chip test sites (our KYEC piece).
Also on 21 October Meta narrowed its 2026 capital expenditures outlook to $135 billion to $145 billion after spending $34.91 billion in the third quarter (our Meta results piece).
On 14 October we reported that ASML expects supply to trail 2027-28 demand (our ASML piece).
The Structural Read
As we read it, the growth is concentrated in new tools: systems revenue, Lam’s sales of new leading-edge equipment, rose about 62% from a year earlier to $5,733 million (our arithmetic), faster than total revenue.
As we read it, the customer mix shifted in the quarter: China was 35% of revenue, against 26% in the June quarter, while Taiwan fell to 18% from 27%.
As we read it, Lam is guiding to more of the same: $8.60 billion, plus or minus $400 million, for the December quarter, against $8.22 billion just reported.
Tim Archer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Lam Research
“Our strategic investments in technology inflections and manufacturing capacity are paying off, strengthening our ability to outgrow the wafer fabrication equipment market as the industry expands.”
Three Implications
FOR CHIPMAKERS’ SUPPLIERS As we read it, Lam’s record quarter is a read on factory spending by its customers: revenue grows when chipmakers buy new deposition, etch and clean tools.
FOR THE AI CAPEX TRADEMeta narrowed its 2026 capital expenditures outlook to $135 billion to $145 billion on the same day; as we read it, equipment makers such as Lam sit further down the same spending chain.
FOR CHINA EXPOSURE Lam reports that 35% of September-quarter revenue came from customers in China, up from 26% in the June quarter; the release lists export controls among its risk factors.
The framework’s sizing of the cycle: “The total cycle: $725B Big Four + $50B Oracle + $13B Apple + $60B Neoclouds + $80B China + $60B Sovereigns + $48B Other = ~$1.04 trillion in 2026 compute capex.”
As we read it, that trillion-dollar figure is what Lam’s customers are building toward, and Lam’s $8.22 billion quarter is one of the places it shows up as revenue. The framework was published in May 2026 and does not discuss Lam.
What Is Not Established
The release does not break revenue out by end market, so it does not say how much came from memory, foundry or logic customers, or how much is tied to AI chips specifically. The AI link in this piece is the one Lam’s chief executive draws in the release. Comments from Lam’s earnings call are not in this version.
The 54% and 62% growth rates are our arithmetic from Lam’s own figures. We did not contact Lam Research.
This Week In The AI Supercycle
Execution Fault Lines, Concentrated Demand, and Geopolitical Firewalls
This piece is part of this week’s issue: the AI build is not short of demand for its parts. It is short of cheap money, and its end revenue rests on a narrow base of large, often venture-funded buyers.
Lam Research reported record revenue of $8.22 billion for the September 2026 quarter, up 54% from a year earlier (our arithmetic), with its chief executive crediting AI-driven semiconductor demand, and guided to $8.60 billion for the December quarter. China was 35% of revenue, up from 26% in the June quarter.
A note on sourcing. Lam Research’s figures, guidance and quotations come from its results release for the quarter ended 27 September 2026, published on 21 October 2026, and its earlier quarterly releases. Figures marked “our arithmetic” are ours. We did not contact Lam Research. Nothing here is financial or investment advice.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur (for example, How to Digitize a Family Business in Europe) and HackerNoon. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
