GE vs LECO vs HON Stock Comparison

General Electric, Lincoln Electric Holdings and Honeywell International 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

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Honeywell International leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Honeywell International 6, General Electric 4, Lincoln Electric Holdings 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGELECOHONLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $298.78B $14.14B $69.50B GE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 32.8x 25.5x 8.5x HON
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.6x 22.0x 28.1x LECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +19.6% +9.3% +5.0% GE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.3% 12.4% 21.6% HON
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -57.8% 21.4% 12.3% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.5x 1.0x 2.7x GE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.04% HON
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -6.8% +5.7% +6.3% HON
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +34.6%/yr +12.1%/yr +1.5%/yr GE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.1% 29.5% 25.4% HON
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 57/100 57/100 HON

Percentile Scorecard

GELECOHON

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

AxisGELECOHON
Valuation 32 #68 of 100 39 #124 of 203 88 #13 of 100
Growth 28 #70 of 97 50 #94 of 188 34 #64 of 97
Profitability 59 #40 of 96 95 #11 of 187 91 #10 of 96
Financial Health 19 #86 of 106 46 #121 of 222 18 #87 of 106
Shareholder Returns 86 #10 of 65 56 #68 of 153 56 #29 of 65
Overall 45 57 57
  • GE ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • HON 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

PeriodGELECOHONSPY
1 month -10.7%-3.6%+4.0% -1.0%
3 months -19.2%+1.8%-9.0% +2.9%
6 months +0.4%-1.6%+3.7% +6.4%
Year to date -7.3%+6.8%+13.4% +11.4%
1 year -6.8%+5.7%+6.3% +13.1%
3 years +215.0%+52.4%+29.3% +79.4%
3 years, per year +46.6%+15.1%+9.0% +21.5%
5 years +340.7%+77.1%+7.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year +34.6%+12.1%+1.5% +10.9%
10 years +105.7%+283.8%+124.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +7.5%+14.4%+8.4% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureGELECOHONSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.1%29.5%25.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.1%31.1%24.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.211.140.74 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.200.190.25 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.1%-35.3%-26.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.0%-14.4%-11.1% -2.5%
52-week high $381.07$298.88$248.79 $779.14
52-week low $273.25$220.64$188.14 $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.

MultipleGELECOHON
P/E now vs peer median 32.5xmedian 26.2x 25.3xmedian 25.9x 8.5xmedian 26.2x
P/S now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 1.9x 1.8xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -13.0xmedian 14.7x 17.1xmedian 13.7x 10.2xmedian 14.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.9xmedian 24.9x 25.7xmedian 21.1x 17.5xmedian 24.9x
P/B now vs peer median 16.6xmedian 2.4x 9.0xmedian 2.3x 3.7xmedian 2.4x
PEG now vs peer median -113.70median 0.92 3.59median 1.19 0.51median 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 monthsGELECOHON
Revenue $52.58B $4.48B $38.06B
Gross profit $18.52B $1.61B $15.14B
Operating income -$24.73B $767.80M $7.92B
Net income $9.13B $553.55M $8.22B
Free cash flow $7.99B $542.40M $4.01B
R&D $1.81B – $1.91B
EPS (diluted) $8.74 $10.05 $25.78
Cash & equivalents $8.76B $242.44M $8.75B
Total debt $79.60B $5.00B $34.01B
Shares (diluted) 1.04B 55.10M 318.60M
Enterprise value $257.30B $12.99B $21.62B

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
MetricGELECOHON
P/E 32.5x 25.3x 8.5x
P/FCF 36.9x 25.7x 17.5x
P/Operating cash flow 31.3x 20.3x 13.7x
P/S 5.6x 3.1x 1.8x
P/B 16.6x 9.0x 3.7x
P/Tangible book 21.5x 9.0x 5.6x
EV/EBITDA -13.0x 17.1x 10.2x
EV/EBIT -12.4x 19.4x 12.0x
EV/Revenue 5.8x 3.3x 2.5x
EV/FCF 38.3x 27.4x 23.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.4x 21.6x 18.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -113.70 3.59 0.51

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGELECOHON
Revenue growth (1Y) 19.6% 9.3% 5.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 4.2% 1.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 8.0% -0.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.9% 6.2% 3.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) -29.4% 13.0% -5.3%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -126.8% 7.0% 3.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.2% 10.1% 43.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.4% 5.0% 14.5%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.5% 11.8% 44.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -0.3% 7.0% 16.6%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.4% 10.1% -17.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 6.8% 0.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 20.1% 7.4% -25.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 3.7% -1.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGELECOHON
Gross margin 35.2% 36.0% 39.8%
EBITDA margin -44.6% 19.4% 24.4%
Operating margin -47.0% 17.1% 20.8%
Pretax margin 20.3% 16.1% 26.6%
Net margin 17.3% 12.4% 21.6%
FCF margin 15.2% 12.1% 10.5%
Operating cash flow margin 17.9% 15.3% 13.4%
Return on equity 51.2% 36.1% 49.0%
Return on assets 7.2% 14.4% 10.9%
Return on invested capital -57.8% 21.4% 12.3%
Return on capital employed -29.1% 25.9% 15.1%
Asset turnover 0.4x 1.2x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.2x 0.6x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.5% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGELECOHON
Debt / assets 15.2% 30.2% 44.0%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.7x 1.8x
Net debt / EBITDA -0.5x 1.0x 2.7x
Debt / FCF 2.4x 2.1x 8.5x
Liabilities / assets 86.0% 59.2% 75.6%
Equity / assets 14.0% 40.8% 24.4%
Interest coverage -26.7x – 5.5x
Current ratio 1.0x 2.0x 1.2x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.0x 0.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 2.40 7.49 2.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGELECOHON
Dividend yield 0.6% 1.2% 3.5%
Net buyback yield 2.9% 1.6% 1.2%
Shareholder yield 3.5% 2.8% 4.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 19.1% 30.9% 37.4%
Payout ratio (FCF) 21.8% 31.5% 76.6%
Dividend growth (1Y) 26.6% 3.3% 4.7%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 36.5% 7.0% 3.4%

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.

ConsensusGELECOHON
Forward P/E 38.6xFY2026 22.0xFY2026 28.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.40FY2026 $11.62FY2026 $7.87FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.2%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 -23.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +28.6% +0.4% +20.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $53.75BFY2026 $4.83BFY2026 $20.60BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +27.0%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 -45.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.1% +5.7% +4.3%
GE estimates →LECO estimates →HON estimates →

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGELECOHON
Held by institutions 79.4% 81.3% 76.8%
Institutions holding 3,441 701 2,168
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.5% +5.5% -0.9%
Institutions buying 1,829 297 2,107
Institutions selling 1,148 266 53
Buyers to sellers 1.59 1.12 39.75
GE holders →LECO holders →HON holders →

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.

GELECOHON
GE 1.00 0.40 0.43
LECO 0.40 1.00 0.46
HON 0.43 0.46 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GE, LECO and HON?

General Electric (GE) is the largest by market capitalisation: General Electric (GE) $298.78B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $14.14B, Honeywell International (HON) $69.50B.

Which stock is cheaper, GE, LECO and HON?

Honeywell International (HON) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (General Electric (GE) 32.8x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 25.5x, Honeywell International (HON) 8.5x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is cheapest (General Electric (GE) 38.6x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.0x, Honeywell International (HON) 28.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

General Electric (GE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: General Electric (GE) +19.6%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +9.3%, Honeywell International (HON) +5.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Honeywell International (HON) has the highest net margin (General Electric (GE) 17.3%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, Honeywell International (HON) 21.6%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (General Electric (GE) -57.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 21.4%, Honeywell International (HON) 12.3%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Honeywell International (HON) returned the most: General Electric (GE) -6.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +5.7%, Honeywell International (HON) +6.3%. Over five years, General Electric (GE) compounded fastest (General Electric (GE) +34.6%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +12.1%/yr, Honeywell International (HON) +1.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Honeywell International (HON) has the highest dividend yield: General Electric (GE) 0.01%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%, Honeywell International (HON) 0.04%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Honeywell International (HON) has been the steadiest (General Electric (GE) 33.1%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 29.5%, Honeywell International (HON) 25.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Honeywell International (HON) 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.