Lam Research Reports on 21 October: Whether Margins Hold on a 21% Revenue Step-Up Decides the Quarter

What the street expects

Lam Research reports results for the quarter ended September 2026 on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. The data feed does not return the release time, so confirm the timing on Lam's investor relations page before the report.

Consensus expects earnings per share of $2.18 on revenue of $8.13 billion. Against the same quarter a year earlier, the consensus implies strong growth on both lines:

Against the June 2026 quarter, consensus revenue implies a 21.0% sequential step-up from $6.72 billion. The change figures are simple arithmetic on the table. The latest quote shows the shares at $263.94, down 4.9% on the session, within a 52-week range of $135.50 to $438.50. A Zacks preview published on 16 October points to the operating metrics behind the headline estimates rather than the headline numbers alone.

The track record

Lam has beaten both EPS and revenue consensus in each of the last four quarters. EPS beats ranged from 3.3% (September 2025 quarter) to 8.5% (December 2025 quarter). Revenue beats ranged from 0.9% (June 2026 quarter) to 2.1% (December 2025 quarter). Revenue beats have narrowed in each of the last two quarters, while EPS beats have stayed near 8% for three quarters running, which suggests profitability has done more of the work than sales.

The income statement shows why. Gross margin was 50.4% in the September 2025 quarter, 49.6% in December, 49.8% in March and 51.8% in June. Operating margin rose from 33.9% in December to 35.0% in March and 37.4% in June. Revenue grew 15.1% sequentially in the June quarter, and the margin rose with it.

The line that decides the quarter

Operating margin decides this one. Consensus asks for revenue to climb by a fifth in a single quarter. Growth on that scale is a good quarter only if operating margin holds near the 37.4% reached in June. Gross margin has stayed close to 50% for a year, so the test is mainly how operating costs scale with the higher revenue.

If operating margin rises above June's level, the revenue step-up reads as operating leverage. If it falls back toward the mid-30s, the quarter reads as volume added at a lower margin, even with a beat on both lines. A Zacks preview has flagged the operating metrics that analysts will track beyond the headline numbers, which is consistent with that focus.

Valuation and the Maz Rating

At $263.94 and a market capitalisation of $330.3 billion, the trailing earnings yield is about 2.2%, which implies a trailing price-to-earnings ratio of roughly 46. That multiple is arithmetic on the data feed's yield figure, not a forecast. The analyst price-target consensus is $375.68, with targets ranging from $290 to $500.

Lam holds a Maz Rating of 4.48 out of 5 (Strong Buy). Its five factor scores are Profitability 4.84, Financial Health 4.28, Growth 3.91, Momentum 3.66 and Valuation 1.65. Valuation is the lowest factor, which is consistent with the multiple. Profitability is the strongest, which matches the operating margin trend above. A Polen Focus Growth portfolio update for the quarter also named Lam among its largest relative detractors, a reminder that the stock has been volatile.

Bottom line

Lam reports on 21 October with consensus EPS of $2.18 and revenue of $8.13 billion. It has beaten both lines for four quarters running, so the question is whether operating margin holds at the level the revenue step-up implies. Profitability is the strength in the scorecard; valuation is the weak spot, so the margin figure will matter more than usual.

This is a preview based on published consensus and filed accounts, not investment advice.