PRLB vs GE vs SSYS Stock Comparison

Proto Labs, General Electric and Stratasys Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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PRLB Proto Labs Inc
$77.76 -18.6% 1M +47.6% 1Y
Market cap
$1.64B
P/E
46.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$579.49M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
3 wins
GE General Electric Co
$313.11 -1.6% 1M -0.4% 1Y
Market cap
$311.41B
P/E
34.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$52.58B
Div. yield
0.01%
Commercial Aerospace Industrials
6 wins
SSYS Stratasys Ltd.
$7.03 -17.4% 1M -36.7% 1Y
Market cap
$549.59M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$547.27M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

General Electric leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (General Electric 6, Proto Labs 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionPRLBGESSYSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.64B $311.41B $549.59M GE
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 46.9x 34.2x -12.0x GE
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 34.0x 41.3x 70.3x PRLB
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +19.6% -3.1% GE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 17.3% -8.4% GE
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — -38.7% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — -0.7x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.01% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +47.6% -0.4% -36.7% PRLB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +5.4%/yr +36.8%/yr -25.9%/yr GE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 49.5% 33.4% 47.6% GE
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 46/100 37/100 PRLB

Percentile Scorecard

PRLBGESSYS

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

AxisPRLBGESSYS
Valuation 41 #121 of 203 33 #67 of 100 35 #132 of 203
Growth 80 #38 of 188 33 #65 of 96 22 #147 of 188
Profitability 50 #92 of 183 57 #41 of 95 13 #160 of 183
Financial Health 95 #11 of 216 20 #84 of 105 79 #46 of 216
Shareholder Returns 27 #111 of 152 84 #11 of 65 –
Overall 59 46 37
  • PRLB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • GE ranked among 107 companies in Aerospace and Defense
  • SSYS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPRLBGESSYSSPY
1 month -18.6%-1.6%-17.4% +0.7%
3 months +3.7%-11.8%-12.5% +3.7%
6 months +20.0%+8.0%-20.7% +7.1%
Year to date +53.7%+1.6%-19.0% +12.8%
1 year +47.6%-0.4%-36.7% +11.9%
3 years +232.2%+257.3%-31.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year +49.2%+52.9%-12.0% +22.8%
5 years +30.0%+379.2%-77.7% +67.6%
5 years, per year +5.4%+36.8%-25.9% +10.9%
10 years +74.9%+123.6%-63.0% +262.0%
10 years, per year +5.8%+8.4%-9.5% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePRLBGESSYSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 49.5%33.4%47.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.3%35.3%46.4% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.121.202.23 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.96-0.01-0.77 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.6%-45.1%-83.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -21.2%-17.8%-39.5% -1.2%
52-week high $98.64$381.07$11.62 $779.14
52-week low $46.81$273.25$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.

MultiplePRLBGESSYS
P/E now vs peer median 53.3xmedian 25.8x 35.6xmedian 26.9x -12.5xmedian 25.8x
P/S now vs peer median 3.2xmedian 1.9x 6.2xmedian 3.0x 1.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 22.8xmedian 14.6x -21.8xmedian 15.0x -11.8xmedian 14.6x
P/FCF now vs peer median 38.2xmedian 22.2x 40.5xmedian 27.2x -26.1xmedian 22.2x
P/B now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 2.2x 18.2xmedian 2.5x 0.7xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.61median 1.45 -124.64median 0.93 -28.74median 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 monthsPRLBGESSYS
Revenue $579.49M $52.58B $547.27M
Gross profit $261.97M $18.52B $221.15M
Operating income $42.44M -$16.58B -$83.46M
Net income $35.02M $9.13B -$115.18M
Free cash flow $48.61M $7.99B -$23.24M
R&D $42.67M $1.81B $77.20M
EPS (diluted) $1.43 $8.74 $-0.56
Cash & equivalents $133.78M $8.76B $92.53M
Total debt – $19.33B –
Shares (diluted) 24.44M 1.04B 82.30M
Enterprise value $1.08B $269.93B -$400.22M

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
MetricPRLBGESSYS
P/E 53.3x 35.6x -12.5x
P/FCF 38.2x 40.5x -26.1x
P/Operating cash flow 25.7x 34.3x -132.1x
P/S 3.2x 6.2x 1.1x
P/B 2.6x 18.2x 0.7x
P/Tangible book 2.7x 23.6x 0.8x
EV/EBITDA 22.8x -21.8x -11.8x
EV/EBIT 40.2x -20.2x -4.7x
EV/Revenue 2.9x 6.4x 0.7x
EV/FCF 35.1x 41.8x -16.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 23.6x 35.4x -85.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.61 -124.64 -28.74

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPRLBGESSYS
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.8% 19.6% -3.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 7.2% -4.6%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.5% 11.7% -12.3%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 10.9% -6.6%
Operating income growth (1Y) 152.4% 13.2% -30.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.6% -98.5% -9.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 136.0% 13.2% -17.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 32.6% -3.4% -37.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 133.6% 15.5% 59.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.1% -0.3% 0.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -4.2% 21.4% -172.1%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 6.3% 61.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -28.2% 20.1% -116.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.8% 2.7% 36.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPRLBGESSYS
Gross margin 45.2% 35.2% 40.4%
EBITDA margin 12.9% -29.1% -6.1%
Operating margin 7.3% -31.5% -15.3%
Pretax margin 8.3% 20.3% -13.1%
Net margin 6.0% 17.3% -8.4%
FCF margin 8.4% 15.2% -4.2%
Operating cash flow margin 12.5% 17.9% -0.8%
Return on equity 5.0% 51.2% -14.0%
Return on assets 4.4% 7.2% -10.9%
Return on invested capital – -38.7% –
Return on capital employed 5.9% -19.5% -9.3%
Asset turnover 0.7x 0.4x 0.5x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 1.0x 0.0x
Stock comp / revenue 2.5% – 4.3%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPRLBGESSYS
Debt / assets – 15.2% –
Debt / equity – 1.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA – -0.7x –
Debt / FCF – 2.4x –
Liabilities / assets 13.1% 86.0% 22.0%
Equity / assets 86.9% 14.0% 78.0%
Interest coverage – -17.9x –
Current ratio 3.6x 1.0x 3.5x
Quick ratio 3.3x 0.6x 2.3x
Cash ratio 2.0x 0.2x 1.3x
Altman Z-score 12.13 2.77 -1.00

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPRLBGESSYS
Dividend yield – 0.6% –
Net buyback yield 0.3% 2.6% –
Shareholder yield 0.3% 3.2% –
Payout ratio (earnings) – 19.1% –
Payout ratio (FCF) – 21.8% –
Dividend growth (1Y) – 26.6% –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 36.5% –

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.

ConsensusPRLBGESSYS
Forward P/E 34.0xFY2026 41.3xFY2026 70.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.29FY2026 $7.59FY2026 $0.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +38.0%FY2026 +19.2%FY2026 -33.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.0% +28.1% +100.0%
Revenue, next fiscal year $612.40MFY2026 $54.10BFY2026 $582.47MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.9%FY2026 +27.8%FY2026 +5.7%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.8% +11.8% +6.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPRLBGESSYS
Held by institutions 93.7% 79.4% 50.8%
Institutions holding 277 3,444 150
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.7% +1.5% +7.3%
Institutions buying 146 1,831 79
Institutions selling 89 1,149 29
Buyers to sellers 1.64 1.59 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.

PRLBGESSYS
PRLB 1.00 0.30 0.64
GE 0.30 1.00 0.30
SSYS 0.64 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PRLB, GE and SSYS?

General Electric (GE) is the largest by market capitalisation: Proto Labs (PRLB) $1.64B, General Electric (GE) $311.41B, Stratasys (SSYS) $549.59M.

Which stock is cheaper, PRLB, GE and SSYS?

General Electric (GE) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Proto Labs (PRLB) 46.9x, General Electric (GE) 34.2x, Stratasys (SSYS) -12.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Proto Labs (PRLB) is cheapest (Proto Labs (PRLB) 34.0x, General Electric (GE) 41.3x, Stratasys (SSYS) 70.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

General Electric (GE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Proto Labs (PRLB) +11.8%, General Electric (GE) +19.6%, Stratasys (SSYS) -3.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

General Electric (GE) has the highest net margin (Proto Labs (PRLB) 6.0%, General Electric (GE) 17.3%, Stratasys (SSYS) -8.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Proto Labs (PRLB) returned the most: Proto Labs (PRLB) +47.6%, General Electric (GE) -0.4%, Stratasys (SSYS) -36.7%. Over five years, General Electric (GE) compounded fastest (Proto Labs (PRLB) +5.4%/yr, General Electric (GE) +36.8%/yr, Stratasys (SSYS) -25.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Proto Labs (PRLB) 0.00%, General Electric (GE) 0.01%, Stratasys (SSYS) 0.00%. Proto Labs (PRLB) and Stratasys (SSYS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, General Electric (GE) has been the steadiest (Proto Labs (PRLB) 49.5%, General Electric (GE) 33.4%, Stratasys (SSYS) 47.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PRLB, GE 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, General Electric (GE) leads on 6. 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.