KMT vs LECO vs SWK Stock Comparison

Kennametal, Lincoln Electric Holdings and Stanley Black & Decker Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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KMT Kennametal Inc
$26.31 -20.0% 1M +19.0% 1Y
Market cap
$2.01B
P/E
5.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$2.36B
Div. yield
3.04%
Power Tools Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

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

QuestionKMTLECOSWKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.01B $15.13B $17.86B SWK
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 5.9x 26.4x 28.6x KMT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 5.0x 24.0x 20.4x KMT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +19.8% +11.1% +0.6% KMT
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 14.5% 12.4% 4.1% KMT
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 16.5% 22.6% 6.6% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 1.0x 2.3x LECO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 3.04% 1.13% 2.82% KMT
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +19.0% +24.1% +77.5% SWK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.4%/yr +14.3%/yr -8.5%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.2% 30.9% 38.6% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 66/100 55/100 58/100 KMT

Percentile Scorecard

KMTLECOSWK

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

AxisKMTLECOSWK
Valuation 76 #50 of 204 36 #131 of 204 86 #30 of 204
Growth 76 #46 of 191 46 #103 of 191 80 #39 of 191
Profitability 69 #60 of 189 94 #13 of 189 52 #92 of 189
Financial Health 51 #108 of 221 47 #118 of 221 28 #159 of 221
Shareholder Returns 58 #68 of 159 54 #73 of 159 42 #92 of 159
Overall 66 55 58
  • KMT ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • LECO ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • SWK ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodKMTLECOSWKSPY
1 month -20.0%+1.6%+31.8% -1.0%
3 months -23.0%0.0%+14.5% -0.4%
6 months -39.2%+1.6%+45.9% +4.5%
Year to date -7.4%+16.6%+59.2% +12.4%
1 year +19.0%+24.1%+77.5% +13.6%
3 years +9.6%+51.9%+33.0% +76.4%
3 years, per year +3.1%+15.0%+10.0% +20.8%
5 years -31.8%+94.9%-35.7% +63.7%
5 years, per year -7.4%+14.3%-8.5% +10.4%
10 years -7.5%+332.3%+3.2% +267.7%
10 years, per year -0.8%+15.8%+0.3% +13.9%

Risk

MeasureKMTLECOSWKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.2%30.9%38.6% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 47.2%31.1%32.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.141.141.48 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.400.782.01 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -56.1%-35.3%-71.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.2%-6.5%0.0% -1.6%
52-week high $43.27$298.88$118.24 $779.14
52-week low $22.11$220.64$62.12 $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.

MultipleKMTLECOSWK
P/E now vs peer median 5.9xmedian 25.5x 26.4xmedian 25.5x 28.6xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.9xmedian 1.9x 3.3xmedian 1.9x 1.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.3xmedian 14.4x 17.6xmedian 14.4x 12.1xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -24.8xmedian 23.3x 29.6xmedian 23.3x 13.9xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 1.2xmedian 2.2x 9.7xmedian 2.2x 2.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.13median 1.16 3.78median 1.16 -5.44median 1.16

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 monthsKMTLECOSWK
Revenue $2.36B $4.64B $15.25B
Gross profit $969.96M $1.65B $4.86B
Operating income $472.53M $802.52M $1.32B
Net income $350.41M $575.27M $620.50M
Free cash flow -$80.91M $511.89M $1.29B
EPS (diluted) $4.42 $10.48 $4.12
Cash & equivalents $95.79M $283.24M $592.40M
Total debt $717.45M $1.15B $4.76B
Shares (diluted) 77.42M 54.87M 150.65M
Enterprise value $1.61B $13.99B $16.38B

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
MetricKMTLECOSWK
P/E 5.9x 26.4x 28.6x
P/FCF -24.8x 29.6x 13.9x
P/Operating cash flow -500.3x 22.7x 11.5x
P/S 0.9x 3.3x 1.2x
P/B 1.2x 9.7x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 1.3x 9.7x 3.0x
EV/EBITDA 4.3x 17.6x 12.1x
EV/EBIT 5.6x 19.9x 16.7x
EV/Revenue 1.1x 3.4x 1.4x
EV/FCF -32.5x 31.2x 17.1x
EV/Operating cash flow -655.4x 24.0x 14.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.13 3.78 -5.44

Growth

14 metrics
MetricKMTLECOSWK
Revenue growth (1Y) 19.8% 11.1% 0.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.3% 4.5% -2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 62.2% 7.7% 9.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.5% 5.5% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 230.2% 12.9% 51.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.9% 7.0% 149.6%
Net income growth (1Y) 255.0% 9.6% 29.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 41.6% 4.9% -7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 269.9% 11.0% 30.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 44.8% 7.0% -5.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -101.9% 0.7% 104.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -26.3% 0.5% 96.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -167.8% -6.3% 211.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -35.6% -3.6% 110.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricKMTLECOSWK
Gross margin 41.2% 35.5% 31.9%
EBITDA margin 26.1% 19.5% 11.9%
Operating margin 20.1% 17.3% 8.6%
Pretax margin 19.6% 16.2% 5.6%
Net margin 14.5% 12.4% 4.1%
FCF margin -3.4% 11.0% 8.5%
Operating cash flow margin -0.2% 14.4% 10.2%
Return on equity 23.3% 37.0% 6.9%
Return on assets 11.9% 14.9% 3.0%
Return on invested capital 16.5% 22.6% 6.6%
Return on capital employed 20.8% 27.7% 8.0%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.2x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.0x 1.2x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 1.5% 0.5% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricKMTLECOSWK
Debt / assets 22.7% 29.5% 23.7%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.7x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 1.0x 2.3x
Debt / FCF -8.9x 2.2x 3.7x
Liabilities / assets 49.1% 60.1% 55.4%
Equity / assets 50.9% 39.9% 44.6%
Interest coverage 16.5x – 2.8x
Current ratio 2.6x 1.9x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.7x 1.0x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.3x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 3.08 7.69 2.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricKMTLECOSWK
Dividend yield 3.0% 1.1% 2.8%
Net buyback yield 0.9% 1.8% 1.5%
Shareholder yield 3.9% 2.9% 4.3%
Payout ratio (earnings) 17.4% 30.0% 81.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) -75.2% 33.7% 39.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) -1.6% 3.5% 1.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -1.9% 6.3% 1.9%

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.

ConsensusKMTLECOSWK
Forward P/E 5.0xFY2027 24.0xFY2026 20.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $5.25FY2027 $11.62FY2026 $5.81FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +14.9%FY2027 +17.7%FY2026 +24.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -57.9% +0.4% +5.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $3.22BFY2027 $4.84BFY2026 $16.13BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +36.5%FY2027 +14.5%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.7% +5.5% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersKMTLECOSWK
Held by institutions 100.0% 81.3% 95.7%
Institutions holding 337 705 773
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.5% +5.5% +5.3%
Institutions buying 198 299 418
Institutions selling 95 266 244
Buyers to sellers 2.08 1.12 1.71

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.

KMTLECOSWK
KMT 1.00 0.54 0.30
LECO 0.54 1.00 0.52
SWK 0.30 0.52 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, KMT, LECO and SWK?

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) is the largest by market capitalisation: Kennametal (KMT) $2.01B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.13B, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) $17.86B.

Which stock is cheaper, KMT, LECO and SWK?

Kennametal (KMT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Kennametal (KMT) 5.9x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 26.4x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 28.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Kennametal (KMT) is cheapest (Kennametal (KMT) 5.0x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 24.0x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 20.4x). 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%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +0.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Kennametal (KMT) has the highest net margin (Kennametal (KMT) 14.5%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 4.1%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (Kennametal (KMT) 16.5%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.6%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 6.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) returned the most: Kennametal (KMT) +19.0%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +24.1%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +77.5%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Kennametal (KMT) -7.4%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +14.3%/yr, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) -8.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Kennametal (KMT) has the highest dividend yield: Kennametal (KMT) 3.04%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 1.13%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 2.82%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has been the steadiest (Kennametal (KMT) 47.2%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 30.9%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 38.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.