DDD vs MLSS vs LECO Stock Comparison

3D Systems, Milestone Scientific and Lincoln Electric Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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DDD 3D Systems Corp
$2.98 -15.3% 1M -6.6% 1Y
Market cap
$436.48M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$387.64M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Lincoln Electric Holdings leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Lincoln Electric Holdings 8, 3D Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDDDMLSSLECOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $436.48M $29.47M $15.54B LECO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -8.0x — 27.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 24.1x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -6.2% -27.5% +11.1% LECO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -14.2% — 12.4% LECO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -17.8% — 22.6% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x — 1.0x DDD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.6% -30.1% +16.6% LECO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -36.2%/yr -31.1%/yr +14.5%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 84.0% 81.5% 30.8% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 31/100 — 55/100 LECO

Percentile Scorecard

DDDMLSSLECO

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisDDDMLSSLECO
Valuation 16 #171 of 203 – 36 #130 of 203
Growth 59 #78 of 188 – 43 #107 of 188
Profitability 11 #164 of 184 – 95 #11 of 184
Financial Health 64 #79 of 217 – 45 #119 of 217
Shareholder Returns 5 #145 of 153 – 57 #66 of 153
Overall 31 – 55
  • DDD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MLSS ranked among 247 companies in Medical Devices and Diagnostics
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodDDDMLSSLECOSPY
1 month -15.3%-22.0%+3.5% +0.9%
3 months +19.7%-15.8%+8.8% +5.9%
6 months +38.0%+3.2%+9.0% +8.5%
Year to date +68.4%+17.2%+17.1% +13.3%
1 year -6.6%-30.1%+16.6% +12.4%
3 years -16.3%-64.0%+62.5% +88.1%
3 years, per year -5.8%-28.9%+17.6% +23.5%
5 years -89.4%-84.5%+97.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year -36.2%-31.1%+14.5% +11.0%
10 years -78.3%-83.2%+328.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year -14.2%-16.3%+15.7% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureDDDMLSSLECOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 84.0%81.5%30.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 75.1%83.3%31.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.811.291.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.08-0.370.54 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -96.0%-90.9%-35.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.2%-41.8%-6.1% -0.9%
52-week high $3.88$0.55$298.88 $779.14
52-week low $1.77$0.25$220.64 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleDDDMLSSLECO
P/E now vs peer median -8.1xmedian 25.4x —median 28.8x 26.5xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.9x 4.3xmedian 3.0x 3.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -11.9xmedian 14.3x —median 17.4x 17.7xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.4xmedian 21.8x —median 25.7x 29.7xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.2x —median 2.4x 9.8xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.30median 1.41 —median 1.03 3.80median 1.41

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsDDDMLSSLECO
Revenue $387.64M $6.58M $4.64B
Gross profit $131.01M – $1.65B
Operating income -$61.26M – $802.52M
Net income -$54.85M – $575.27M
Free cash flow -$52.40M – $511.89M
R&D $47.60M – –
EPS (diluted) $-0.37 – $10.48
Cash & equivalents $127.95M – $283.24M
Total debt $91.18M – $1.15B
Shares (diluted) 148.97M 93.13M 54.87M
Enterprise value $32.27M $29.47M $14.40B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricDDDMLSSLECO
P/E -8.1x – 26.5x
P/FCF -9.4x – 29.7x
P/Operating cash flow -11.7x – 22.8x
P/S 1.3x 4.3x 3.3x
P/B 1.8x – 9.8x
P/Tangible book 1.9x – 9.8x
EV/EBITDA -11.9x – 17.7x
EV/EBIT -7.5x – 20.0x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 4.3x 3.5x
EV/FCF -8.7x – 31.4x
EV/Operating cash flow -10.8x – 24.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.30 – 3.80

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDDDMLSSLECO
Revenue growth (1Y) -6.2% -27.5% 11.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -9.0% -12.9% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -9.6% – 7.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -13.8% – 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 76.7% – 12.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.6% – 7.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 62.1% – 9.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.3% – 4.9%
EPS growth (1Y) 53.6% – 11.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.7% – 7.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 38.0% – 0.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.5% – 0.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 36.8% – -6.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.0% – -3.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDDDMLSSLECO
Gross margin 33.8% – 35.5%
EBITDA margin -10.0% – 19.5%
Operating margin -15.8% – 17.3%
Pretax margin -11.7% – 16.2%
Net margin -14.2% – 12.4%
FCF margin -13.5% – 11.0%
Operating cash flow margin -10.9% – 14.4%
Return on equity -21.7% – 37.0%
Return on assets -10.5% – 14.9%
Return on invested capital -17.8% – 22.6%
Return on capital employed -14.7% – 27.7%
Asset turnover 0.7x – 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x – 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% – 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDDDMLSSLECO
Debt / assets 17.0% – 29.5%
Debt / equity 0.3x – 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x – 1.0x
Debt / FCF -1.7x – 2.2x
Liabilities / assets 48.9% – 60.1%
Equity / assets 51.1% – 39.9%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 3.4x – 1.9x
Quick ratio 1.9x – 1.0x
Cash ratio 1.2x – 0.3x
Altman Z-score -1.47 – 7.71

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDDDMLSSLECO
Dividend yield – – 1.1%
Net buyback yield -10.7% – 1.8%
Shareholder yield -10.7% – 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – 30.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – – 33.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – – 3.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – 6.3%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusDDDMLSSLECO
Forward P/E – – 24.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.14FY2026 $-0.04FY2026 $11.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – +0.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $368.77MFY2026 $9.29MFY2026 $4.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.7%FY2026 +3.6%FY2026 +14.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% +27.1% +5.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDDDMLSSLECO
Held by institutions 71.1% 5.8% 81.3%
Institutions holding 210 31 701
Change in shares held, QoQ +34.8% +18.9% +5.5%
Institutions buying 126 11 297
Institutions selling 37 4 266
Buyers to sellers 3.41 2.75 1.12

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

DDDMLSSLECO
DDD 1.00 0.06 0.30
MLSS 0.06 1.00 0.17
LECO 0.30 0.17 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DDD, MLSS and LECO?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is the largest by market capitalisation: 3D Systems (DDD) $436.48M, Milestone Scientific (MLSS) $29.47M, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.54B.

Which company is growing faster?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: 3D Systems (DDD) -6.2%, Milestone Scientific (MLSS) -27.5%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +11.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has the highest net margin (3D Systems (DDD) -14.2%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (3D Systems (DDD) -17.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) returned the most: 3D Systems (DDD) -6.6%, Milestone Scientific (MLSS) -30.1%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +16.6%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (3D Systems (DDD) -36.2%/yr, Milestone Scientific (MLSS) -31.1%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +14.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: 3D Systems (DDD) 0.00%, Milestone Scientific (MLSS) 0.00%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%. 3D Systems (DDD) and Milestone Scientific (MLSS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has been the steadiest (3D Systems (DDD) 84.0%, Milestone Scientific (MLSS) 81.5%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 30.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DDD, MLSS and LECO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads on 8. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.