EMR vs LECO vs PRLB Stock Comparison

Emerson Electric, Lincoln Electric Holdings and Proto Labs Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
EMR Emerson Electric Co
$161.75 +2.3% 1M +21.9% 1Y
Market cap
$92.93B
P/E
36.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$18.64B
Div. yield
0.01%
Pumps and Valves Industrials
3 wins
PRLB Proto Labs Inc
$86.35 -10.4% 1M +58.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.14B
P/E
70.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$560.54M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Lincoln Electric Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Lincoln Electric Holdings 6, Emerson Electric 3, Proto Labs 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionEMRLECOPRLBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $92.93B $15.41B $2.14B EMR
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 36.0x 27.8x 70.3x LECO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.0x 22.3x 37.7x LECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.8% +9.3% +10.2% PRLB
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 13.8% 12.4% 5.4% EMR
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.9% 21.4% — LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.0x — LECO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% EMR
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +21.9% +7.0% +58.0% PRLB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +11.0%/yr +12.4%/yr +3.2%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 31.7% 29.6% 46.9% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 58/100 59/100 PRLB

Percentile Scorecard

EMRLECOPRLB

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

AxisEMRLECOPRLB
Valuation 35 #133 of 203 39 #124 of 203 33 #136 of 203
Growth 40 #112 of 187 51 #93 of 187 83 #33 of 187
Profitability 85 #29 of 185 95 #10 of 185 51 #92 of 185
Financial Health 29 #155 of 219 46 #118 of 219 95 #11 of 219
Shareholder Returns 36 #98 of 153 57 #67 of 153 36 #99 of 153
Overall 45 58 59
  • EMR ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • PRLB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodEMRLECOPRLBSPY
1 month +2.3%-4.8%-10.4% -0.8%
3 months +8.3%+0.7%+11.2% +3.5%
6 months +14.3%-1.0%+35.4% +7.0%
Year to date +21.9%+7.9%+70.7% +12.2%
1 year +21.9%+7.0%+58.0% +13.0%
3 years +83.7%+49.8%+270.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +22.5%+14.4%+54.8% +23.1%
5 years +68.2%+79.7%+17.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +11.0%+12.4%+3.2% +11.0%
10 years +220.7%+293.7%+67.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +12.4%+14.7%+5.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureEMRLECOPRLBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 31.7%29.6%46.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 33.5%31.2%39.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.531.162.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.690.241.24 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -29.9%-35.3%-70.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -1.6%-13.5%-12.5% -1.8%
52-week high $164.37$298.88$98.64 $779.14
52-week low $123.30$220.64$46.81 $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.

MultipleEMRLECOPRLB
P/E now vs peer median 35.1xmedian 26.0x 25.5xmedian 26.0x 67.9xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 1.9x 3.1xmedian 1.9x 3.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.4xmedian 14.0x 17.2xmedian 14.0x 27.7xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.1xmedian 21.4x 26.0xmedian 21.4x 36.5xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 4.4xmedian 2.2x 9.1xmedian 2.2x 3.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.84median 1.26 3.63median 1.26 2.12median 1.26

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 monthsEMRLECOPRLB
Revenue $18.64B $4.48B $560.54M
Gross profit $9.91B $1.61B $254.60M
Operating income $4.68B $767.80M $36.81M
Net income $2.58B $553.55M $30.48M
Free cash flow $3.46B $542.40M $56.66M
R&D – – $42.36M
EPS (diluted) $4.59 $10.05 $1.25
Cash & equivalents $2.18B $242.44M $127.92M
Total debt $13.11B $1.15B –
Shares (diluted) 561.10M 55.10M 24.42M
Enterprise value $85.67B $14.27B $1.62B

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
MetricEMRLECOPRLB
P/E 35.1x 25.5x 67.9x
P/FCF 26.1x 26.0x 36.5x
P/Operating cash flow 23.1x 20.5x 26.3x
P/S 4.8x 3.1x 3.7x
P/B 4.4x 9.1x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 7.7x 9.1x 3.1x
EV/EBITDA 16.4x 17.2x 27.7x
EV/EBIT 21.6x 19.5x 52.2x
EV/Revenue 5.4x 3.3x 3.4x
EV/FCF 29.2x 27.7x 33.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.8x 21.8x 24.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.84 3.63 2.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricEMRLECOPRLB
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.8% 9.3% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.6% 4.2% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.7% 8.0% 13.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.0% 6.2% 6.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 9.2% 13.0% 121.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 13.6% 7.0% 33.2%
Net income growth (1Y) -3.0% 10.1% 105.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -42.0% 5.0% 31.6%
EPS growth (1Y) -2.2% 11.8% 103.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -41.6% 7.0% 32.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 4.4% 10.1% 10.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 10.1% 6.8% 7.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 4.4% 7.4% -14.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 9.4% 3.7% 11.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricEMRLECOPRLB
Gross margin 53.2% 36.0% 45.4%
EBITDA margin 33.1% 19.4% 12.4%
Operating margin 25.1% 17.1% 6.6%
Pretax margin 17.6% 16.1% 7.6%
Net margin 13.8% 12.4% 5.4%
FCF margin 18.6% 12.1% 10.1%
Operating cash flow margin 21.0% 15.3% 14.0%
Return on equity 12.7% 36.1% 4.4%
Return on assets 6.1% 14.4% 3.9%
Return on invested capital 10.9% 21.4% –
Return on capital employed 14.9% 25.9% 5.2%
Asset turnover 0.4x 1.2x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.2x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue 1.3% 0.5% 2.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricEMRLECOPRLB
Debt / assets 31.1% 30.2% –
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.0x –
Debt / FCF 3.8x 2.1x –
Liabilities / assets 51.7% 59.2% 12.6%
Equity / assets 48.3% 40.8% 87.4%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 0.9x 2.0x 3.6x
Quick ratio 0.5x 1.0x 3.2x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 2.0x
Altman Z-score 4.64 7.53 14.05

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricEMRLECOPRLB
Dividend yield 1.4% 1.2% –
Net buyback yield 1.0% 1.6% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 2.8% 0.6%
Payout ratio (earnings) 47.8% 30.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 35.6% 31.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.1% 3.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.7% 7.0% –

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.

ConsensusEMRLECOPRLB
Forward P/E 24.0xFY2026 22.3xFY2026 37.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $6.75FY2026 $11.62FY2026 $2.29FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +12.5%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +38.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +15.3% +0.4% +10.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $18.13BFY2026 $4.84BFY2026 $612.40MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +0.6%FY2026 +14.5%FY2026 +14.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +15.3% +5.5% +4.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersEMRLECOPRLB
Held by institutions 82.1% 81.3% 93.7%
Institutions holding 2,290 701 276
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% +5.5% +1.7%
Institutions buying 1,080 297 145
Institutions selling 798 266 89
Buyers to sellers 1.35 1.12 1.63

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.

EMRLECOPRLB
EMR 1.00 0.62 0.49
LECO 0.62 1.00 0.50
PRLB 0.49 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, EMR, LECO and PRLB?

Emerson Electric (EMR) is the largest by market capitalisation: Emerson Electric (EMR) $92.93B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.41B, Proto Labs (PRLB) $2.14B.

Which stock is cheaper, EMR, LECO and PRLB?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Emerson Electric (EMR) 36.0x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 27.8x, Proto Labs (PRLB) 70.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is cheapest (Emerson Electric (EMR) 24.0x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.3x, Proto Labs (PRLB) 37.7x). 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: Emerson Electric (EMR) +4.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +9.3%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Emerson Electric (EMR) has the highest net margin (Emerson Electric (EMR) 13.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 5.4%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (Emerson Electric (EMR) 10.9%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 21.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Proto Labs (PRLB) returned the most: Emerson Electric (EMR) +21.9%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +7.0%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +58.0%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Emerson Electric (EMR) +11.0%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +12.4%/yr, Proto Labs (PRLB) +3.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Emerson Electric (EMR) has the highest dividend yield: Emerson Electric (EMR) 0.01%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 0.00%. Proto Labs (PRLB) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has been the steadiest (Emerson Electric (EMR) 31.7%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 29.6%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 46.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, EMR, LECO and PRLB?

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 6. 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.