CluenexMKS Instruments MKSI
MKS Instruments scores weak on business quality (4.2 of 10). Here is why, in plain words, and what our sealed record shows.
Why it matters
- What MKS Instruments does
MKS Incorporated builds instruments, subsystems, and process control solutions that enable advanced semiconductor manufacturing. Chipmakers and electronics producers pay them to maintain precision in harsh fabrication environments.
- What it does best
MKS excels at supplying mission-critical sub-systems for semiconductor gear, delivering a gross margin of 47% that trails peers like TER at 59% but reflects deeply embedded tool designs.
- The main risk
Debt load is the primary vulnerability, sitting with total debt of $4.2B and interest coverage of 3.8x, leaving earnings thin if semiconductor equipment spending cycles downward.
Quality, check by check
Scored against its own industry, from company filings.
Operating margin sits at 16.3% and FCF margin at 10.5%, showing stable profitability that scales modestly as annual revenue climbs from $3.6B to $4.3B.
The moat relies on high switching costs for semiconductor equipment makers, backed by an operating margin sitting at the 52nd sector percentile, though lack of dominant pricing power limits rapid expansion.
Revenue grew 9.6% to reach $4.3B, improving over prior flat years like 2023 when revenue dipped to $3.6B, showing recovery in the core equipment segment.
Total debt of $4.2B outweighs cash of $675M, producing net debt of $3.5B. Free cash flow reached $455M, keeping the balance sheet heavy but solvent.
Insiders
Executives and directors, from SEC Form 4 filings we read ourselves. Open market trades only; grants, option exercises and pre-planned sales left out.
No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Our sealed record on MKSI
Verdicts appear here 30 days after we publish them; members see today's. Each one is in the nightly ledger, fingerprinted the night it was made.
The first sealed verdicts appear here on Oct 11, 2026.
Questions
MKS Instruments scores weak on the Cluenex quality check (4.2 of 10), measured against its own industry. Profitability is weak, moat fair, growth slow and financial health weak.
In the last 90 days of SEC Form 4 filings: No open market buys or unplanned sales by executives or directors.
Nov 4, 2026, after the close.
See MKSI today
- Today's verdict on MKSI, and why
- Fair value with cautious, base and optimistic cases
- The exact price that would change the verdict
- Which stocks each signal names, the night it fires
Cite this page: Cluenex, “MKS Instruments (MKSI)”, https://cluenex.com/stocks/mksi/, data as of Oct 10, 2026.