MKSI Gears Up to Report Q2 Earnings: What's in Store for the Stock?

MKS INC. MKSI is scheduled to report its second-quarter 2026 earnings results on Aug. 5.

MKSI expects second-quarter 2026 revenues of $1.20 billion (+/- $40 million). The consensus mark for second-quarter 2026 revenues is pegged at $1.21 billion, indicating a 24.14% year-over-year increase.

On a non-GAAP basis, MKSI expects earnings of $2.90 (+/- 30 cents) per share. For the second quarter of 2026, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at $2.94 per share, having increased by a couple of pennies over the past 30 days, suggesting a year-over-year increase of 66.10%.

MKSI topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters while missing once, with an average surprise of 7.64%.

MKS Inc. Price and EPS Surprise

MKS Inc. price-eps-surprise | MKS Inc. Quote

Let us see how things have shaped up for the upcoming announcement.

Factors Likely to Have Driven MKSI's Q2 Performance

MKSI's second-quarter performance is expected to have benefited from strong momentum across its core end markets, particularly in semiconductors and electronics & packaging. For the second quarter of 2026, the company expects semiconductor revenues of approximately $550 million, electronics and packaging revenues of approximately $350 million and specialty industrial revenues of approximately $300 million.

The company is expected to have benefited from accelerating semiconductor demand, driven by artificial intelligence (AI)-related investments across DRAM, NAND and advanced logic/foundry markets. Semiconductor revenues are expected to increase in the high teens sequentially and more than 25% year over year. Strong demand for remote plasma and microwave products used in advanced DRAM, dissolved gas solutions for leading-edge logic nodes and lasers for back-end semiconductor applications is likely to have supported the to-be-reported quarter. Increasing NAND equipment upgrades, growing investments in advanced packaging and rising deposition and etch intensity are expected to have driven demand for the company's vacuum, power and plasma solutions.

In the Electronics and Packaging segment, MKSI is set to benefit from continued strength in chemistry and chemistry equipment, as well as laser drilling systems. AI is driving increased complexity and layer counts in advanced circuit board manufacturing, leading to higher demand for deposition, etch and chemistry equipment. Second quarter 2026 revenues in this segment are expected to grow in the high single digits sequentially and more than 30% year over year, with particular strength in flexible PCB drilling for high-end smartphones, wearables and rigid PCB applications related to the low earth orbit satellite market.

However, gross margin was 47% in the first quarter of 2026, but management noted a year-over-year decline tied to incremental tariff impacts. The company’s second-quarter 2026 outlook assumes the current tariff environment. In the first quarter of 2026, tariff costs were largely neutralized dollar for dollar, yet the company expects a 30 bps to 40 bps gross margin impact that is included in the second-quarter guide. For the second quarter of 2026, MKSI anticipates a gross margin of 47% (+/- 1%).

Specialty Industrial revenues were $291 million in the first quarter of 2026, down 2% sequentially due to Lunar New Year seasonality. While revenues grew 8% year over year, results remain exposed to end-market swings in areas such as automotive and industrial. Management’s second-quarter 2026 outlook of $300 million (+/- $10 million) implies only modest near-term growth.

What Our Model Says About MKSI

According to the Zacks model, the combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. That is the exact case here.

MKSI currently has an Earnings ESP of +1.59% and a Zacks Rank #2. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they are reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Other Stocks to Consider

Here are some other companies worth considering, as our model shows that these, too, have the right combination of elements to beat on earnings in their upcoming release.

NVIDIA NVDA has an Earnings ESP of +0.52% and a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

NVIDIA shares have gained 7.6% in the year-to-date period. NVDA is set to report second-quarter fiscal 2027 results on Aug. 26.

Analog Devices ADI has an Earnings ESP of +2.73% and a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

Analog Devices shares have gained 35.5% in the year-to-date period. ADI is scheduled to report its third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 19.

Applied Materials AMAT has an Earnings ESP of +1.52% and a Zacks Rank #2.

Applied Materials shares have gained 97.5% in the year-to-date period. AMAT is set to report its third-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Aug. 13.

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