KLA makes the inspection and measurement equipment that chipmakers use to catch defects before they turn a wafer of chips into scrap. Semiconductor manufacturing involves hundreds of steps, and a single undetected flaw can ruin an entire batch, so fabs rely on KLA's process control tools throughout production to keep yields high. The company holds a dominant position in this specific niche of the chip equipment industry, with few competitors able to match its inspection precision. Like other semiconductor equipment makers, KLA's revenue tracks the capital spending cycles of the world's largest chip fabricators.