GLW vs LECO vs ESI Stock Comparison

Corning, Lincoln Electric Holdings and Element Solutions Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
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

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.

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

Percentile Scorecard

GLWLECOESI

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

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

Price Performance

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

Returns

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

Risk

MeasureGLWLECOESISPY
Volatility, 1Y 74.7%29.6%46.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 75.7%31.2%47.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 3.031.162.17 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.620.240.60 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -51.6%-35.3%-40.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -50.0%-13.5%-31.7% -1.8%
52-week high $255.69$298.88$49.09 $779.14
52-week low $78.03$220.64$22.99 $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.

MultipleGLWLECOESI
P/E now vs peer median 58.0xmedian 21.6x 25.5xmedian 26.0x 39.8xmedian 21.6x
P/S now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 1.4x 3.1xmedian 1.9x 2.3xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.8xmedian 12.4x 17.2xmedian 14.0x 17.3xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 46.0xmedian 15.8x 26.0xmedian 21.4x 44.5xmedian 15.8x
P/B now vs peer median 8.4xmedian 1.6x 9.1xmedian 2.2x 2.8xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 1.33median 1.66 3.63median 1.26 0.71median 1.66

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 monthsGLWLECOESI
Revenue $16.96B $4.48B $3.49B
Gross profit $6.17B $1.61B $1.28B
Operating income $2.60B $767.80M $408.70M
Net income $2.07B $553.55M $205.20M
Free cash flow $2.40B $542.40M $182.90M
R&D $1.14B – $80.00M
EPS (diluted) $2.17 $10.05 $0.84
Cash & equivalents $2.50B $242.44M $224.90M
Total debt $8.47B $1.15B $2.08B
Shares (diluted) 875.00M 55.10M 243.70M
Enterprise value $101.75B $14.27B $7.31B

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

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

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

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGLWLECOESI
Dividend yield 0.9% 1.2% 1.0%
Net buyback yield -0.5% 1.6% 0.5%
Shareholder yield 0.4% 2.8% 1.5%
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersGLWLECOESI
Held by institutions 73.0% 81.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 2,680 701 499
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.5% +5.5% +0.6%
Institutions buying 1,474 297 269
Institutions selling 949 266 176
Buyers to sellers 1.55 1.12 1.53

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.

GLWLECOESI
GLW 1.00 0.34 0.56
LECO 0.34 1.00 0.48
ESI 0.56 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GLW, LECO and ESI?

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

Which stock is cheaper, GLW, LECO and ESI?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Corning (GLW) 57.5x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 27.8x, Element Solutions (ESI) 41.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Element Solutions (ESI) is cheapest (Corning (GLW) 37.0x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.3x, Element Solutions (ESI) 19.5x). 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: Corning (GLW) +19.4%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +9.3%, Element Solutions (ESI) +39.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

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

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

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

Which is the better stock, GLW, LECO and ESI?

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.