LECO vs PRLB vs VELO Stock Comparison

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Proto Labs and Velo3D Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
PRLB Proto Labs Inc
$85.54 -4.2% 1M +54.8% 1Y
Market cap
$2.07B
P/E
67.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$560.54M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
2 wins
VELO Velo3D, Inc.
$6.64 -39.5% 1M +19.6% 1Y
Market cap
$191.41M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$57.32M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
1 win

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Lincoln Electric Holdings leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Lincoln Electric Holdings 8, Proto Labs 2, Velo3D 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLECOPRLBVELOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $14.14B $2.07B $191.41M LECO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 25.5x 67.8x -3.3x LECO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 22.0x 37.4x — LECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +9.3% +10.2% +31.0% VELO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 12.4% 5.4% -100.9% LECO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 21.4% — -48.6% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.0x — 1.6x LECO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.01% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +5.7% +54.8% +19.6% PRLB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +12.1%/yr +3.7%/yr -72.6%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 29.5% 46.8% 168.1% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 59/100 40/100 PRLB

Percentile Scorecard

LECOPRLBVELO

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

AxisLECOPRLBVELO
Valuation 39 #124 of 203 34 #135 of 203 20 #163 of 203
Growth 50 #94 of 188 83 #32 of 188 54 #87 of 188
Profitability 95 #11 of 187 52 #91 of 187 5 #177 of 187
Financial Health 46 #121 of 222 96 #11 of 222 79 #47 of 222
Shareholder Returns 56 #68 of 153 32 #104 of 153 –
Overall 57 59 40
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • PRLB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • VELO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodLECOPRLBVELOSPY
1 month -3.6%-4.2%-39.5% -1.0%
3 months +1.8%+9.2%-31.3% +2.9%
6 months -1.6%+32.4%-61.8% +6.4%
Year to date +6.8%+69.1%-51.7% +11.4%
1 year +5.7%+54.8%+19.6% +13.1%
3 years +52.4%+251.1%-99.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +15.1%+52.0%-79.1% +21.5%
5 years +77.1%+19.7%-99.8% +67.7%
5 years, per year +12.1%+3.7%-72.6% +10.9%
10 years +283.8%+59.8%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +14.4%+4.8%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureLECOPRLBVELOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 29.5%46.8%168.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 31.1%38.7%146.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.142.034.25 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.191.170.12 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -35.3%-71.4%-100.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -14.4%-13.3%-78.3% -2.5%
52-week high $298.88$98.64$30.61 $779.14
52-week low $220.64$46.81$4.15 $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.

MultipleLECOPRLBVELO
P/E now vs peer median 25.3xmedian 25.9x 67.3xmedian 25.9x -3.4xmedian 25.9x
P/S now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 1.9x 3.7xmedian 1.9x 3.7xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 17.1xmedian 13.7x 27.4xmedian 13.7x -2.5xmedian 13.7x
P/FCF now vs peer median 25.7xmedian 21.1x 36.1xmedian 21.1x —median 21.1x
P/B now vs peer median 9.0xmedian 2.3x 3.0xmedian 2.3x 1.5xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 3.59median 1.19 2.10median 1.19 -0.04median 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 monthsLECOPRLBVELO
Revenue $4.48B $560.54M $57.32M
Gross profit $1.61B $254.60M -$3.66M
Operating income $767.80M $36.81M -$54.46M
Net income $553.55M $30.48M -$57.86M
Free cash flow $542.40M $56.66M –
R&D – $42.36M $12.92M
EPS (diluted) $10.05 $1.25 $-1.96
Cash & equivalents $242.44M $127.92M $91.14M
Total debt $5.00B – $84.68M
Shares (diluted) 55.10M 24.42M 29.45M
Enterprise value $12.99B $1.54B $76.67M

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
MetricLECOPRLBVELO
P/E 25.3x 67.3x -3.4x
P/FCF 25.7x 36.1x –
P/Operating cash flow 20.3x 26.1x –
P/S 3.1x 3.7x 3.7x
P/B 9.0x 3.0x 1.5x
P/Tangible book 9.0x 3.0x 1.5x
EV/EBITDA 17.1x 27.4x -2.5x
EV/EBIT 19.4x 51.7x -2.4x
EV/Revenue 3.3x 3.4x 2.3x
EV/FCF 27.4x 33.6x –
EV/Operating cash flow 21.6x 24.2x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 3.59 2.10 -0.04

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLECOPRLBVELO
Revenue growth (1Y) 9.3% 10.2% 31.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.2% 4.9% -16.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.0% 13.3% -233.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.2% 6.8% -40.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 13.0% 121.9% 11.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 33.2% 18.8%
Net income growth (1Y) 10.1% 105.8% 29.0%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.0% 31.6% 20.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 11.8% 103.1% 66.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.0% 32.0% 81.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 10.1% 10.6% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 7.7% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 7.4% -14.0% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 3.7% 11.9% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLECOPRLBVELO
Gross margin 36.0% 45.4% -6.4%
EBITDA margin 19.4% 12.4% -90.9%
Operating margin 17.1% 6.6% -95.0%
Pretax margin 16.1% 7.6% -100.8%
Net margin 12.4% 5.4% -100.9%
FCF margin 12.1% 10.1% –
Operating cash flow margin 15.3% 14.0% –
Return on equity 36.1% 4.4% -62.7%
Return on assets 14.4% 3.9% -37.9%
Return on invested capital 21.4% – -48.6%
Return on capital employed 25.9% 5.2% -42.5%
Asset turnover 1.2x 0.7x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x 2.6x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% 2.6% 15.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLECOPRLBVELO
Debt / assets 30.2% – 4.1%
Debt / equity 0.7x – 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.0x – 1.6x
Debt / FCF 2.1x – –
Liabilities / assets 59.2% 12.6% 26.8%
Equity / assets 40.8% 87.4% 73.2%
Interest coverage – – -15.7x
Current ratio 2.0x 3.6x 6.3x
Quick ratio 1.0x 3.2x 4.5x
Cash ratio 0.3x 2.0x 3.7x
Altman Z-score 7.49 13.94 -1.05

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLECOPRLBVELO
Dividend yield 1.2% – –
Net buyback yield 1.6% 0.6% –
Shareholder yield 2.8% 0.6% –
Payout ratio (earnings) 30.9% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 31.5% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 3.3% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 7.0% – –

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.

ConsensusLECOPRLBVELO
Forward P/E 22.0xFY2026 37.4xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $11.62FY2026 $2.29FY2026 $-1.09FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +38.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +0.4% +9.6% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $4.83BFY2026 $612.12MFY2026 $68.54MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.3%FY2026 +14.8%FY2026 +49.1%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +5.7% +4.8% +25.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLECOPRLBVELO
Held by institutions 81.3% 93.7% 41.1%
Institutions holding 701 276 135
Change in shares held, QoQ +5.5% +1.7% +84.8%
Institutions buying 297 145 115
Institutions selling 266 89 15
Buyers to sellers 1.12 1.63 7.67

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.

LECOPRLBVELO
LECO 1.00 0.50 0.23
PRLB 0.50 1.00 0.34
VELO 0.23 0.34 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LECO, PRLB and VELO?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $14.14B, Proto Labs (PRLB) $2.07B, Velo3D (VELO) $191.41M.

Which stock is cheaper, LECO, PRLB and VELO?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 25.5x, Proto Labs (PRLB) 67.8x, Velo3D (VELO) -3.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is cheapest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.0x, Proto Labs (PRLB) 37.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Velo3D (VELO) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +9.3%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +10.2%, Velo3D (VELO) +31.0%.

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%, Velo3D (VELO) -100.9%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 21.4%, Velo3D (VELO) -48.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Proto Labs (PRLB) returned the most: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +5.7%, Proto Labs (PRLB) +54.8%, Velo3D (VELO) +19.6%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +12.1%/yr, Proto Labs (PRLB) +3.7%/yr, Velo3D (VELO) -72.6%/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%, Velo3D (VELO) 0.00%. Proto Labs (PRLB) and Velo3D (VELO) 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) 29.5%, Proto Labs (PRLB) 46.8%, Velo3D (VELO) 168.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 8. 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.