KMT vs LECO vs MMM Stock Comparison

Kennametal, Lincoln Electric Holdings and 3M Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
MMM 3M Co
$171.62 +1.2% 1M +1.9% 1Y
Market cap
$89.54B
P/E
25.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$25.25B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionKMTLECOMMMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.27B $15.27B $89.54B MMM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 6.6x 26.6x 25.3x KMT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 5.7x 24.3x 19.3x KMT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +19.8% +11.1% +1.7% KMT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 12.4% 14.0% KMT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.5% 22.6% 22.0% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 1.0x 1.6x LECO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.03% 0.01% 0.02% KMT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +31.2% +16.6% +1.9% KMT
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -5.5%/yr +15.0%/yr +2.7%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 44.3% 30.8% 25.6% MMM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 65/100 54/100 49/100 KMT

Percentile Scorecard

KMTLECOMMM

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

AxisKMTLECOMMM
Valuation 71 #60 of 203 36 #130 of 203 37 #128 of 203
Growth 77 #45 of 188 44 #106 of 188 59 #77 of 188
Profitability 69 #57 of 183 94 #12 of 183 89 #21 of 183
Financial Health 51 #106 of 217 44 #121 of 217 19 #177 of 217
Shareholder Returns 55 #70 of 153 54 #71 of 153 42 #89 of 153
Overall 65 54 49
  • KMT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MMM ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKMTLECOMMMSPY
1 month -3.7%+3.9%+1.2% -0.2%
3 months -16.1%+5.7%-5.9% +3.9%
6 months -23.9%+8.6%+17.5% +8.2%
Year to date +5.2%+17.8%+7.2% +12.9%
1 year +31.2%+16.6%+1.9% +12.3%
3 years +32.8%+63.5%+134.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +9.9%+17.8%+32.9% +23.3%
5 years -24.8%+101.1%+14.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year -5.5%+15.0%+2.7% +10.9%
10 years +10.8%+331.4%+23.8% +261.1%
10 years, per year +1.0%+15.7%+2.2% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureKMTLECOMMMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 44.3%30.8%25.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 42.0%31.2%24.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.321.180.69 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.700.540.07 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -57.4%-35.3%-53.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -30.9%-5.5%-6.6% -1.2%
52-week high $43.27$298.88$183.81 $779.14
52-week low $21.95$220.64$141.20 $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.

MultipleKMTLECOMMM
P/E now vs peer median 6.7xmedian 25.2x 26.7xmedian 25.2x 25.2xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 1.9x 3.3xmedian 1.9x 3.5xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.7xmedian 14.0x 17.8xmedian 14.0x 16.0xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median -28.1xmedian 21.7x 29.9xmedian 21.7x 33.1xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 1.4xmedian 2.3x 9.8xmedian 2.3x 21.3xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 0.15median 1.32 3.82median 1.32 0.70median 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 monthsKMTLECOMMM
Revenue $2.36B $4.64B $25.25B
Gross profit $969.96M $1.65B $9.98B
Operating income $472.53M $802.52M $4.74B
Net income $350.41M $575.27M $3.58B
Free cash flow -$80.91M $511.89M $2.68B
R&D – – $1.21B
EPS (diluted) $4.42 $10.48 $6.77
Cash & equivalents $95.79M $283.24M $4.84B
Total debt $717.45M $1.15B $15.00B
Shares (diluted) 77.42M 54.87M 522.60M
Enterprise value $1.83B $14.14B $70.99B

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
MetricKMTLECOMMM
P/E 6.7x 26.7x 25.2x
P/FCF -28.1x 29.9x 33.1x
P/Operating cash flow -568.2x 22.9x 24.4x
P/S 1.0x 3.3x 3.5x
P/B 1.4x 9.8x 21.3x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 9.8x 41.9x
EV/EBITDA 4.7x 17.8x 16.0x
EV/EBIT 6.1x 20.1x 20.8x
EV/Revenue 1.2x 3.5x 3.9x
EV/FCF -35.8x 31.6x 36.8x
EV/Operating cash flow -723.3x 24.2x 27.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.15 3.82 0.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKMTLECOMMM
Revenue growth (1Y) 19.8% 11.1% 1.7%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 4.5% 10.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.2% 7.7% -1.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.5% 5.5% 17.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 230.2% 12.9% -3.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.9% 7.0% 33.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 255.0% 9.6% 4.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 41.6% 4.9% 35.4%
EPS growth (1Y) 269.9% 11.0% 7.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 7.0% 35.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -101.9% 0.7% 42.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -26.3% 0.5% -18.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -167.8% -6.3% 68.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -35.6% -3.6% -18.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKMTLECOMMM
Gross margin 41.2% 35.5% 39.5%
EBITDA margin 26.1% 19.5% 24.4%
Operating margin 20.1% 17.3% 18.8%
Pretax margin 19.6% 16.2% 17.5%
Net margin 14.5% 12.4% 14.0%
FCF margin -3.4% 11.0% 10.6%
Operating cash flow margin -0.2% 14.4% 14.4%
Return on equity 23.3% 37.0% 101.3%
Return on assets 11.9% 14.9% 9.8%
Return on invested capital 16.5% 22.6% 22.0%
Return on capital employed 20.8% 27.7% 18.7%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.2x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.0x 1.2x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 0.5% 0.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKMTLECOMMM
Debt / assets 22.7% 29.5% 37.9%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.7x 3.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 1.0x 1.6x
Debt / FCF -8.9x 2.2x 5.6x
Liabilities / assets 49.1% 60.1% 89.5%
Equity / assets 50.9% 39.9% 10.5%
Interest coverage 16.5x – –
Current ratio 2.6x 1.9x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.3x 0.4x
Altman Z-score 3.19 7.74 4.09

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKMTLECOMMM
Dividend yield 2.7% 1.1% 1.8%
Net buyback yield 0.8% 1.8% 3.1%
Shareholder yield 3.5% 2.9% 4.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) 17.4% 30.0% 44.8%
Payout ratio (FCF) -75.2% 33.7% 59.9%
Dividend growth (1Y) -1.6% 3.5% 3.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 6.3% -21.4%

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.

ConsensusKMTLECOMMM
Forward P/E 5.7xFY2027 24.3xFY2026 19.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.25FY2027 $11.62FY2026 $8.88FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.9%FY2027 +17.7%FY2026 +10.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -57.9% +0.4% +16.7%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.22BFY2027 $4.84BFY2026 $23.87BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +36.5%FY2027 +14.5%FY2026 -1.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.7% +5.5% +17.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKMTLECOMMM
Held by institutions 100.0% 81.3% 74.5%
Institutions holding 337 701 2,209
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.5% +5.5% +0.8%
Institutions buying 198 297 915
Institutions selling 95 266 837
Buyers to sellers 2.08 1.12 1.09

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.

KMTLECOMMM
KMT 1.00 0.53 0.42
LECO 0.53 1.00 0.49
MMM 0.42 0.49 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KMT, LECO and MMM?

3M (MMM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kennametal (KMT) $2.27B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.27B, 3M (MMM) $89.54B.

Which stock is cheaper, KMT, LECO and MMM?

Kennametal (KMT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kennametal (KMT) 6.6x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 26.6x, 3M (MMM) 25.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kennametal (KMT) is cheapest (Kennametal (KMT) 5.7x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 24.3x, 3M (MMM) 19.3x). 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%, 3M (MMM) +1.7%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kennametal (KMT) has the highest net margin (Kennametal (KMT) 14.5%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, 3M (MMM) 14.0%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (Kennametal (KMT) 16.5%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.6%, 3M (MMM) 22.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Kennametal (KMT) returned the most: Kennametal (KMT) +31.2%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +16.6%, 3M (MMM) +1.9%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Kennametal (KMT) -5.5%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +15.0%/yr, 3M (MMM) +2.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kennametal (KMT) has the highest dividend yield: Kennametal (KMT) 0.03%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%, 3M (MMM) 0.02%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, 3M (MMM) has been the steadiest (Kennametal (KMT) 44.3%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 30.8%, 3M (MMM) 25.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, KMT, LECO and MMM?

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.