MKS Inc.
MKSIMKS Inc.'s price has outrun its earnings. +186.7% in a year against EPS +55.5% — the market is paying now for delivery later.
The sharpest disagreement: the price moved +186.7% in a year while annual EPS moved +55.5% — the difference is re-rating, and re-rating has to be repaid with earnings.
The price is in a confirmed uptrend (35 weeks in) while the P/E sits at the 80th percentile of its own 4-year range. Underneath, the last four quarters read improving — profit +60.0% year on year, and 211% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash. What settles it: whether earnings grow into a price that has already moved.
Price story Before the numbers, the tape. A stock price moves through four repeating seasons: a flat base (stage 1), an advance (2), a top (3), a decline (4). Where the price sits in that cycle frames everything below.
MKS Inc. trades at $285, in a confirmed uptrend and 35 weeks into that stage. That is +17.7% against its own 200-day average. It sits at 61% of a 52-week range of $99 to $406. On relative strength it is currently behind the S&P 500 on a trailing-13-week view (1 week and counting).
Today the stock is in a confirmed uptrend — week 35 of stage 2. At $285 it trades +17.7% versus its 200-day average and sits at 61% of its 52-week range ($99–$406).
Against the market, two honest reads. Cumulative: over the last 10.1 years the stock moved +549% while the S&P 500 moved +248% — ahead of the index over the full window. Recent form: on a trailing-13-week view the stock is currently behind (1 week and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-07-24) — the ribbon below is that same metric, week by week.
What would end the trend, mechanically: two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day line. That is the exit rule — no debates.
→ The trend is one thing; the bill is another. Are you paying up for it? Next: the P/E sits at the 80th percentile of its own range.
Valuation P/E is the price of $1 of annual profit: how many dollars the market pays for each dollar the company earns in a year.
MKS Inc. trades at 59.7× P/E, at the pricey end of its own range (80th percentile). Its long-run median P/E is 33.5×, measured across 4.3 years of weekly readings. This places the multiple against the stock’s own record, and says nothing about what the business is worth.
Today's P/E of 59.7× is at the pricey end of its own range (80th percentile), against a long-run median of 33.5× measured over 4.3 years of weekly readings. This is a comparison against the stock's own history — not a claim about what it is worth.
🚨 Why the multiple sits where it does: over the past year annual EPS moved +55.5% against a +186.7% price move — the price outran earnings, pushing the multiple UP its own range.
The price move, decomposed: over 3y, of the +38.1%/yr price move, ~+22.8%/yr came from earnings growth and ~+15.3 pp from the multiple (expanding). The split is the honest approximate (price return minus earnings growth); it makes the rally itself visible instead of hiding it behind the percentile.
Put together: the multiple is full against its own past, so the story rests on the earnings line underneath it, not the multiple.
→ Cheap or dear rides on the earnings. Are they actually growing? Next: the fundamental stage — where the business sits in its arc, and how growth has compounded.
Stage: Mixed Every business sits somewhere on a fundamental arc, and this page names the spot before anything else. The last twelve quarters of revenue, profit and EPS growth — plus the return the business earns on its capital — are read as curves: Deteriorating (the curves are falling), Turning around (a trough has just formed and the last few quarters lift off it), Improving (the climb off the trough is sustained), Consistent (steadily positive with healthy returns), Topping out (still high but decelerating from the peak). When the curves genuinely disagree the read is Mixed; too little history is No read. CAGR (compound annual growth rate) is the smooth yearly pace that turns the starting value into the latest one — the fairest way to compare growth across different time spans. Read the columns together: if the 1-year number towers over the 10-year, recent growth is running hotter than the long-run trend. A dash means that window is not held, or the base year was a loss (where a growth rate is not meaningful).
MKS Inc. reads as mixed on its fundamental arc. Mixed — growth is normalizing off a hyper-growth base: profit growth has eased from +100.0% at its peak to +60.0% (single-quarter readings) but is still expanding, ROCE holding at 8.0%. The read is built from 12 quarters across 4 curves, on full evidence.
Why it matters: when the curves disagree, the per-curve reads above matter more than any single verdict.
One or more growth curves carry a base-effect spike — a large year-on-year move off a near-zero or loss-making comparable quarter. Those spikes are capped before the classifier reads the trajectory, and shown pinned on the chart, so a single distorted quarter does not drive the stage call.
| 1yr | 3yr | 5yr | 10yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | +9.5% | +3.4% | — | — |
| Profit | +52.6% | −4.2% | — | — |
| EPS | +55.5% | −7.7% | — | — |
| Stock price | +186.7% | +38.1% | +12.8% | +20.1% |
→ The stage names the trajectory. Next: the revenue line that produces it, quarter by quarter.
4-Factor Sector Score
56.6/100 — rank 5 of 19 in Scientific & Technical Instruments · 82% evidence confidence
MKS Inc. scores 56.6 out of 100 against the 19 companies it is compared with in Scientific & Technical Instruments, ranking 5. Balanced evidence: keep at normal research priority and require another comparable period before raising conviction.
The four contributions add to the total exactly: 22.4 + 7.9 + 12.3 + 14 = 56.6. This is the SAME number shown on the sector comparison — it is computed once, for the whole peer set, and read here.
What would change it: The read weakens if profit growth turns negative or margin improvement reverses while sector-relative strength deteriorates.
Revenue Revenue is the top line: everything the company billed its customers in the period.
MKS Inc. reported $1.1 B of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +14.9% year on year. That is the 6th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 4 years it has compounded at 7.4% a year. The last full year, FY25, came in at $3.9 B. The last four reported quarters add to $4.1 B.
MKS Inc. reported $1.1 B of revenue in the Mar 26 quarter, +14.9% year on year. That is the 6th straight quarter of year-on-year growth. Over 4 years it has compounded at 7.4% a year. The last full year, FY25, came in at $3.9 B. The last four reported quarters add to $4.1 B.
FY25 revenue came in at $3.9 B (+9.5% on the year), capping 4 years at 7.4% compound. The latest quarter (Mar 26) printed $1.1 B, +14.9% year on year — the 6th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth.
Pace check: the last four quarters averaged +11.2% growth against the decade's 7.4% — the current year is running faster than its own long-run rate.
Acceleration check: trailing-twelve-month revenue grew +11.2% over the last 4 quarters against +5.0%/yr over the last 8 — accelerating.
→ Revenue grew — did margins hold as it scaled? Next: 13.9% this quarter (+2.2 pp YoY).
Operating margin Operating margin is what is left of every $100 of sales after running the business, before interest and tax. It is the cleanest read on pricing power and cost control.
MKS Inc.'s operating margin is 13.9% in the Mar 26 quarter, +2.2 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged −42.8% to 23.7%. The current quarter sits inside that band.
MKS Inc.'s operating margin is 13.9% in the Mar 26 quarter, +2.2 percentage points against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged −42.8% to 23.7%. The current quarter sits inside that band.
The latest quarter's operating margin is 13.9%, +2.2 pp against the same quarter a year ago. Across 5 fiscal years the operating margin has ranged −42.8%–23.7%.
Why the margin moved: operating margin went +2.2 pp year on year while gross margin went +0.4 pp — the gain came mostly below the gross line: operating leverage, with costs spread over a bigger revenue base.
→ Margins held — did that reach the bottom line? Next: profit +60.0% in the latest quarter.
Net profit Net profit is what survives every cost, interest and tax — the number EPS, dividends and book value all grow from.
MKS Inc. earned $0.1 B of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +60.0% year on year. It is the 5th consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY25 profit was $0.3 B. The 4-year compound rate is −14.8%. That is 7.4% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned $0.1 B.
MKS Inc. earned $0.1 B of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +60.0% year on year. It is the 5th consecutive quarter of growth. Full-year FY25 profit was $0.3 B. The 4-year compound rate is −14.8%. That is 7.4% of the quarter's revenue. The same quarter a year earlier earned $0.1 B.
Mar 26 profit was $0.1 B, +60.0% year on year — the 5th consecutive quarter of growth. On the full year, FY25 printed $0.3 B (+52.6%), and the 4-year compound rate is −14.8%.
Why profit moved: revenue contributed +14.9% and the margin +2.2 pp — the quarter was margin-led: most of the profit growth came from keeping more of each sale.
Pace comparison, last four quarters: profit +74.7% vs revenue +11.2%. Profit is growing faster than sales — fixed costs are being spread over a bigger base, and each extra dollar of revenue drops more to the bottom line.
→ Profit rose — but did the cash follow? Next: 211% of the last 3 years' profit arrived as cash.
Cash flow — the router The P&L says what was earned; the cash-flow statement says what actually arrived. Operating cash flow (CFO) against profit is the cleanest lie detector in the accounts.
Over the last 3 fiscal years 211% of MKS Inc.'s reported profit arrived as operating cash — the cash follows the profit. In FY25 that was $0.7 B of operating cash against $0.3 B of profit. After $0.1 B of capital spending, $0.5 B was left as free cash.
FY25: operating cash of $0.7 B against reported profit of $0.3 B, leaving free cash of $0.5 B after $0.1 B of capital spending. Across the last 3 fiscal years the conversion rate is 211% of profit.
Cash-flow readings here are annual — that is the resolution our series carries, so this section moves once a year.
Why: conversion is measured cleanly, but the working-capital day-counts behind it sit below what we hold — the move is shown without inventing its driver.
Router verdict: the visible cash user is investment — the next section checks what the spending is buying.
→ So follow the cash to where it goes. Next: $0.0 B of building over 3 years.
Where the cash goes Working capital is the cash tied up between paying suppliers and getting paid: debtor days (customers owe), inventory days (stock waits), and the cash conversion cycle (the whole loop, in days of sales).
MKS Inc. does not report the debtor, inventory and payable day-counts a cash cycle is built from, so this section reads the investment side instead. Capital spending ran $0.0 B over the last 3 years. Averaged over those years that is 0.0% of FY25 revenue a year.
Working-capital day-counts are not in our numbers for this stock, so this section reads the investment side — where the cash is being put to work.
On the investment side: capital spending of $0.0 B over the last 3 fiscal years.
The synthesis: the cash is going into capacity, not disappearing into the cycle — the question becomes whether the new capacity earns.
→ Does all this activity actually earn its cost of capital? Next: ROE is 13% and the ROIC − WACC spread is −4.4 pp.
Return on equity Return on equity (ROE) is the profit the business earns on its shareholders’ money. With the full capital-employed split not in our numbers, ROE is the cleanest long ladder we can draw here.
MKS Inc. earns a ROE of 11% in FY25. That is up from a trough of −75% in FY23. Return on invested capital clears the cost of that capital by −4.4 percentage points, so growth here is not yet paying for the capital it uses. The wiring behind it is 7.4% net margin on 0.45× asset turns.
FY25 ROE is 11%, recovered from a FY23 trough of −75% — the full ladder below shows the fall and the climb, undoctored.
🚨 Why the return is what it is — the wiring (FY25): 7.4% net margin × 0.45× asset turns × 3.24× balance-sheet leverage ≈ 10.8% on equity. Margin does its share; leverage is a meaningful part of the equation.
The capstone test — ROIC − WACC: 8.6% − 13.0% = a −4.4 pp spread. The 13.0% is an estimate of this company's own cost of capital — read the sign and the size of the spread, not the decimals. Negative — growth at these returns destroys value until the returns recover.
→ Returns like these — is the balance sheet borrowing to make them? Next: debt-to-equity is 1.53.
Dividend A dividend is cash paid out per share. Dividend per share is the declared amount for the period; the trailing twelve-month total is the four most recent quarters added together.
MKS Inc. paid $0.91 per share over the last four reported quarters, up 13.6% on a year ago. The most recent declaration was $0.25 for Mar 26. Against the current price of $285 that is a trailing yield of 0.32%, measured on dividends already paid rather than on a forecast.
MKS Inc. paid $0.91 per share over the last four reported quarters, up 13.6% on a year ago. The most recent declaration was $0.25 for Mar 26. Against the current price of $285 that is a trailing yield of 0.32%, measured on dividends already paid rather than on a forecast.
MKS Inc. paid $0.91 per share across the last four reported quarters, most recently $0.25 for Mar 26. That is up 13.6% against the same quarter a year earlier. Against the current price of $285 the trailing twelve months work out to 0.32% — trailing dividends measured against today's price, not a forward estimate.
→ A payout is cash leaving the business. Next: what the balance sheet looks like behind it.
Debt Debt-to-equity says how much of the business is funded by borrowings. Low is the safe corner; the trend matters as much as the level.
MKS Inc. carries total debt of $4.3 B against shareholder equity of $2.8 B as of Mar 26, a debt-to-equity of 1.53. On the annual view that ratio went from 0.36 in FY21 to 1.64 in FY25. Read the returns elsewhere on this page with that leverage in mind.
Mar 26: total debt of $4.3 B against shareholder equity of $2.8 B — a debt-to-equity of 1.53. On the annual view, debt-to-equity went from 0.36 (FY21) to 1.64 (FY25). Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind.
→ Who owns this, and are they adding or leaving? Next: short interest is 7.7% of the float.
Ownership There is no quarter-by-quarter holder register to read here, so we read the crowd through short interest — the slice of tradable shares currently sold short, positioned for a fall.
7.7% of MKS Inc.'s tradable float is currently sold short — some money is positioned against it. At typical trading volumes those positions would take about 3.3 days to buy back. There is no quarter-by-quarter holder register to read for this filer, so the crowd is read through short interest instead.
The latest reading: 7.7% of the float is sold short, and at typical trading volumes it would take about 3.3 days to buy those positions back. Some money is positioned against it. This is a single point-in-time reading — we do not yet hold its history, so we show no trend chart.
Why it sits there: who is doing the shorting, and why, does not travel with the number — the level is shown without inventing its story.
→ One last check: does the safety math agree? Next: the balance-sheet safety line.
Safety line The Z-score estimates how far a company sits from balance-sheet distress — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the danger zone. It was built for manufacturers, so it is not applied to banks and lenders.
MKS Inc.: the Z-score reads 1.81. A Z-score above roughly 3 reads as safe and below roughly 1.8 as the distress zone, so this sits in the grey band between the two. It is a distance-to-distress estimate from the balance sheet, not a forecast of failure.
Why it matters: a Z-score of 1.81 sits in the grey band — neither clearly safe nor clearly distressed.
The safety line in one sentence: the Z-score reads 1.81.
| Company | P/E | Mkt cap | Revenue | EPS | ROCE | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKS Inc. this page | 59.7× | $19B | Mixed | |||
| Keysight Technologies, Inc. | 50.0× | $52B | Turning around | |||
| Garmin Ltd. | 28.3× | $49B | Consistent | |||
| Coherent Corp. | 101.6× | $48B | No read | |||
| Teledyne Technologies Incorporated | 31.4× | $30B | Turning around | |||
| Fortive Corporation | 37.7× | $19B | Deteriorating | |||
| Trimble Inc. | 30.5× | $14B | Deteriorating | |||
| Cognex Corporation | 71.0× | $10B | Improving | |||
| ESCO Technologies Inc. | 26.6× | $8B | Mixed | |||
| Sensata Technologies Holding plc | 144.3× | $7B | Deteriorating | |||
| Novanta Inc. | 100.2× | $5B | Deteriorating | |||
| Itron, Inc. | 17.8× | $5B | Mixed | |||
| Vontier Corporation | 11.6× | $5B | Mixed | |||
| Badger Meter, Inc. | 31.5× | $4B | Mixed | |||
| Vishay Precision Group, Inc. | 206.1× | $1B | Turning around | |||
| Ituran Location and Control Ltd. | 18.1× | $1B | Consistent | |||
| Mesa Laboratories, Inc. | 83.6× | $1B | No read | |||
| USBC, Inc. | — | $0B | No read | |||
| MicroVision, Inc. | — | $0B | No read |
Frequently asked questions
What is MKS Inc.'s stock price today?
MKS Inc. trades at $285, +186.7% over the past year. The company is valued at $19.0 B. The stock sits at 61% of its 52-week range of $99–$406, +17.7% versus its 200-day average. On the tape, the price is in a confirmed uptrend, 35 weeks in. — as of 29 July 2026.
What were MKS Inc.'s latest quarterly results?
MKS Inc. reported revenue of $1.1 B and net profit of $0.1 B for the Mar 26 quarter. Revenue rose 14.9% and profit rose 60.0% year on year. Earnings per share were $1.18. The operating margin was 13.9%, 2.2 pp higher than a year earlier. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is MKS Inc.'s revenue?
MKS Inc. reported revenue of $1.1 B in the Mar 26 quarter, +14.9% year on year. For the full FY25 fiscal year, revenue was $3.9 B (+9.5%). Over the last 4 years revenue compounded at 7.4% a year. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is MKS Inc.'s profit?
MKS Inc. earned $0.1 B of net profit in the Mar 26 quarter, +60.0% year on year — the 5th straight quarter of growth. Full-year FY25 profit was $0.3 B. The operating margin ran 13.9% in the latest quarter. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is MKS Inc.'s market cap?
MKS Inc.'s market capitalisation is $19.0 B at a stock price of $285. Market cap is the share price multiplied by shares outstanding, so it is restated whenever the price moves. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is MKS Inc.'s P/E ratio?
MKS Inc. trades at a P/E of 59.7×, at the 80th percentile of its own 4-year range, against a long-run median of 33.5×. This is a comparison with the stock's own history, not a value call — as of 29 July 2026.
Does MKS Inc. pay a dividend?
Yes — MKS Inc. declared $0.25 per share for Mar 26, and $0.91 per share across the last four reported quarters. The latest quarter is up 13.6% on the same quarter a year earlier. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is MKS Inc.'s dividend per share?
MKS Inc.'s most recently declared dividend is $0.25 per share for Mar 26, giving $0.91 per share over the trailing twelve months. Each figure is the amount declared for that quarter as reported, added across four quarters for the trailing total. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is MKS Inc.'s dividend yield?
MKS Inc.'s trailing dividend yield is 0.32%: $0.91 declared per share across the last four reported quarters, against a share price of $285. Each quarter’s figure is the amount declared for that quarter as reported, added across four quarters and divided by the latest close. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is MKS Inc. overvalued?
On its own history, MKS Inc. looks expensive against its own history: its P/E of 59.7× sits at the 80th percentile of its 4-year range (long-run median 33.5×). That is a percentile read against the stock's own past, not a price opinion or a direction call. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is MKS Inc. growing?
Yes — MKS Inc. is growing: latest-quarter revenue +14.9% year on year, profit +60.0%, and the margin +2.2 pp at 13.9%. The 4-year compound rates are 7.4% (revenue) and −14.8% (profit). The earnings engine currently reads: improving — as of 29 July 2026.
How is MKS Inc. performing?
MKS Inc. is in a confirmed uptrend, 35 weeks in. Its latest quarter's revenue rose 14.9% and profit rose 60.0% year on year. Against the S&P 500 it has been behind on a trailing-13-week view for 1 week. This describes what the data did, not a rating. — as of 29 July 2026.
What stage is MKS Inc. in?
Mixed — growth is normalizing off a hyper-growth base: profit growth has eased from +100.0% at its peak to +60.0% (single-quarter readings) but is still expanding, ROCE holding at 8.0%. The read comes from the last 12 quarters of growth (revenue growth +11.2% latest, profit growth +60.0% latest, eps growth +42.7% latest) plus the ROCE curve, classified by deterministic rules — a trajectory read, not a buy or sell call — as of 29 July 2026.
Is MKS Inc. in an uptrend?
Yes — the price is in a confirmed uptrend (week 35 of stage 2), trading +17.7% versus its 200-day average and at 61% of its 52-week range. Price stages cycle base → advance → top → decline, and the stage names where this stock sits in that cycle — as of 29 July 2026.
Is MKS Inc. beating the market?
Not lately — on a trailing-13-week view MKS Inc. is currently behind the S&P 500 (1 week and counting; last ahead the week of 2026-07-24), the same metric the week-by-week ribbon on this page draws. Separately, on the cumulative view: over the last 10.1 years the stock moved +549% against the S&P 500's +248% — ahead of the index over the full window. — as of 29 July 2026.
Will MKS Inc.'s stock price go up?
This page publishes no price forecast for MKS Inc. What it measures instead: the stock price is $285, the price is in a confirmed uptrend 35 weeks in. Its P/E of 59.7× sits at the 80th percentile of its own 4-year range. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is the market betting against MKS Inc.?
Somewhat — short interest is 7.7% of MKS Inc.'s tradable float, about 3.3 days to cover at typical volumes. A moderate reading: some money is positioned against it. With no quarter-by-quarter holder register here, short interest is the cleanest crowd read we hold — as of 29 July 2026.
Does MKS Inc. have too much debt?
It carries real leverage — MKS Inc.'s debt-to-equity is 1.53. A year-by-year borrowings ladder is not in our numbers for this stock, so the latest reading is the cleanest hold. Read the returns on this page with that leverage in mind — as of 29 July 2026.
What is MKS Inc.'s capex?
MKS Inc. spent $0.0 B on capital expenditure over the last 3 fiscal years, a figure derived from the change in fixed assets plus depreciation. In FY25 alone that was $0.1 B. — as of 29 July 2026.
What is MKS Inc.'s cash flow?
MKS Inc. generated $0.7 B of operating cash flow in FY25 and $0.5 B of free cash flow after $0.1 B of capital spending. Reported profit that year was $0.3 B, so operating cash ran ahead of profit. — as of 29 July 2026.
Is MKS Inc.'s profit real cash?
Yes — over the last 3 fiscal years, 211% of MKS Inc.'s reported profit arrived as operating cash. In FY25, operating cash was $0.7 B against reported profit of $0.3 B. The cash then goes mostly into building capacity. Cash-flow resolution is annual — as of 29 July 2026.
How financially safe is MKS Inc.?
On the balance sheet, the Z-score reads 1.81 — above roughly 3 is safe, below roughly 1.8 is the distress zone. That is in the grey band — neither clearly safe nor clearly distressed. — as of 29 July 2026.
Where is MKS Inc. in its business cycle?
MKS Inc.'s FY25 operating margin was 13.5%, against a 5-year band of −42.8%–23.7%: mid-band by its own history — neither the peak that precedes mean-reversion nor the trough that precedes recovery. The latest quarter ran 13.9%. Profitability versus a company's own long band is the cleanest cycle clock this page holds — as of 29 July 2026.
What could break the MKS Inc. story?
The sharpest disagreement: the price moved +186.7% in a year while annual EPS moved +55.5% — the difference is re-rating, and re-rating has to be repaid with earnings. Mechanically, two Friday closes in a row below the 200-day average would end the price trend — that is the exit rule this page tracks — as of 29 July 2026.
Is MKS Inc. a stock worth studying right now?
This is not investment advice. The machine read: MKS Inc.'s price has outrun its earnings. +186.7% in a year against EPS +55.5% — the market is paying now for delivery later. The sharpest open question: whether earnings grow into a price that has already moved. Every number on this page is drawn deterministically from the raw series, with no forecasts and no price opinions — as of 29 July 2026.