LECO vs ITW vs SWK Stock Comparison

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Illinois Tool Works and Stanley Black & Decker Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc
$275.75 +0.8% 1M +7.1% 1Y
Market cap
$79.10B
P/E
24.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$16.47B
Div. yield
0.02%
Industrial Machinery Industrials
4 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Stanley Black & Decker leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Stanley Black & Decker 5, Illinois Tool Works 4, Lincoln Electric Holdings 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLECOITWSWKLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.14B $79.10B $14.91B ITW
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.5x 24.8x 24.0x SWK
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.0x 25.8x 17.1x SWK
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% +4.3% +0.6% LECO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.4% 19.4% 4.1% ITW
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.4% 27.1% -47.8% ITW
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 1.9x -0.5x SWK
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.02% 0.03% SWK
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +5.7% +7.1% +41.0% SWK
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.1%/yr +4.2%/yr -12.0%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.5% 21.8% 36.6% ITW
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 48/100 49/100 LECO

Percentile Scorecard

LECOITWSWK

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

AxisLECOITWSWK
Valuation 39 #124 of 203 24 #154 of 203 72 #57 of 203
Growth 50 #94 of 188 33 #127 of 188 74 #50 of 188
Profitability 95 #11 of 187 100 #2 of 187 33 #125 of 187
Financial Health 46 #121 of 222 23 #172 of 222 21 #176 of 222
Shareholder Returns 56 #68 of 153 60 #62 of 153 45 #84 of 153
Overall 57 48 49
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • ITW ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SWK ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLECOITWSWKSPY
1 month -3.6%+0.8%+8.2% -1.0%
3 months +1.8%-2.6%+8.8% +2.9%
6 months -1.6%+2.4%+29.5% +6.4%
Year to date +6.8%+12.0%+33.7% +11.4%
1 year +5.7%+7.1%+41.0% +13.1%
3 years +52.4%+23.6%+25.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +15.1%+7.3%+7.8% +21.5%
5 years +77.1%+22.8%-47.2% +67.7%
5 years, per year +12.1%+4.2%-12.0% +10.9%
10 years +283.8%+143.9%-17.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +14.4%+9.3%-1.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureLECOITWSWKSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.5%21.8%36.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.1%21.8%32.3% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.140.451.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.190.331.12 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.3%-28.9%-71.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.4%-8.0%-4.5% -2.5%
52-week high $298.88$299.60$104.00 $779.14
52-week low $220.64$241.07$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.

MultipleLECOITWSWK
P/E now vs peer median 25.3xmedian 25.9x 24.7xmedian 25.9x 24.0xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 1.9x 4.8xmedian 1.9x 1.0xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 13.7x 18.3xmedian 13.7x -2.1xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 21.1x 26.9xmedian 21.1x 11.6xmedian 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 9.0xmedian 2.3x 27.1xmedian 2.3x 1.7xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.59median 1.19 8.36median 1.19 -4.57median 1.19

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 monthsLECOITWSWK
Revenue $4.48B $16.47B $15.25B
Gross profit $1.61B $7.27B $4.86B
Operating income $767.80M $4.36B -$9.54B
Net income $553.55M $3.19B $620.50M
Free cash flow $542.40M $2.92B $1.29B
EPS (diluted) $10.05 $11.13 $4.12
Cash & equivalents $242.44M $839.00M $592.40M
Total debt $5.00B $9.69B $4.76B
Shares (diluted) 55.10M 287.00M 150.65M
Enterprise value $12.99B $75.66B $13.43B

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
MetricLECOITWSWK
P/E 25.3x 24.7x 24.0x
P/FCF 25.7x 26.9x 11.6x
P/Operating cash flow 20.3x 23.6x 9.7x
P/S 3.1x 4.8x 1.0x
P/B 9.0x 27.1x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 9.0x 33.6x 2.5x
EV/EBITDA 17.1x 18.3x -2.1x
EV/EBIT 19.4x 20.0x -2.0x
EV/Revenue 3.3x 5.3x 1.3x
EV/FCF 27.4x 29.9x 14.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 21.6x 26.2x 12.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.59 8.36 -4.57

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLECOITWSWK
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% 4.3% 0.6%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 0.8% -2.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.0% 5.3% 9.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 2.7% 11.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.0% 6.4% 7.8%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 3.4% 9.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 10.1% -5.1% 29.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 1.0% -7.7%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.8% -3.1% 30.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 3.0% -5.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.1% 5.8% 104.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 3.1% 96.8%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.4% 7.2% 211.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 4.1% 110.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLECOITWSWK
Gross margin 36.0% 44.2% 31.9%
EBITDA margin 19.4% 28.9% -59.3%
Operating margin 17.1% 26.5% -62.5%
Pretax margin 16.1% 25.0% 5.6%
Net margin 12.4% 19.4% 4.1%
FCF margin 12.1% 17.7% 8.5%
Operating cash flow margin 15.3% 20.2% 10.2%
Return on equity 36.1% 104.3% 6.9%
Return on assets 14.4% 19.5% 3.0%
Return on invested capital 21.4% 27.1% -47.8%
Return on capital employed 25.9% 41.9% -58.1%
Asset turnover 1.2x 1.0x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.0x 2.5x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 0.4% 0.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLECOITWSWK
Debt / assets 30.2% 58.8% 23.7%
Debt / equity 0.7x 3.3x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 1.9x -0.5x
Debt / FCF 2.1x 3.3x 3.7x
Liabilities / assets 59.2% 82.4% 55.4%
Equity / assets 40.8% 17.6% 44.6%
Interest coverage – 14.5x -20.3x
Current ratio 2.0x 1.1x 1.4x
Quick ratio 1.0x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.1x 0.1x
Altman Z-score 7.49 8.00 0.70

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLECOITWSWK
Dividend yield 1.2% 2.4% 3.4%
Net buyback yield 1.6% 2.3% 1.8%
Shareholder yield 2.8% 4.7% 5.1%
Payout ratio (earnings) 30.9% 57.4% 81.0%
Payout ratio (FCF) 31.5% 62.8% 39.0%
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.3% 5.5% 1.3%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 5.1% 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.

ConsensusLECOITWSWK
Forward P/E 22.0xFY2026 25.8xFY2026 17.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.62FY2026 $10.67FY2026 $5.80FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +1.7%FY2026 +24.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +0.4% +19.3% +5.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.83BFY2026 $16.46BFY2026 $16.12BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.3%FY2026 +2.6%FY2026 +6.6%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.7% +11.4% +0.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLECOITWSWK
Held by institutions 81.3% 84.9% 95.7%
Institutions holding 701 1,969 771
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +0.8% +5.3%
Institutions buying 297 846 417
Institutions selling 266 750 243
Buyers to sellers 1.12 1.13 1.72

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.

LECOITWSWK
LECO 1.00 0.64 0.59
ITW 0.64 1.00 0.62
SWK 0.59 0.62 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LECO, ITW and SWK?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $14.14B, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) $79.10B, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) $14.91B.

Which stock is cheaper, LECO, ITW and SWK?

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 25.5x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 24.8x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 24.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) is cheapest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.0x, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 25.8x, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 17.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +9.3%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.3%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +0.6%.

Which company is more profitable?

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has the highest net margin (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 19.4%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 4.1%). On return on invested capital, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) leads (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 21.4%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 27.1%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) -47.8%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) returned the most: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +5.7%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +7.1%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) +41.0%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +12.1%/yr, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) +4.2%/yr, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) -12.0%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) has the highest dividend yield: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 0.02%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 0.03%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) has been the steadiest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 29.5%, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) 21.8%, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 36.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LECO, ITW 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, Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) 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.