Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) vs Micron Technology, Inc. (MU)

Lam Research Corp is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of semiconductor wafer fabrication equipment. The company specializes in deposition and etch technologies, which involve building layers on a semiconductor wafer and selectively removing patterns from each layer. Lam holds the leading market share in etch and ranks a clear second in deposition. It has greater exposure to memory chipmakers, particularly in DRAM and NAND. Its major customers include some of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, such as TSMC, Samsung, Intel, and Micron.

Micron Technology is one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies, focused on memory and storage chips. Its main source of revenue comes from dynamic random access memory (DRAM), while it also maintains smaller exposure to NAND flash memory. Micron serves a global customer base, supplying chips for data centers, mobile devices, consumer electronics, as well as industrial and automotive applications. The company operates as a vertically integrated business.