MSA vs LECO vs VNT Stock Comparison

MSA Safety, Lincoln Electric Holdings and Vontier Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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MSA MSA Safety Inc
$179.16 -0.7% 1M +5.7% 1Y
Market cap
$6.89B
P/E
22.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.95B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
4 wins
VNT Vontier Corp
$35.90 +13.8% 1M -16.0% 1Y
Market cap
$4.90B
P/E
14.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$3.07B
Div. yield
–
Power Tools Industrials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Lincoln Electric Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Lincoln Electric Holdings 5, MSA Safety 4, Vontier 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionMSALECOVNTLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $6.89B $15.26B $4.90B LECO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 22.0x 26.5x 14.1x VNT
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 19.2x 24.5x 9.9x VNT
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +6.5% +11.1% +0.9% LECO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 16.1% 12.4% 11.3% MSA
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 15.9% 22.6% 14.5% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 1.0x 2.3x MSA
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +5.7% +21.3% -16.0% LECO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +3.2%/yr +14.8%/yr +1.2%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 25.1% 30.8% 31.6% MSA
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 80/100 56/100 59/100 MSA

Percentile Scorecard

MSALECOVNT

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

AxisMSALECOVNT
Valuation 59 #83 of 203 36 #131 of 203 84 #33 of 203
Growth 86 #27 of 188 46 #103 of 188 28 #135 of 188
Profitability 97 #7 of 183 95 #11 of 183 87 #25 of 183
Financial Health 75 #55 of 216 45 #120 of 216 17 #179 of 216
Shareholder Returns 82 #29 of 152 59 #63 of 152 78 #34 of 152
Overall 80 56 59
  • MSA ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • VNT ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodMSALECOVNTSPY
1 month -0.7%+5.0%+13.8% +0.7%
3 months +2.8%+13.6%+12.5% +3.7%
6 months +7.7%+7.3%+0.1% +7.1%
Year to date +11.9%+18.7%-3.4% +12.8%
1 year +5.7%+21.3%-16.0% +11.9%
3 years +13.3%+62.9%+22.5% +85.2%
3 years, per year +4.2%+17.7%+7.0% +22.8%
5 years +17.1%+99.7%+6.1% +67.6%
5 years, per year +3.2%+14.8%+1.2% +10.9%
10 years +224.3%+334.1%— +262.0%
10 years, per year +12.5%+15.8%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureMSALECOVNTSPY
Volatility, 1Y 25.1%30.8%31.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 23.9%31.1%35.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.811.181.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.230.69-0.51 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -34.9%-35.3%-51.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -11.8%-4.9%-16.0% -1.2%
52-week high $203.08$298.88$42.75 $779.14
52-week low $152.94$220.64$27.80 $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.

MultipleMSALECOVNT
P/E now vs peer median 22.0xmedian 25.8x 26.9xmedian 25.8x 14.4xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.6xmedian 1.9x 3.3xmedian 1.9x 1.6xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 15.0xmedian 14.6x 17.9xmedian 14.6x 9.4xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.5xmedian 22.2x 30.1xmedian 22.2x 12.7xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 2.2x 9.9xmedian 2.2x 4.1xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 0.12median 1.45 3.85median 1.45 1.55median 1.45

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 monthsMSALECOVNT
Revenue $1.95B $4.64B $3.07B
Gross profit $925.88M $1.65B $1.45B
Operating income $413.17M $802.52M $576.60M
Net income $314.01M $575.27M $348.00M
Free cash flow $354.30M $511.89M $384.80M
R&D $68.19M – $164.50M
EPS (diluted) $8.11 $10.48 $2.49
Cash & equivalents $200.06M $283.24M $265.80M
Total debt $599.74M $1.15B $1.90B
Shares (diluted) 38.70M 54.87M 139.80M
Enterprise value $6.18B $14.13B $3.48B

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
MetricMSALECOVNT
P/E 22.0x 26.9x 14.4x
P/FCF 19.5x 30.1x 12.7x
P/Operating cash flow 17.0x 23.1x 10.6x
P/S 3.6x 3.3x 1.6x
P/B 4.9x 9.9x 4.1x
P/Tangible book 6.2x 9.9x 5.6x
EV/EBITDA 15.0x 17.9x 9.4x
EV/EBIT 17.7x 20.3x 11.3x
EV/Revenue 3.8x 3.5x 2.1x
EV/FCF 20.6x 31.8x 17.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.0x 24.4x 14.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.12 3.85 1.55

Growth

14 metrics
MetricMSALECOVNT
Revenue growth (1Y) 6.5% 11.1% 0.9%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.2% 4.5% -1.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 8.2% 7.7% 0.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.7% 5.5% 0.0%
Operating income growth (1Y) 10.8% 12.9% 5.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.5% 7.0% 0.9%
Net income growth (1Y) 13.4% 9.6% -11.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 186.8% 4.9% 5.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 15.3% 11.0% -6.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 188.5% 7.0% 9.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 26.3% 0.7% -7.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 96.0% 0.5% 2.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 40.3% -6.3% -9.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 72.1% -3.6% 1.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricMSALECOVNT
Gross margin 47.6% 35.5% 47.2%
EBITDA margin 25.1% 19.5% 22.7%
Operating margin 21.2% 17.3% 18.8%
Pretax margin 21.1% 16.2% 14.4%
Net margin 16.1% 12.4% 11.3%
FCF margin 18.2% 11.0% 12.5%
Operating cash flow margin 20.9% 14.4% 15.1%
Return on equity 22.8% 37.0% 28.2%
Return on assets 12.2% 14.9% 8.5%
Return on invested capital 15.9% 22.6% 14.5%
Return on capital employed 18.0% 27.7% 18.8%
Asset turnover 0.8x 1.2x 0.8x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x 1.2x 1.3x
Stock comp / revenue 1.0% 0.5% 1.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricMSALECOVNT
Debt / assets 23.1% 29.5% 47.1%
Debt / equity 0.4x 0.7x 1.6x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.8x 1.0x 2.3x
Debt / FCF 1.7x 2.2x 4.9x
Liabilities / assets 46.1% 60.1% 70.2%
Equity / assets 53.9% 39.9% 29.8%
Interest coverage 12.7x – –
Current ratio 3.2x 1.9x 1.3x
Quick ratio 1.9x 1.0x 0.8x
Cash ratio 0.7x 0.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 5.92 7.76 3.06

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricMSALECOVNT
Dividend yield 1.2% 1.1% 0.3%
Net buyback yield 1.8% 1.8% 7.9%
Shareholder yield 3.0% 2.9% 8.2%
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.

ConsensusMSALECOVNT
Forward P/E 19.2xFY2026 24.5xFY2026 9.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $9.33FY2026 $11.62FY2026 $3.61FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +17.7%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 +12.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +3.4% +0.4% +7.2%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.98BFY2026 $4.84BFY2026 $3.11BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +5.2%FY2026 +14.5%FY2026 +1.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +19.6% +5.5% +3.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersMSALECOVNT
Held by institutions 91.0% 81.3% 100.0%
Institutions holding 457 702 462
Change in shares held, QoQ +3.0% +5.5% +4.5%
Institutions buying 236 298 181
Institutions selling 147 266 192
Buyers to sellers 1.61 1.12 0.94

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.

MSALECOVNT
MSA 1.00 0.59 0.51
LECO 0.59 1.00 0.57
VNT 0.51 0.57 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, MSA, LECO and VNT?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is the largest by market capitalisation: MSA Safety (MSA) $6.89B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.26B, Vontier (VNT) $4.90B.

Which stock is cheaper, MSA, LECO and VNT?

Vontier (VNT) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (MSA Safety (MSA) 22.0x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 26.5x, Vontier (VNT) 14.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, Vontier (VNT) is cheapest (MSA Safety (MSA) 19.2x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 24.5x, Vontier (VNT) 9.9x). 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: MSA Safety (MSA) +6.5%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +11.1%, Vontier (VNT) +0.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

MSA Safety (MSA) has the highest net margin (MSA Safety (MSA) 16.1%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, Vontier (VNT) 11.3%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (MSA Safety (MSA) 15.9%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.6%, Vontier (VNT) 14.5%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) returned the most: MSA Safety (MSA) +5.7%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +21.3%, Vontier (VNT) -16.0%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (MSA Safety (MSA) +3.2%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +14.8%/yr, Vontier (VNT) +1.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

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

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, MSA Safety (MSA) has been the steadiest (MSA Safety (MSA) 25.1%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 30.8%, Vontier (VNT) 31.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 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.