DDD vs PRLB vs LXFR Stock Comparison

3D Systems, Proto Labs and Luxfer 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
PRLB Proto Labs Inc
$91.00 -6.1% 1M +70.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.85B
P/E
60.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$560.54M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
7 wins
LXFR Luxfer Holdings Plc
$17.25 -0.2% 1M +30.2% 1Y
Market cap
$462.14M
P/E
74.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$355.20M
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Proto Labs leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Proto Labs 7, Luxfer Holdings 3, 3D Systems 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionDDDPRLBLXFRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $436.48M $1.85B $462.14M PRLB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -8.0x 60.6x 74.5x PRLB
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 39.7x 17.4x LXFR
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months -6.2% +10.2% -11.8% PRLB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -14.2% 5.4% 1.7% PRLB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -17.8% — 5.2% LXFR
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x — 1.2x DDD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.6% +70.1% +30.2% PRLB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -36.2%/yr +8.8%/yr -3.0%/yr PRLB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 84.0% 46.9% 33.2% LXFR
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 31/100 60/100 52/100 PRLB

Percentile Scorecard

DDDPRLBLXFR

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

AxisDDDPRLBLXFR
Valuation 16 #171 of 203 32 #138 of 203 57 #87 of 203
Growth 59 #78 of 188 83 #32 of 188 19 #152 of 188
Profitability 11 #164 of 184 49 #94 of 184 39 #113 of 184
Financial Health 64 #79 of 217 95 #11 of 217 68 #71 of 217
Shareholder Returns 5 #145 of 153 38 #96 of 153 77 #36 of 153
Overall 31 60 52
  • DDD ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • PRLB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LXFR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodDDDPRLBLXFRSPY
1 month -15.3%-6.1%-0.2% +0.9%
3 months +19.7%+27.6%+1.1% +5.9%
6 months +38.0%+46.2%+21.1% +8.5%
Year to date +68.4%+79.9%+27.5% +13.3%
1 year -6.6%+70.1%+30.2% +12.4%
3 years -16.3%+290.9%+101.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year -5.8%+57.6%+26.4% +23.5%
5 years -89.4%+52.1%-14.2% +68.2%
5 years, per year -36.2%+8.8%-3.0% +11.0%
10 years -78.3%+104.7%— +263.4%
10 years, per year -14.2%+7.4%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureDDDPRLBLXFRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 84.0%46.9%33.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 75.1%39.1%39.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.812.080.96 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.081.500.91 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -96.0%-65.6%-67.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -23.2%-7.7%-9.6% -0.9%
52-week high $3.88$98.64$19.08 $779.14
52-week low $1.77$46.81$11.51 $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.

MultipleDDDPRLBLXFR
P/E now vs peer median -8.1xmedian 25.4x 71.6xmedian 25.4x 74.5xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 1.3xmedian 1.9x 3.9xmedian 1.9x 1.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -11.9xmedian 14.3x 29.3xmedian 14.3x 15.5xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median -9.4xmedian 21.8x 38.4xmedian 21.8x 24.4xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 1.8xmedian 2.2x 3.1xmedian 2.2x 2.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.30median 1.41 2.24median 1.41 56.42median 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 monthsDDDPRLBLXFR
Revenue $387.64M $560.54M $355.20M
Gross profit $131.01M $254.60M $89.00M
Operating income -$61.26M $36.81M $22.40M
Net income -$54.85M $30.48M $6.20M
Free cash flow -$52.40M $56.66M $18.90M
R&D $47.60M $42.36M $5.60M
EPS (diluted) $-0.37 $1.25 $0.23
Cash & equivalents $127.95M $127.92M $19.90M
Total debt $91.18M – $57.70M
Shares (diluted) 148.97M 24.42M 27.30M
Enterprise value $32.27M $1.32B $407.64M

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
MetricDDDPRLBLXFR
P/E -8.1x 71.6x 74.5x
P/FCF -9.4x 38.4x 24.4x
P/Operating cash flow -11.7x 27.7x 15.4x
P/S 1.3x 3.9x 1.3x
P/B 1.8x 3.1x 2.1x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 3.2x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA -11.9x 29.3x 15.5x
EV/EBIT -7.5x 55.3x 22.3x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 3.6x 1.4x
EV/FCF -8.7x 35.9x 26.4x
EV/Operating cash flow -10.8x 25.9x 16.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.30 2.24 56.42

Growth

14 metrics
MetricDDDPRLBLXFR
Revenue growth (1Y) -6.2% 10.2% -11.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -9.0% 4.9% -5.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -9.6% 13.3% -3.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -13.8% 6.8% 2.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) 76.7% 121.9% 0.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 21.6% 33.2% -4.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 62.1% 105.8% -56.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 23.3% 31.6% 1.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 53.6% 103.1% -56.9%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 26.7% 32.0% 1.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 38.0% 10.6% -31.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 18.5% 7.7% 0.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 36.8% -14.0% -47.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.0% 11.9% 0.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricDDDPRLBLXFR
Gross margin 33.8% 45.4% 25.1%
EBITDA margin -10.0% 12.4% 9.1%
Operating margin -15.8% 6.6% 6.3%
Pretax margin -11.7% 7.6% 5.2%
Net margin -14.2% 5.4% 1.7%
FCF margin -13.5% 10.1% 5.3%
Operating cash flow margin -10.9% 14.0% 8.4%
Return on equity -21.7% 4.4% 2.8%
Return on assets -10.5% 3.9% 1.6%
Return on invested capital -17.8% – 5.2%
Return on capital employed -14.7% 5.2% 7.3%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.7x 0.9x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.8x 2.6x 4.8x
Stock comp / revenue 3.5% 2.6% 1.1%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricDDDPRLBLXFR
Debt / assets 17.0% – 15.1%
Debt / equity 0.3x – 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x – 1.2x
Debt / FCF -1.7x – 3.1x
Liabilities / assets 48.9% 12.6% 42.1%
Equity / assets 51.1% 87.4% 57.9%
Interest coverage – – 6.6x
Current ratio 3.4x 3.6x 2.5x
Quick ratio 1.9x 3.2x 1.1x
Cash ratio 1.2x 2.0x 0.3x
Altman Z-score -1.47 14.72 3.56

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricDDDPRLBLXFR
Dividend yield – – 2.3%
Net buyback yield -10.7% 0.6% 0.6%
Shareholder yield -10.7% 0.6% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusDDDPRLBLXFR
Forward P/E – 39.7xFY2026 17.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-0.14FY2026 $2.29FY2026 $0.99FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +38.0%FY2026 -10.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – +10.0% +41.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $368.77MFY2026 $612.40MFY2026 $386.72MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -4.7%FY2026 +14.9%FY2026 +4.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +7.8% +4.8% +2.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersDDDPRLBLXFR
Held by institutions 71.1% 93.7% 91.6%
Institutions holding 210 276 136
Change in shares held, QoQ +34.8% +1.7% -1.6%
Institutions buying 126 145 76
Institutions selling 37 89 41
Buyers to sellers 3.41 1.63 1.85

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.

DDDPRLBLXFR
DDD 1.00 0.47 0.24
PRLB 0.47 1.00 0.37
LXFR 0.24 0.37 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, DDD, PRLB and LXFR?

Proto Labs (PRLB) is the largest by market capitalisation: 3D Systems (DDD) $436.48M, Proto Labs (PRLB) $1.85B, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) $462.14M.

Which stock is cheaper, DDD, PRLB and LXFR?

Proto Labs (PRLB) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (3D Systems (DDD) -8.0x, Proto Labs (PRLB) 60.6x, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 74.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) is cheapest (Proto Labs (PRLB) 39.7x, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 17.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Proto Labs (PRLB) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: 3D Systems (DDD) -6.2%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +10.2%, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) -11.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

Proto Labs (PRLB) has the highest net margin (3D Systems (DDD) -14.2%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 5.4%, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 1.7%). On return on invested capital, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) leads (3D Systems (DDD) -17.8%, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 5.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Proto Labs (PRLB) returned the most: 3D Systems (DDD) -6.6%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +70.1%, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) +30.2%. Over five years, Proto Labs (PRLB) compounded fastest (3D Systems (DDD) -36.2%/yr, Proto Labs (PRLB) +8.8%/yr, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) -3.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) has been the steadiest (3D Systems (DDD) 84.0%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 46.9%, Luxfer Holdings (LXFR) 33.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, DDD, PRLB and LXFR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Proto Labs (PRLB) leads on 7. 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.