Lam Research | 1Q 2025: Strong revenue growth, improving margins and stable return on capital

Lam Research entered the new fiscal year with a clear signal that a return to a growth trajectory is underway. In the quarter, the company reported an 8% quarter-on-quarter increase in revenue to $4.72 billion, while there was also a marked improvement in margins. Gross margin increased to 49%, operating margin was 33.1% and GAAP net income was $1.33 billion. Lam is thus confirming its ability to scale the business effectively even in an environment that remains partially impacted by geopolitical and regulatory factors.

The strong performance was primarily driven by growth in demand for advanced manufacturing equipment for wafer deposition, etching and cleaning, which are central to the production of advanced chips in the 3D NAND, DRAM and sub-3nm logic segments. At the same time, stabilizing investments in Asia, particularly in China, Korea and Taiwan, where the company generates the vast majority of its revenue, are beginning to show positive signs. Despite continued uncertainty…