LECO vs PRLB vs SSYS Stock Comparison

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Proto Labs and Stratasys Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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PRLB Proto Labs Inc
$91.00 -6.1% 1M +70.1% 1Y
Market cap
$2.01B
P/E
66.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$560.54M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
2 wins
SSYS Stratasys Ltd.
$7.15 -14.9% 1M -38.0% 1Y
Market cap
$588.35M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$547.27M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

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

QuestionLECOPRLBSSYSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $15.53B $2.01B $588.35M LECO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 27.0x 66.0x -12.8x LECO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 24.1x 39.7x 71.5x LECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.1% +10.2% -3.1% LECO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.4% 5.4% -8.4% LECO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.6% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +16.6% +70.1% -38.0% PRLB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +14.5%/yr +8.8%/yr -25.7%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 30.8% 46.9% 47.7% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 55/100 60/100 37/100 PRLB

Percentile Scorecard

LECOPRLBSSYS

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

AxisLECOPRLBSSYS
Valuation 36 #130 of 203 32 #138 of 203 36 #131 of 203
Growth 43 #107 of 188 83 #32 of 188 21 #148 of 188
Profitability 95 #11 of 184 49 #94 of 184 13 #161 of 184
Financial Health 45 #119 of 217 95 #11 of 217 79 #46 of 217
Shareholder Returns 57 #66 of 153 38 #96 of 153 –
Overall 55 60 37
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • PRLB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SSYS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLECOPRLBSSYSSPY
1 month +3.5%-6.1%-14.9% +0.9%
3 months +8.8%+27.6%-6.8% +5.9%
6 months +9.0%+46.2%-15.6% +8.5%
Year to date +17.1%+79.9%-17.6% +13.3%
1 year +16.6%+70.1%-38.0% +12.4%
3 years +62.5%+290.9%-30.2% +88.1%
3 years, per year +17.6%+57.6%-11.3% +23.5%
5 years +97.0%+52.1%-77.3% +68.2%
5 years, per year +14.5%+8.8%-25.7% +11.0%
10 years +328.4%+104.7%-62.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year +15.7%+7.4%-9.3% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureLECOPRLBSSYSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 30.8%46.9%47.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.2%39.1%46.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.182.082.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.541.50-0.80 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.3%-65.6%-83.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -6.1%-7.7%-38.5% -0.9%
52-week high $298.88$98.64$11.62 $779.14
52-week low $220.64$46.81$6.80 $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.

MultipleLECOPRLBSSYS
P/E now vs peer median 26.5xmedian 25.4x 71.6xmedian 25.4x -12.7xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 1.9x 3.9xmedian 1.9x 1.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.7xmedian 14.3x 29.3xmedian 14.3x -12.2xmedian 14.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 29.7xmedian 21.8x 38.4xmedian 21.8x -26.5xmedian 21.8x
P/B now vs peer median 9.8xmedian 2.2x 3.1xmedian 2.2x 0.8xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 3.80median 1.41 2.24median 1.41 -29.23median 1.41

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 monthsLECOPRLBSSYS
Revenue $4.64B $560.54M $547.27M
Gross profit $1.65B $254.60M $221.15M
Operating income $802.52M $36.81M -$83.46M
Net income $575.27M $30.48M -$115.18M
Free cash flow $511.89M $56.66M -$23.24M
R&D – $42.36M $77.20M
EPS (diluted) $10.48 $1.25 $-0.56
Cash & equivalents $283.24M $127.92M $92.53M
Total debt $1.15B – –
Shares (diluted) 54.87M 24.42M 82.30M
Enterprise value $14.39B $1.48B -$361.46M

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
MetricLECOPRLBSSYS
P/E 26.5x 71.6x -12.7x
P/FCF 29.7x 38.4x -26.5x
P/Operating cash flow 22.8x 27.7x -134.4x
P/S 3.3x 3.9x 1.1x
P/B 9.8x 3.1x 0.8x
P/Tangible book 9.8x 3.2x 0.8x
EV/EBITDA 17.7x 29.3x -12.2x
EV/EBIT 20.0x 55.3x -4.8x
EV/Revenue 3.5x 3.6x 0.7x
EV/FCF 31.4x 35.9x -17.3x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.1x 25.9x -88.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.80 2.24 -29.23

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLECOPRLBSSYS
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.1% 10.2% -3.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.5% 4.9% -4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7.7% 13.3% -12.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.5% 6.8% -6.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 12.9% 121.9% -30.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 33.2% -9.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 9.6% 105.8% -17.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 4.9% 31.6% -37.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.0% 103.1% 59.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 32.0% 0.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 0.7% 10.6% -172.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 0.5% 7.7% 61.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -6.3% -14.0% -116.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -3.6% 11.9% 36.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLECOPRLBSSYS
Gross margin 35.5% 45.4% 40.4%
EBITDA margin 19.5% 12.4% -6.1%
Operating margin 17.3% 6.6% -15.3%
Pretax margin 16.2% 7.6% -13.1%
Net margin 12.4% 5.4% -8.4%
FCF margin 11.0% 10.1% -4.2%
Operating cash flow margin 14.4% 14.0% -0.8%
Return on equity 37.0% 4.4% -14.0%
Return on assets 14.9% 3.9% -10.9%
Return on invested capital 22.6% – –
Return on capital employed 27.7% 5.2% -9.3%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.7x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 2.6x 0.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 2.6% 4.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLECOPRLBSSYS
Debt / assets 29.5% – –
Debt / equity 0.7x – –
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x – –
Debt / FCF 2.2x – –
Liabilities / assets 60.1% 12.6% 22.0%
Equity / assets 39.9% 87.4% 78.0%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 1.9x 3.6x 3.5x
Quick ratio 1.0x 3.2x 2.3x
Cash ratio 0.3x 2.0x 1.3x
Altman Z-score 7.71 14.72 -0.98

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLECOPRLBSSYS
Dividend yield 1.1% – –
Net buyback yield 1.8% 0.6% –
Shareholder yield 2.9% 0.6% –
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.

ConsensusLECOPRLBSSYS
Forward P/E 24.1xFY2026 39.7xFY2026 71.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $11.62FY2026 $2.29FY2026 $0.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +38.0%FY2026 -33.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +0.4% +10.0% +100.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.84BFY2026 $612.40MFY2026 $582.47MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.5%FY2026 +14.9%FY2026 +5.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.5% +4.8% +6.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLECOPRLBSSYS
Held by institutions 81.3% 93.7% 50.8%
Institutions holding 701 276 150
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +1.7% +7.3%
Institutions buying 297 145 79
Institutions selling 266 89 29
Buyers to sellers 1.12 1.63 2.72

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.

LECOPRLBSSYS
LECO 1.00 0.50 0.40
PRLB 0.50 1.00 0.66
SSYS 0.40 0.66 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LECO, PRLB and SSYS?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.53B, Proto Labs (PRLB) $2.01B, Stratasys (SSYS) $588.35M.

Which stock is cheaper, LECO, PRLB and SSYS?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 27.0x, Proto Labs (PRLB) 66.0x, Stratasys (SSYS) -12.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is cheapest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 24.1x, Proto Labs (PRLB) 39.7x, Stratasys (SSYS) 71.5x). 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%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +10.2%, Stratasys (SSYS) -3.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has the highest net margin (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 5.4%, Stratasys (SSYS) -8.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Proto Labs (PRLB) returned the most: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +16.6%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +70.1%, Stratasys (SSYS) -38.0%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +14.5%/yr, Proto Labs (PRLB) +8.8%/yr, Stratasys (SSYS) -25.7%/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%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 0.00%, Stratasys (SSYS) 0.00%. Proto Labs (PRLB) and Stratasys (SSYS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has been the steadiest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 30.8%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 46.9%, Stratasys (SSYS) 47.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LECO, PRLB and SSYS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 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.