GE vs LECO vs BA Stock Comparison

General Electric, Lincoln Electric Holdings and Boeing Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GE General Electric Co
$285.64 -10.7% 1M -6.8% 1Y
Market cap
$298.78B
P/E
32.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$52.58B
Div. yield
0.01%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
4 wins
BA Boeing Co
$188.29 -5.7% 1M -13.5% 1Y
Market cap
$148.46B
P/E
71.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$94.00B
Div. yield
–
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Lincoln Electric Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Lincoln Electric Holdings 7, General Electric 4, Boeing 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGELECOBALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $298.78B $14.14B $148.46B GE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.8x 25.5x 71.0x LECO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.6x 22.0x — LECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +19.6% +9.3% +24.8% BA
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.3% 12.4% 2.2% GE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -57.8% 21.4% 7.7% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.5x 1.0x 3.8x GE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% LECO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.8% +5.7% -13.5% LECO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +34.6%/yr +12.1%/yr -2.4%/yr GE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.1% 29.5% 34.4% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 57/100 48/100 LECO

Percentile Scorecard

GELECOBA

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

AxisGELECOBA
Valuation 32 #68 of 100 39 #124 of 203 44 #56 of 100
Growth 28 #70 of 97 50 #94 of 188 81 #19 of 97
Profitability 59 #40 of 96 95 #11 of 187 54 #45 of 96
Financial Health 19 #86 of 106 46 #121 of 222 11 #94 of 106
Shareholder Returns 86 #10 of 65 56 #68 of 153 –
Overall 45 57 48
  • GE ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • BA ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGELECOBASPY
1 month -10.7%-3.6%-5.7% -1.0%
3 months -19.2%+1.8%-10.2% +2.9%
6 months +0.4%-1.6%-19.0% +6.4%
Year to date -7.3%+6.8%-13.3% +11.4%
1 year -6.8%+5.7%-13.5% +13.1%
3 years +215.0%+52.4%+3.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +46.6%+15.1%+1.1% +21.5%
5 years +340.7%+77.1%-11.6% +67.7%
5 years, per year +34.6%+12.1%-2.4% +10.9%
10 years +105.7%+283.8%+38.8% +255.2%
10 years, per year +7.5%+14.4%+3.3% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureGELECOBASPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.1%29.5%34.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.1%31.1%33.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.211.141.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.200.19-0.39 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.1%-35.3%-50.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.0%-14.4%-25.3% -2.5%
52-week high $381.07$298.88$252.15 $779.14
52-week low $273.25$220.64$179.12 $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.

MultipleGELECOBA
P/E now vs peer median 32.5xmedian 26.2x 25.3xmedian 25.9x 71.2xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 1.9x 1.6xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -13.0xmedian 14.7x 17.1xmedian 13.7x 25.7xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.9xmedian 24.9x 25.7xmedian 21.1x -708.7xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 16.6xmedian 2.4x 9.0xmedian 2.3x 24.3xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -113.70median 0.92 3.59median 1.19 2.15median 0.92

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 monthsGELECOBA
Revenue $52.58B $4.48B $94.00B
Gross profit $18.52B $1.61B $4.40B
Operating income -$24.73B $767.80M $4.60B
Net income $9.13B $553.55M $2.43B
Free cash flow $7.99B $542.40M -$210.00M
R&D $1.81B – $3.69B
EPS (diluted) $8.74 $10.05 $2.64
Cash & equivalents $8.76B $242.44M $7.24B
Total debt $79.60B $5.00B $45.90B
Shares (diluted) 1.04B 55.10M 790.80M
Enterprise value $257.30B $12.99B $55.15B

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
MetricGELECOBA
P/E 32.5x 25.3x 71.2x
P/FCF 36.9x 25.7x -708.7x
P/Operating cash flow 31.3x 20.3x 40.9x
P/S 5.6x 3.1x 1.6x
P/B 16.6x 9.0x 24.3x
P/Tangible book 21.5x 9.0x 32.5x
EV/EBITDA -13.0x 17.1x 25.7x
EV/EBIT -12.4x 19.4x 38.0x
EV/Revenue 5.8x 3.3x 1.9x
EV/FCF 38.3x 27.4x -831.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.4x 21.6x 48.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -113.70 3.59 2.15

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGELECOBA
Revenue growth (1Y) 19.6% 9.3% 24.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 4.2% 8.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 8.0% 1,902%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.9% 6.2% -3.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) -29.4% 13.0% 149.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -126.8% 7.0% 49.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.2% 10.1% 122.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.4% 5.0% 36.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.5% 11.8% 118.3%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -0.3% 7.0% 33.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.4% 10.1% 158.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 6.8% -26.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 20.1% 7.4% 97.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 3.7% -26.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGELECOBA
Gross margin 35.2% 36.0% 4.7%
EBITDA margin -44.6% 19.4% 7.2%
Operating margin -47.0% 17.1% 4.9%
Pretax margin 20.3% 16.1% 3.0%
Net margin 17.3% 12.4% 2.2%
FCF margin 15.2% 12.1% -0.2%
Operating cash flow margin 17.9% 15.3% 3.9%
Return on equity 51.2% 36.1% 40.4%
Return on assets 7.2% 14.4% 1.5%
Return on invested capital -57.8% 21.4% 7.7%
Return on capital employed -29.1% 25.9% 8.2%
Asset turnover 0.4x 1.2x 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.2x 1.5x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.5% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGELECOBA
Debt / assets 15.2% 30.2% 27.7%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.7x 7.5x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.5x 1.0x 3.8x
Debt / FCF 2.4x 2.1x -218.6x
Liabilities / assets 86.0% 59.2% 96.3%
Equity / assets 14.0% 40.8% 3.7%
Interest coverage -26.7x – 1.8x
Current ratio 1.0x 2.0x 1.1x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.0x 0.3x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 2.40 7.49 1.47

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGELECOBA
Dividend yield 0.6% 1.2% –
Net buyback yield 2.9% 1.6% –
Shareholder yield 3.5% 2.8% 0.0%
Payout ratio (earnings) 19.1% 30.9% –
Payout ratio (FCF) 21.8% 31.5% –
Dividend growth (1Y) 26.6% 3.3% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 36.5% 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.

ConsensusGELECOBA
Forward P/E 38.6xFY2026 22.0xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $7.40FY2026 $11.62FY2026 $-1.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.2%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 -186.6%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +28.6% +0.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.75BFY2026 $4.83BFY2026 $91.39BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +27.0%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 +2.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.1% +5.7% +18.3%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGELECOBA
Held by institutions 79.4% 81.3% 75.6%
Institutions holding 3,441 701 2,626
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.5% +5.5% +2.3%
Institutions buying 1,829 297 1,327
Institutions selling 1,148 266 843
Buyers to sellers 1.59 1.12 1.57

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.

GELECOBA
GE 1.00 0.40 0.47
LECO 0.40 1.00 0.27
BA 0.47 0.27 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GE, LECO and BA?

General Electric (GE) is the largest by market capitalisation: General Electric (GE) $298.78B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $14.14B, Boeing (BA) $148.46B.

Which stock is cheaper, GE, LECO and BA?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (General Electric (GE) 32.8x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 25.5x, Boeing (BA) 71.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is cheapest (General Electric (GE) 38.6x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.0x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Boeing (BA) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: General Electric (GE) +19.6%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +9.3%, Boeing (BA) +24.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

General Electric (GE) has the highest net margin (General Electric (GE) 17.3%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, Boeing (BA) 2.2%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (General Electric (GE) -57.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 21.4%, Boeing (BA) 7.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) returned the most: General Electric (GE) -6.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +5.7%, Boeing (BA) -13.5%. Over five years, General Electric (GE) compounded fastest (General Electric (GE) +34.6%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +12.1%/yr, Boeing (BA) -2.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has the highest dividend yield: General Electric (GE) 0.01%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%, Boeing (BA) 0.00%. Boeing (BA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has been the steadiest (General Electric (GE) 33.1%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 29.5%, Boeing (BA) 34.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, GE, LECO and BA?

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.