ESI vs GLW vs LECO Stock Comparison

Element Solutions, Corning and Lincoln Electric Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ESI Element Solutions Inc
$33.53 -6.1% 1M +28.1% 1Y
Market cap
$8.53B
P/E
41.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.49B
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
2 wins
GLW Corning Inc /Ny
$127.80 -18.4% 1M +46.2% 1Y
Market cap
$109.18B
P/E
57.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.96B
Div. yield
0.01%
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Lincoln Electric Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Lincoln Electric Holdings 7, Corning 3, Element Solutions 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionESIGLWLECOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $8.53B $109.18B $15.41B GLW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 41.6x 57.5x 27.8x LECO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.5x 37.0x 22.3x ESI
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +39.6% +19.4% +9.3% ESI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.9% 11.2% 12.4% LECO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 5.4% 10.4% 21.4% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 1.5x 1.0x LECO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.01% LECO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +28.1% +46.2% +7.0% GLW
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.7%/yr +29.3%/yr +12.4%/yr GLW
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.8% 74.7% 29.6% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 50/100 57/100 58/100 LECO

Percentile Scorecard

ESIGLWLECO

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

AxisESIGLWLECO
Valuation 38 #59 of 94 18 #77 of 94 39 #124 of 203
Growth 76 #23 of 92 99 #2 of 92 51 #93 of 187
Profitability 59 #37 of 89 81 #18 of 89 95 #10 of 185
Financial Health 46 #53 of 97 59 #40 of 97 46 #118 of 219
Shareholder Returns 30 #49 of 70 28 #51 of 70 57 #67 of 153
Overall 50 57 58
  • ESI ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • GLW ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodESIGLWLECOSPY
1 month -6.1%-18.4%-4.8% -0.8%
3 months -11.4%-10.8%+0.7% +3.5%
6 months -16.9%-23.9%-1.0% +7.0%
Year to date +34.2%+46.0%+7.9% +12.2%
1 year +28.1%+46.2%+7.0% +13.0%
3 years +86.3%+380.6%+49.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +23.1%+68.8%+14.4% +23.1%
5 years +51.5%+261.1%+79.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year +8.7%+29.3%+12.4% +11.0%
10 years +349.5%+455.2%+293.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year +16.2%+18.7%+14.7% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureESIGLWLECOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.8%74.7%29.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.4%75.7%31.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.173.031.16 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.600.620.24 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -40.3%-51.6%-35.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -31.7%-50.0%-13.5% -1.8%
52-week high $49.09$255.69$298.88 $779.14
52-week low $22.99$78.03$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.

MultipleESIGLWLECO
P/E now vs peer median 39.8xmedian 21.6x 58.0xmedian 21.6x 25.5xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 1.4x 6.5xmedian 1.4x 3.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.3xmedian 12.4x 28.8xmedian 12.4x 17.2xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 44.5xmedian 15.8x 46.0xmedian 15.8x 26.0xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 2.8xmedian 1.6x 8.4xmedian 1.6x 9.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.71median 1.66 1.33median 1.66 3.63median 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 monthsESIGLWLECO
Revenue $3.49B $16.96B $4.48B
Gross profit $1.28B $6.17B $1.61B
Operating income $408.70M $2.60B $767.80M
Net income $205.20M $2.07B $553.55M
Free cash flow $182.90M $2.40B $542.40M
R&D $80.00M $1.14B –
EPS (diluted) $0.84 $2.17 $10.05
Cash & equivalents $224.90M $2.50B $242.44M
Total debt $2.08B $8.47B $1.15B
Shares (diluted) 243.70M 875.00M 55.10M
Enterprise value $7.31B $101.75B $14.27B

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
MetricESIGLWLECO
P/E 39.8x 58.0x 25.5x
P/FCF 44.5x 46.0x 26.0x
P/Operating cash flow 28.7x 28.1x 20.5x
P/S 2.3x 6.5x 3.1x
P/B 2.8x 8.4x 9.1x
P/Tangible book 4.3x 8.8x 9.1x
EV/EBITDA 17.3x 28.8x 17.2x
EV/EBIT 24.4x 44.7x 19.5x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 6.8x 3.3x
EV/FCF 54.6x 48.5x 27.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 35.3x 29.6x 21.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.71 1.33 3.63

Growth

14 metrics
MetricESIGLWLECO
Revenue growth (1Y) 39.6% 19.4% 9.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 14.4% 8.4% 4.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 21.5% 24.9% 8.0%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 11.7% 15.6% 6.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 17.6% 51.7% 13.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 31.9% 39.6% 7.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -14.4% 128.4% 10.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 56.0% 44.1% 5.0%
EPS growth (1Y) -15.0% 129.3% 11.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 55.8% 43.7% 7.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -16.0% 79.5% 10.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -4.2% 27.4% 6.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -32.2% 100.6% 7.4%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.3% 111.0% 3.7%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricESIGLWLECO
Gross margin 36.6% 36.4% 36.0%
EBITDA margin 16.6% 23.8% 19.4%
Operating margin 11.7% 15.3% 17.1%
Pretax margin 9.0% 14.2% 16.1%
Net margin 5.9% 11.2% 12.4%
FCF margin 5.2% 14.1% 12.1%
Operating cash flow margin 8.1% 23.1% 15.3%
Return on equity 7.2% 16.3% 36.1%
Return on assets 3.5% 6.5% 14.4%
Return on invested capital 5.4% 10.4% 21.4%
Return on capital employed 7.8% 10.0% 25.9%
Asset turnover 0.6x 0.5x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.4x 1.9x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 2.4% 2.5% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricESIGLWLECO
Debt / assets 35.5% 25.7% 30.2%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.6x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.2x 1.5x 1.0x
Debt / FCF 11.4x 3.5x 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 50.7% 60.2% 59.2%
Equity / assets 49.3% 39.8% 40.8%
Interest coverage – 7.3x –
Current ratio 2.8x 1.8x 2.0x
Quick ratio 1.7x 0.9x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.4x 0.4x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 2.49 5.00 7.53

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricESIGLWLECO
Dividend yield 1.0% 0.9% 1.2%
Net buyback yield 0.5% -0.5% 1.6%
Shareholder yield 1.5% 0.4% 2.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 47.8% 30.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) – 41.4% 31.5%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -0.3% 3.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 0.9% 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.

ConsensusESIGLWLECO
Forward P/E 19.5xFY2026 37.0xFY2026 22.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $1.72FY2026 $3.45FY2026 $11.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +15.4%FY2026 +36.9%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +33.7% +24.1% +0.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.86BFY2026 $18.34BFY2026 $4.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +51.4%FY2026 +11.8%FY2026 +14.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +2.3% +31.0% +5.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersESIGLWLECO
Held by institutions 100.0% 73.0% 81.3%
Institutions holding 499 2,680 701
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.6% +3.5% +5.5%
Institutions buying 269 1,474 297
Institutions selling 176 949 266
Buyers to sellers 1.53 1.55 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.

ESIGLWLECO
ESI 1.00 0.56 0.48
GLW 0.56 1.00 0.34
LECO 0.48 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ESI, GLW and LECO?

Corning (GLW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Element Solutions (ESI) $8.53B, Corning (GLW) $109.18B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.41B.

Which stock is cheaper, ESI, GLW and LECO?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Element Solutions (ESI) 41.6x, Corning (GLW) 57.5x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 27.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Element Solutions (ESI) is cheapest (Element Solutions (ESI) 19.5x, Corning (GLW) 37.0x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Element Solutions (ESI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Element Solutions (ESI) +39.6%, Corning (GLW) +19.4%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +9.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has the highest net margin (Element Solutions (ESI) 5.9%, Corning (GLW) 11.2%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (Element Solutions (ESI) 5.4%, Corning (GLW) 10.4%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 21.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Corning (GLW) returned the most: Element Solutions (ESI) +28.1%, Corning (GLW) +46.2%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +7.0%. Over five years, Corning (GLW) compounded fastest (Element Solutions (ESI) +8.7%/yr, Corning (GLW) +29.3%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +12.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has the highest dividend yield: Element Solutions (ESI) 0.00%, Corning (GLW) 0.01%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%. Element Solutions (ESI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has been the steadiest (Element Solutions (ESI) 46.8%, Corning (GLW) 74.7%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 29.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ESI, GLW 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 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.