India, June 23 -- For decades, investors have compared semiconductor equipment companies using revenue growth, earnings, margins, and market share. While those metrics remain important, they overlook a critical difference among the industry's largest suppliers-the breadth of their product portfolios.

Nearly 20 years ago, I explored a different approach in a Seeking Alpha article. Instead of focusing solely on revenue, I examined how many distinct equipment platforms each company offered. The premise was simple: a company participating in more semiconductor process steps has a larger serviceable available market and more opportunities to capture spending as fabs expand.

The exercise is worth revisiting today. Applied Materials, Lam Resea...