ITW vs KMT vs LECO Stock Comparison

Illinois Tool Works, Kennametal and Lincoln Electric Holdings Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$275.93 +0.7% 1M +11.3% 1Y
Market cap
$79.02B
P/E
24.0x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins
KMT Kennametal Inc
$29.88 -3.7% 1M +31.2% 1Y
Market cap
$2.27B
P/E
6.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.36B
Div. yield
0.03%
Power Tools Industrials
7 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionITWKMTLECOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $79.02B $2.27B $15.27B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 24.0x 6.6x 26.6x KMT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.9x 5.7x 24.3x KMT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — +19.8% +11.1% KMT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 14.5% 12.4% KMT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 16.5% 22.6% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.0x 1.0x LECO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.03% 0.01% KMT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +11.3% +31.2% +16.6% KMT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +4.0%/yr -5.5%/yr +15.0%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 21.3% 44.3% 30.8% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 49/100 65/100 54/100 KMT

Percentile Scorecard

ITWKMTLECO

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

AxisITWKMTLECO
Valuation 24 #154 of 203 71 #60 of 203 36 #130 of 203
Growth 35 #123 of 188 77 #45 of 188 44 #106 of 188
Profitability – 69 #57 of 183 94 #12 of 183
Financial Health – 51 #106 of 217 44 #121 of 217
Shareholder Returns 87 #21 of 153 55 #70 of 153 54 #71 of 153
Overall 49 65 54
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • KMT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodITWKMTLECOSPY
1 month +0.7%-3.7%+3.9% -0.2%
3 months -6.5%-16.1%+5.7% +3.9%
6 months +2.8%-23.9%+8.6% +8.2%
Year to date +12.0%+5.2%+17.8% +12.9%
1 year +11.3%+31.2%+16.6% +12.3%
3 years +23.6%+32.8%+63.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +7.3%+9.9%+17.8% +23.3%
5 years +21.8%-24.8%+101.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year +4.0%-5.5%+15.0% +10.9%
10 years +143.5%+10.8%+331.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year +9.3%+1.0%+15.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureITWKMTLECOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 21.3%44.3%30.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 20.7%42.0%31.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.471.321.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.530.700.54 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -28.9%-57.4%-35.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -7.9%-30.9%-5.5% -1.2%
52-week high $299.60$43.27$298.88 $779.14
52-week low $241.07$21.95$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.

MultipleITWKMTLECO
P/E now vs peer median 24.0xmedian 25.2x 6.7xmedian 25.2x 26.7xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 4.6xmedian 1.9x 1.0xmedian 1.9x 3.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 14.0x 4.7xmedian 14.0x 17.8xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 26.0xmedian 21.7x -28.1xmedian 21.7x 29.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 25.0xmedian 2.3x 1.4xmedian 2.3x 9.8xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 1.32 0.15median 1.32 3.82median 1.32

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 monthsITWKMTLECO
Revenue – $2.36B $4.64B
Gross profit – $969.96M $1.65B
Operating income – $472.53M $802.52M
Net income $3.23B $350.41M $575.27M
Free cash flow – -$80.91M $511.89M
EPS (diluted) – $4.42 $10.48
Cash & equivalents $809.00M $95.79M $283.24M
Total debt – $717.45M $1.15B
Shares (diluted) 287.00M 77.42M 54.87M
Enterprise value $79.02B $1.83B $14.14B

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
MetricITWKMTLECO
P/E 24.0x 6.7x 26.7x
P/FCF 26.0x -28.1x 29.9x
P/Operating cash flow 24.1x -568.2x 22.9x
P/S 4.6x 1.0x 3.3x
P/B 25.0x 1.4x 9.8x
P/Tangible book 30.2x 1.5x 9.8x
EV/EBITDA – 4.7x 17.8x
EV/EBIT – 6.1x 20.1x
EV/Revenue – 1.2x 3.5x
EV/FCF – -35.8x 31.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.1x -723.3x 24.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – 0.15 3.82

Growth

14 metrics
MetricITWKMTLECO
Revenue growth (1Y) – 19.8% 11.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 4.3% 4.5%
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 62.2% 7.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 14.5% 5.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) – 230.2% 12.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – 34.9% 7.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 6.7% 255.0% 9.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 0.9% 41.6% 4.9%
EPS growth (1Y) – 269.9% 11.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – 44.8% 7.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -0.5% -101.9% 0.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.5% -26.3% 0.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – -167.8% -6.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -35.6% -3.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricITWKMTLECO
Gross margin – 41.2% 35.5%
EBITDA margin – 26.1% 19.5%
Operating margin – 20.1% 17.3%
Pretax margin – 19.6% 16.2%
Net margin – 14.5% 12.4%
FCF margin – -3.4% 11.0%
Operating cash flow margin – -0.2% 14.4%
Return on equity 106.9% 23.3% 37.0%
Return on assets – 11.9% 14.9%
Return on invested capital – 16.5% 22.6%
Return on capital employed – 20.8% 27.7%
Asset turnover – 0.8x 1.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 0.0x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue – 1.5% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricITWKMTLECO
Debt / assets – 22.7% 29.5%
Debt / equity – 0.4x 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.0x 1.0x
Debt / FCF – -8.9x 2.2x
Liabilities / assets – 49.1% 60.1%
Equity / assets – 50.9% 39.9%
Interest coverage – 16.5x –
Current ratio 1.3x 2.6x 1.9x
Quick ratio – 0.7x 1.0x
Cash ratio – 0.1x 0.3x
Altman Z-score – 3.19 7.74

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricITWKMTLECO
Dividend yield 2.4% 2.7% 1.1%
Net buyback yield – 0.8% 1.8%
Shareholder yield 2.4% 3.5% 2.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) – 17.4% 30.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -75.2% 33.7%
Dividend growth (1Y) – -1.6% 3.5%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – -1.9% 6.3%

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.

ConsensusITWKMTLECO
Forward P/E 25.9xFY2026 5.7xFY2027 24.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.67FY2026 $5.25FY2027 $11.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +14.9%FY2027 +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +19.3% -57.9% +0.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $16.46BFY2026 $3.22BFY2027 $4.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.6%FY2026 +36.5%FY2027 +14.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +11.4% +13.7% +5.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersITWKMTLECO
Held by institutions 84.9% 100.0% 81.3%
Institutions holding 1,969 337 701
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.8% +2.5% +5.5%
Institutions buying 846 198 297
Institutions selling 750 95 266
Buyers to sellers 1.13 2.08 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.

ITWKMTLECO
ITW 1.00 0.47 0.61
KMT 0.47 1.00 0.53
LECO 0.61 0.53 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ITW, KMT and LECO?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $79.02B, Kennametal (KMT) $2.27B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.27B.

Which stock is cheaper, ITW, KMT and LECO?

Kennametal (KMT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.0x, Kennametal (KMT) 6.6x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 26.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kennametal (KMT) is cheapest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.9x, Kennametal (KMT) 5.7x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 24.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Kennametal (KMT) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Kennametal (KMT) +19.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +11.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kennametal (KMT) has the highest net margin (Kennametal (KMT) 14.5%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (Kennametal (KMT) 16.5%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kennametal (KMT) returned the most: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +11.3%, Kennametal (KMT) +31.2%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +16.6%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.0%/yr, Kennametal (KMT) -5.5%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +15.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kennametal (KMT) has the highest dividend yield: Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.00%, Kennametal (KMT) 0.03%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%. Illinois Tool Works (ITW) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.3%, Kennametal (KMT) 44.3%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 30.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ITW, KMT 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, Kennametal (KMT) 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.