LECO vs MSA vs SNA Stock Comparison

Lincoln Electric Holdings, MSA Safety and Snap-on Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
MSA MSA Safety Inc
$179.23 -1.8% 1M +7.5% 1Y
Market cap
$6.87B
P/E
21.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
4 wins
SNA Snap-on Inc
$357.43 -3.2% 1M +3.2% 1Y
Market cap
$18.51B
P/E
18.3x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
3 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

MSA Safety leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (MSA Safety 4, Lincoln Electric Holdings 4, Snap-on 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLECOMSASNALeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $15.30B $6.87B $18.51B SNA
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 26.6x 21.9x 18.3x SNA
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.3x 19.2x 19.5x MSA
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.1% +6.5% — LECO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.4% 16.1% — MSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.6% 15.9% — LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 0.8x — MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.6% +7.5% +3.2% LECO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +15.0%/yr +3.2%/yr +11.7%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.8% 25.5% 19.1% SNA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 54/100 78/100 65/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

LECOMSASNA

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

AxisLECOMSASNA
Valuation 36 #130 of 203 58 #86 of 203 53 #97 of 203
Growth 44 #106 of 188 86 #27 of 188 33 #127 of 188
Profitability 94 #12 of 183 97 #6 of 183 67 #61 of 183
Financial Health 44 #121 of 217 76 #54 of 217 86 #32 of 217
Shareholder Returns 54 #71 of 153 74 #40 of 153 88 #19 of 153
Overall 54 78 65
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SNA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLECOMSASNASPY
1 month +3.9%-1.8%-3.2% -0.2%
3 months +5.7%-0.3%-14.7% +3.9%
6 months +8.6%+7.2%-5.3% +8.2%
Year to date +17.8%+11.9%+3.7% +12.9%
1 year +16.6%+7.5%+3.2% +12.3%
3 years +63.5%+13.7%+41.6% +87.4%
3 years, per year +17.8%+4.4%+12.3% +23.3%
5 years +101.1%+16.9%+73.7% +67.9%
5 years, per year +15.0%+3.2%+11.7% +10.9%
10 years +331.4%+224.9%+132.5% +261.1%
10 years, per year +15.7%+12.5%+8.8% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureLECOMSASNASPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.8%25.5%19.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.2%24.1%19.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.180.810.58 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.540.290.17 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.3%-34.9%-21.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -5.5%-11.7%-14.7% -1.2%
52-week high $298.88$203.08$419.26 $779.14
52-week low $220.64$152.94$328.69 $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.

MultipleLECOMSASNA
P/E now vs peer median 26.7xmedian 25.2x 22.0xmedian 25.2x 18.3xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x 3.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.8xmedian 14.0x 15.0xmedian 14.0x —median 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.9xmedian 21.7x 19.5xmedian 21.7x 17.2xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 2.3x 4.9xmedian 2.3x 3.0xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.82median 1.32 0.12median 1.32 12.82median 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 monthsLECOMSASNA
Revenue $4.64B $1.95B –
Gross profit $1.65B $925.88M –
Operating income $802.52M $413.17M $1.31B
Net income $575.27M $314.01M $1.04B
Free cash flow $511.89M $354.30M –
R&D – $68.19M –
EPS (diluted) $10.48 $8.11 $19.25
Cash & equivalents $283.24M $200.06M $1.67B
Total debt $1.15B $599.74M –
Shares (diluted) 54.87M 38.70M 52.52M
Enterprise value $14.17B $6.15B $18.51B

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
MetricLECOMSASNA
P/E 26.7x 22.0x 18.3x
P/FCF 29.9x 19.5x 17.2x
P/Operating cash flow 22.9x 17.0x 16.0x
P/S 3.3x 3.6x 3.6x
P/B 9.8x 4.9x 3.0x
P/Tangible book 9.8x 6.2x 3.2x
EV/EBITDA 17.8x 15.0x –
EV/EBIT 20.1x 17.7x –
EV/Revenue 3.5x 3.8x –
EV/FCF 31.6x 20.7x –
EV/Operating cash flow 24.2x 18.0x 16.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.82 0.12 12.82

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLECOMSASNA
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.1% 6.5% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 5.2% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.7% 8.2% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 6.7% –
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.9% 10.8% -0.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 34.5% 0.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.6% 13.4% -0.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 186.8% 0.6%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.0% 15.3% 0.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 188.5% 1.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.7% 26.3% 4.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.5% 96.0% 2.7%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -6.3% 40.3% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.6% 72.1% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLECOMSASNA
Gross margin 35.5% 47.6% –
EBITDA margin 19.5% 25.1% –
Operating margin 17.3% 21.2% –
Pretax margin 16.2% 21.1% –
Net margin 12.4% 16.1% –
FCF margin 11.0% 18.2% –
Operating cash flow margin 14.4% 20.9% –
Return on equity 37.0% 22.8% 17.0%
Return on assets 14.9% 12.2% 12.0%
Return on invested capital 22.6% 15.9% –
Return on capital employed 27.7% 18.0% –
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.8x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 1.3x 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 1.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLECOMSASNA
Debt / assets 29.5% 23.1% –
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.4x –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x 0.8x –
Debt / FCF 2.2x 1.7x –
Liabilities / assets 60.1% 46.1% 29.3%
Equity / assets 39.9% 53.9% 70.7%
Interest coverage – 12.7x –
Current ratio 1.9x 3.2x 3.5x
Quick ratio 1.0x 1.9x –
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.7x –
Altman Z-score 7.74 5.92 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLECOMSASNA
Dividend yield 1.1% 1.2% 2.7%
Net buyback yield 1.8% 1.8% –
Shareholder yield 2.9% 3.0% 2.7%
Payout ratio (earnings) 30.0% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 33.7% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.5% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 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.

ConsensusLECOMSASNA
Forward P/E 24.3xFY2026 19.2xFY2026 19.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.62FY2026 $9.33FY2026 $18.35FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 -4.4%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +0.4% +3.4% +17.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.84BFY2026 $1.98BFY2026 $4.58BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.5%FY2026 +5.2%FY2026 -3.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.5% +19.6% +14.2%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLECOMSASNA
Held by institutions 81.3% 91.0% 96.3%
Institutions holding 701 457 1,069
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +3.0% +2.8%
Institutions buying 297 236 497
Institutions selling 266 147 370
Buyers to sellers 1.12 1.61 1.34

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.

LECOMSASNA
LECO 1.00 0.53 0.55
MSA 0.53 1.00 0.48
SNA 0.55 0.48 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LECO, MSA and SNA?

Snap-on (SNA) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.30B, MSA Safety (MSA) $6.87B, Snap-on (SNA) $18.51B.

Which stock is cheaper, LECO, MSA and SNA?

Snap-on (SNA) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 26.6x, MSA Safety (MSA) 21.9x, Snap-on (SNA) 18.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, MSA Safety (MSA) is cheapest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 24.3x, MSA Safety (MSA) 19.2x, Snap-on (SNA) 19.5x). 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) +11.1%, MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest net margin (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.6%, MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) returned the most: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +16.6%, MSA Safety (MSA) +7.5%, Snap-on (SNA) +3.2%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +15.0%/yr, MSA Safety (MSA) +3.2%/yr, Snap-on (SNA) +11.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%, MSA Safety (MSA) 0.00%, Snap-on (SNA) 0.00%. MSA Safety (MSA) and Snap-on (SNA) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Snap-on (SNA) has been the steadiest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 30.8%, MSA Safety (MSA) 25.5%, Snap-on (SNA) 19.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LECO, MSA and SNA?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, MSA Safety (MSA) leads on 4. 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.