MKS Inc.: A Hybrid Process-Control Platform Priced for a Near-Best-Case AI Cycle
MKS is a picks-and-shovels supplier of vacuum, photonics, and materials and chemistry technologies to semiconductor and advanced-packaging manufacturing, reshaped by the 2022 Atotech deal into a hybrid that is part cyclical subsystem vendor and part recurring-chemistry platform. Full-year 2025 revenue reached US$3.93 billion with semiconductor and electronics-and-packaging both growing double digits, and the February 2026 refinancing eased the post-Atotech debt strain, yet at about US$406 the stock trades near 34x trailing EBITDA and 52x non-GAAP earnings. Rating Avoid: a genuinely better business than two years ago, but the price already discounts a near-best-case AI and packaging cycle, with a margin of safety only opening below roughly US$180.
