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Lam Research (LRCX) stock rose 8.2% on Friday, November 6, 2026, while the S&P 500 gained 0.3%. The advance followed a 16.4% fall during the previous session. Every company on Lam's peer list also rose that day, including an 8.7% gain for MKS. Lam posted its increase the session after its board approved a $25 billion share repurchase authorization on November 5. How much of the company could that money buy?
Lam Research Can Repurchase A Tenth Of Its Stock
Based on Lam's market value of $251 billion at the November 6 close, the $25 billion authorization equals about 10% of the company. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share. A news report on November 6 said the buyback sparked a rally in Lam after a sharp sell-off in chip stocks.
The new authorization is large compared to what Lam has been spending. Management said on the October 21 call that the company bought back about $1 billion of its shares in the September quarter. At that point, Lam had $3 billion left on its board-authorized share repurchase program.
Was Lam Research Part Of A Wider Chip Rally?
Yes, though Lam rose more than most of its group. All five companies on its peer list gained on November 6, and only MKS rose more than Lam. Applied Materials posted a smaller 4.2% increase.
The wider market moved far less. The technology sector fund XLK gained 1.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.1%. Lam's gain was far larger than the sector fund's.
Lam's Shares Lost Over A Third In A Month
Lam's shares fell 37.5% from October 8 to November 6, while the S&P 500 fell 4.9%. An 8.2% rise is not unusual for the stock: Lam gained this much or more in six sessions over the prior 365 days. The latest move of this size in either direction was the 16.4% fall on November 5 , the session just before. Lam announced the buyback that day, and a November 6 news report said the company was leading the way in the AI rebound after it.
Nobody times a 37.5% fall in a month. Better to have a plan for a crash and a rally in place.
The stock closed at $200.44 on November 6, less than half its highest close of the past year, which was $433.33 on June 30, 2026. Its lowest close over that period was $139.59 on November 20, 2025. Over twelve months, Lam still returned 22.0%, against 9.8% for the S&P 500. The stock trades at 9.6 times its sales over the past twelve months, compared to 3.1 times for the S&P 500.
Management said on the October 21 call that a share repurchase arrangement begun in the September quarter would continue in the December quarter. Lam is due to report those December-quarter results, its fiscal Q2 2027, in January 2027, and the amount it spends on its own shares is the figure to watch.
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