GE vs LECO vs PRLB Stock Comparison

General Electric, Lincoln Electric Holdings and Proto Labs Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
GE General Electric Co
$288.37 -11.9% 1M -5.1% 1Y
Market cap
$302.43B
P/E
33.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$52.58B
Div. yield
0.01%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
5 wins
PRLB Proto Labs Inc
$86.35 -10.4% 1M +58.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.10B
P/E
68.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$560.54M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

General Electric leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (General Electric 5, Lincoln Electric Holdings 5, Proto Labs 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionGELECOPRLBLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $302.43B $14.98B $2.10B GE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 33.2x 27.1x 68.9x LECO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 38.2x 22.3x 37.7x LECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +19.6% +9.3% +10.2% GE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 17.3% 12.4% 5.4% GE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -38.7% 21.4% — LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -0.7x 1.0x — GE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.01% 0.00% LECO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -5.1% +7.0% +58.0% PRLB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +34.9%/yr +12.4%/yr +3.2%/yr GE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 33.1% 29.6% 46.9% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 45/100 58/100 59/100 PRLB

Percentile Scorecard

GELECOPRLB

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

AxisGELECOPRLB
Valuation 33 #67 of 100 39 #124 of 203 33 #136 of 203
Growth 33 #65 of 97 51 #93 of 187 83 #33 of 187
Profitability 60 #39 of 96 95 #10 of 185 51 #92 of 185
Financial Health 18 #86 of 105 46 #118 of 219 95 #11 of 219
Shareholder Returns 83 #12 of 64 57 #67 of 153 36 #99 of 153
Overall 45 58 59
  • GE ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • 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

PeriodGELECOPRLBSPY
1 month -11.9%-4.8%-10.4% -0.8%
3 months -20.3%+0.7%+11.2% +3.5%
6 months +1.3%-1.0%+35.4% +7.0%
Year to date -6.4%+7.9%+70.7% +12.2%
1 year -5.1%+7.0%+58.0% +13.0%
3 years +239.7%+49.8%+270.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year +50.4%+14.4%+54.8% +23.1%
5 years +345.7%+79.7%+17.1% +68.6%
5 years, per year +34.9%+12.4%+3.2% +11.0%
10 years +108.4%+293.7%+67.8% +258.0%
10 years, per year +7.6%+14.7%+5.3% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGELECOPRLBSPY
Volatility, 1Y 33.1%29.6%46.9% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 35.2%31.2%39.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.201.162.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.150.241.24 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -45.1%-35.3%-70.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -24.3%-13.5%-12.5% -1.8%
52-week high $381.07$298.88$98.64 $779.14
52-week low $273.25$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.

MultipleGELECOPRLB
P/E now vs peer median 32.8xmedian 26.8x 25.5xmedian 26.0x 67.9xmedian 26.0x
P/S now vs peer median 5.7xmedian 2.9x 3.1xmedian 1.9x 3.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -20.2xmedian 15.2x 17.2xmedian 14.0x 27.7xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.3xmedian 25.5x 26.0xmedian 21.4x 36.5xmedian 21.4x
P/B now vs peer median 16.8xmedian 2.5x 9.1xmedian 2.2x 3.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -114.79median 0.94 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 monthsGELECOPRLB
Revenue $52.58B $4.48B $560.54M
Gross profit $18.52B $1.61B $254.60M
Operating income -$16.58B $767.80M $36.81M
Net income $9.13B $553.55M $30.48M
Free cash flow $7.99B $542.40M $56.66M
R&D $1.81B – $42.36M
EPS (diluted) $8.74 $10.05 $1.25
Cash & equivalents $8.76B $242.44M $127.92M
Total debt $19.33B $1.15B –
Shares (diluted) 1.04B 55.10M 24.42M
Enterprise value $260.95B $13.84B $1.57B

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
MetricGELECOPRLB
P/E 32.8x 25.5x 67.9x
P/FCF 37.3x 26.0x 36.5x
P/Operating cash flow 31.6x 20.5x 26.3x
P/S 5.7x 3.1x 3.7x
P/B 16.8x 9.1x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 21.7x 9.1x 3.1x
EV/EBITDA -20.2x 17.2x 27.7x
EV/EBIT -18.6x 19.5x 52.2x
EV/Revenue 5.9x 3.3x 3.4x
EV/FCF 38.6x 27.7x 33.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 32.7x 21.8x 24.5x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -114.79 3.63 2.12

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGELECOPRLB
Revenue growth (1Y) 19.6% 9.3% 10.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 7.2% 4.2% 4.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 11.7% 8.0% 13.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 10.9% 6.2% 6.8%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.2% 13.0% 121.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -98.5% 7.0% 33.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.2% 10.1% 105.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.4% 5.0% 31.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.5% 11.8% 103.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -0.3% 7.0% 32.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 21.4% 10.1% 10.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.3% 6.8% 7.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 20.1% 7.4% -14.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 3.7% 11.9%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGELECOPRLB
Gross margin 35.2% 36.0% 45.4%
EBITDA margin -29.1% 19.4% 12.4%
Operating margin -31.5% 17.1% 6.6%
Pretax margin 20.3% 16.1% 7.6%
Net margin 17.3% 12.4% 5.4%
FCF margin 15.2% 12.1% 10.1%
Operating cash flow margin 17.9% 15.3% 14.0%
Return on equity 51.2% 36.1% 4.4%
Return on assets 7.2% 14.4% 3.9%
Return on invested capital -38.7% 21.4% –
Return on capital employed -19.5% 25.9% 5.2%
Asset turnover 0.4x 1.2x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.2x 2.6x
Stock comp / revenue – 0.5% 2.6%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGELECOPRLB
Debt / assets 15.2% 30.2% –
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.7x –
Net debt / EBITDA -0.7x 1.0x –
Debt / FCF 2.4x 2.1x –
Liabilities / assets 86.0% 59.2% 12.6%
Equity / assets 14.0% 40.8% 87.4%
Interest coverage -17.9x – –
Current ratio 1.0x 2.0x 3.6x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.0x 3.2x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 2.0x
Altman Z-score 2.63 7.53 14.05

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGELECOPRLB
Dividend yield 0.6% 1.2% –
Net buyback yield 2.9% 1.6% 0.6%
Shareholder yield 3.5% 2.8% 0.6%
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.

ConsensusGELECOPRLB
Forward P/E 38.2xFY2026 22.3xFY2026 37.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $7.54FY2026 $11.62FY2026 $2.29FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +18.4%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +38.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +27.7% +0.4% +9.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $54.02BFY2026 $4.84BFY2026 $612.12MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +27.6%FY2026 +14.5%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.3% +5.5% +4.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGELECOPRLB
Held by institutions 79.4% 81.3% 93.7%
Institutions holding 3,441 701 276
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.5% +5.5% +1.7%
Institutions buying 1,829 297 145
Institutions selling 1,148 266 89
Buyers to sellers 1.59 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.

GELECOPRLB
GE 1.00 0.40 0.35
LECO 0.40 1.00 0.50
PRLB 0.35 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GE, LECO and PRLB?

General Electric (GE) is the largest by market capitalisation: General Electric (GE) $302.43B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $14.98B, Proto Labs (PRLB) $2.10B.

Which stock is cheaper, GE, LECO and PRLB?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (General Electric (GE) 33.2x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 27.1x, Proto Labs (PRLB) 68.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is cheapest (General Electric (GE) 38.2x, 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?

General Electric (GE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: General Electric (GE) +19.6%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +9.3%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +10.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

General Electric (GE) has the highest net margin (General Electric (GE) 17.3%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 5.4%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (General Electric (GE) -38.7%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 21.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Proto Labs (PRLB) returned the most: General Electric (GE) -5.1%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +7.0%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +58.0%. Over five years, General Electric (GE) compounded fastest (General Electric (GE) +34.9%/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?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has the highest dividend yield: General Electric (GE) 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 (General Electric (GE) 33.1%, 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, GE, 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, General Electric (GE) leads on 5. 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.