Lam Research Corporation LRCX

Competitive advantage analysis · technology

Corporate Default
Overall moat score
79/100
Strong

About Lam Research Corporation

Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits in the United States, China, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. The company offers ALTUS systems to deposit conformal or selective films for tungsten or molybdenum metallization applications; SABRE electrochemical deposition products for copper interconnect transition that offers copper damascene … Full LRCX analysis →

Competitive advantage assessment

Key strengths

  • Margins Consistently Above Peers Gross margin at 50.5% (top 18%) and operating margin at 35.3% (top 4%) indicate strong pricing power.
  • Margins Stable Across Cycles Operating margin volatility is low (stability score 0.75), demonstrating pricing resilience across cycles.

Key risks

  • Liquidity Concerns Liquidity is concerning (score 0.21), raising questions about short-term obligations.

The dashed ring is the peer median. Defense scores are percentile ranks against peers, so 50 is roughly the typical company in this group.

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Pricing Power

Strong
83

Where LRCX ranks in Semiconductor Equipment & Materials

Lam Research Corporation ranks #4 of 29 scored companies in Semiconductor Equipment & Materials by moat score — the top 14%. The widest moat in the group is ASML Holding N.V. - New York Re (ASML) at 83/100.

Moat scores for companies ranked near LRCX in Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
# Company Moat score Rating
1 ASML Holding N.V. - New York Re ASML 83/100 Strong
2 KLA Corporation KLAC 82/100 Strong
3 Nova Ltd. NVMI 80/100 Strong
4 Lam Research Corporation LRCX 79/100 Strong
5 Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT 78/100 Strong
6 Camtek Ltd. CAMT 74/100 Moderate
7 Photronics, Inc. PLAB 73/100 Moderate
8 Onto Innovation Inc. ONTO 66/100 Moderate
9 Teradyne, Inc. TER 65/100 Moderate

See every General Corporate company ranked by moat score →

How LRCX scores on the Corporate Default defenses

Pricing Power

Score 83 · 20% of the moat score

Pricing power is the ability to raise prices without losing volume.

Cost Advantage

Score 95 · 15% of the moat score

A cost advantage means delivering the same product for structurally less — better purchasing, denser distribution, a more automated process.

Customer Stickiness

Score 74 · 15% of the moat score

Stickiness is what makes revenue repeat without being re-won every year.

Capital Efficiency

Score 81 · 18% of the moat score

Capital efficiency asks what the company earns on the money tied up in the business.

Resilience

Score 52 · 17% of the moat score

Resilience is the capacity to get through a bad year on its own terms — enough liquidity, enough interest cover, and enough cash generation to avoid a rescue financing or a forced sale.

Scale & Market Position

Score 91 · 15% of the moat score

Scale matters only when it converts into economics.

How each Corporate Default defense is measured, in full →

Understanding LRCX's moat

What is Lam Research Corporation's moat score?

Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) scores 79 out of 100 on the StatsAlpha Moat Map, which rates its competitive advantage as strong. It ranks #4 of 29 scored companies in Semiconductor Equipment & Materials, the top 14%. The score is a weighted composite of 6 competitive defenses, each measured against industry peers of 28 companies in Semiconductor Equipment & Materials. Its strongest defense is Cost Advantage (95/100) and its weakest is Resilience (52/100).

How does Lam Research Corporation compare with other Semiconductor Equipment & Materials companies?

Lam Research Corporation ranks #4 of 29 scored companies in Semiconductor Equipment & Materials by moat score. The widest moat in Semiconductor Equipment & Materials is ASML Holding N.V. - New York Re (ASML) at 83/100. The companies ranked closest are Nova Ltd. (NVMI) at 80 just above it and Applied Materials, Inc. (AMAT) at 78 just below it.

How is the moat score calculated?

Each company is scored with an industry-specific template — Corporate Default in this case, chosen because the defenses that matter to a bank are not the ones that matter to a software company. Every defense combines several financial signals, and each signal is measured as a percentile against a peer group of 28 companies in Semiconductor Equipment & Materials. The defenses are then weighted to produce the overall score out of 100.

Why is Lam Research Corporation scored with the Corporate Default template?

Most public companies sell a product or a service at a margin, so the moat question is whether that margin survives contact with competitors. The Corporate template scores the six defenses that show up in a general operating company's financial signature: whether it can hold price, produce more cheaply than rivals, keep its customers, earn a return above its cost of capital, withstand a downturn, and turn size into economics.

Which competitive defenses are measured for Lam Research Corporation?

The Corporate Default template measures 6 defenses, and LRCX scores: Pricing Power (83), Cost Advantage (95), Customer Stickiness (74), Capital Efficiency (81), Resilience (52), Scale & Market Position (91). Each is scored independently as a percentile against peers, so a company can be strong on one and weak on another — the overall score reflects how those defenses are weighted for this industry.

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