PRLB vs LECO vs VELO Stock Comparison

Proto Labs, Lincoln Electric Holdings and Velo3D Prices as of Nov 4, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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PRLB Proto Labs Inc
$66.43 -32.7% 1M +37.6% 1Y
Market cap
$1.59B
P/E
45.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$579.49M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
2 wins
VELO Velo3D, Inc.
$5.64 -41.1% 1M +31.8% 1Y
Market cap
$181.32M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$57.56M
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.

QuestionPRLBLECOVELOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $1.59B $15.13B $181.32M LECO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 45.6x 26.4x -3.2x LECO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 29.0x 24.0x — LECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +11.8% +11.1% +31.5% VELO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 6.0% 12.4% -89.6% LECO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 22.6% -46.2% LECO
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 1.0x 1.8x LECO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 1.13% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +37.6% +24.1% +31.8% PRLB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.5%/yr +14.3%/yr -75.5%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 49.3% 30.9% 165.4% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 60/100 55/100 35/100 PRLB

Percentile Scorecard

PRLBLECOVELO

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

AxisPRLBLECOVELO
Valuation 47 #108 of 204 36 #131 of 204 10 #184 of 204
Growth 80 #40 of 191 46 #103 of 191 46 #104 of 191
Profitability 51 #94 of 189 94 #13 of 189 5 #180 of 189
Financial Health 94 #14 of 221 47 #118 of 221 78 #50 of 221
Shareholder Returns 27 #116 of 159 54 #73 of 159 –
Overall 60 55 35
  • PRLB ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • LECO ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • VELO ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPRLBLECOVELOSPY
1 month -32.7%+1.6%-41.1% -1.0%
3 months -26.5%0.0%-55.7% -0.4%
6 months -3.6%+1.6%-58.5% +4.5%
Year to date +31.3%+16.6%-59.0% +12.4%
1 year +37.6%+24.1%+31.8% +13.6%
3 years +109.6%+51.9%-99.2% +76.4%
3 years, per year +28.0%+15.0%-80.1% +20.8%
5 years +7.8%+94.9%-99.9% +63.7%
5 years, per year +1.5%+14.3%-75.5% +10.4%
10 years +48.4%+332.3%— +267.7%
10 years, per year +4.0%+15.8%— +13.9%

Risk

MeasurePRLBLECOVELOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 49.3%30.9%165.4% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 45.7%31.1%144.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.111.144.01 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.760.780.19 1.06
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.0%-35.3%-100.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -32.7%-6.5%-81.6% -1.6%
52-week high $98.64$298.88$30.61 $779.14
52-week low $46.81$220.64$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.

MultiplePRLBLECOVELO
P/E now vs peer median 45.6xmedian 25.5x 26.4xmedian 25.5x -3.2xmedian 25.5x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 1.9x 3.3xmedian 1.9x 3.2xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 19.2xmedian 14.4x 17.6xmedian 14.4x -2.1xmedian 14.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 32.6xmedian 23.3x 29.6xmedian 23.3x -3.1xmedian 23.3x
P/B now vs peer median 2.3xmedian 2.2x 9.7xmedian 2.2x 1.2xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median 1.38median 1.16 3.78median 1.16 -0.04median 1.16

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 monthsPRLBLECOVELO
Revenue $579.49M $4.64B $57.56M
Gross profit $261.97M $1.65B $310.00K
Operating income $42.44M $802.52M -$49.81M
Net income $35.02M $575.27M -$51.59M
Free cash flow $48.61M $511.89M -$58.67M
R&D $42.67M – $13.03M
EPS (diluted) $1.43 $10.48 $-1.75
Cash & equivalents $133.78M $283.24M $91.14M
Total debt – $1.15B $8.17M
Shares (diluted) 24.44M 54.87M 29.45M
Enterprise value $1.03B $13.99B $60.92M

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
MetricPRLBLECOVELO
P/E 45.6x 26.4x -3.2x
P/FCF 32.6x 29.6x -3.1x
P/Operating cash flow 22.0x 22.7x -3.4x
P/S 2.7x 3.3x 3.2x
P/B 2.3x 9.7x 1.2x
P/Tangible book 2.3x 9.7x 1.2x
EV/EBITDA 19.2x 17.6x -2.1x
EV/EBIT 33.8x 19.9x -2.0x
EV/Revenue 2.5x 3.4x 1.7x
EV/FCF 29.5x 31.2x -1.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.9x 24.0x -1.8x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 1.38 3.78 -0.04

Growth

14 metrics
MetricPRLBLECOVELO
Revenue growth (1Y) 11.8% 11.1% 31.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 5.4% 4.5% -16.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 14.5% 7.7% -88.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 6.8% 5.5% -59.5%
Operating income growth (1Y) 152.4% 12.9% 19.5%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 34.6% 7.0% 21.2%
Net income growth (1Y) 136.0% 9.6% 36.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 32.6% 4.9% 23.3%
EPS growth (1Y) 133.6% 11.0% 69.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 33.1% 7.0% 82.0%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -4.2% 0.7% -200.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 0.5% 22.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -28.2% -6.3% -200.1%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -1.8% -3.6% 21.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricPRLBLECOVELO
Gross margin 45.2% 35.5% 0.5%
EBITDA margin 12.9% 19.5% -81.1%
Operating margin 7.3% 17.3% -86.5%
Pretax margin 8.3% 16.2% -89.6%
Net margin 6.0% 12.4% -89.6%
FCF margin 8.4% 11.0% -101.9%
Operating cash flow margin 12.5% 14.4% -92.6%
Return on equity 5.0% 37.0% -52.1%
Return on assets 4.4% 14.9% -35.3%
Return on invested capital – 22.6% -46.2%
Return on capital employed 5.9% 27.7% -41.0%
Asset turnover 0.7x 1.2x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 2.1x 1.2x 1.0x
Stock comp / revenue 2.5% 0.5% 16.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPRLBLECOVELO
Debt / assets – 29.5% 4.1%
Debt / equity – 0.7x 0.1x
Net debt / EBITDA – 1.0x 1.8x
Debt / FCF – 2.2x -0.1x
Liabilities / assets 13.1% 60.1% 26.8%
Equity / assets 86.9% 39.9% 73.2%
Interest coverage – – -18.9x
Current ratio 3.6x 1.9x 6.3x
Quick ratio 3.3x 1.0x 4.5x
Cash ratio 2.0x 0.3x 3.7x
Altman Z-score 10.60 7.69 -1.33

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricPRLBLECOVELO
Dividend yield – 1.1% –
Net buyback yield 0.4% 1.8% –
Shareholder yield 0.4% 2.9% –
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.

ConsensusPRLBLECOVELO
Forward P/E 29.0xFY2026 24.0xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $2.29FY2026 $11.62FY2026 $-1.10FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +38.0%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +10.0% +0.4% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $612.40MFY2026 $4.84BFY2026 $68.16MFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.9%FY2026 +14.5%FY2026 +48.3%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.8% +5.5% +26.5%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersPRLBLECOVELO
Held by institutions 93.7% 81.3% 41.1%
Institutions holding 279 705 135
Change in shares held, QoQ +1.7% +5.5% +84.8%
Institutions buying 147 299 115
Institutions selling 89 266 15
Buyers to sellers 1.65 1.12 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.

PRLBLECOVELO
PRLB 1.00 0.46 0.34
LECO 0.46 1.00 0.22
VELO 0.34 0.22 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PRLB, LECO and VELO?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Proto Labs (PRLB) $1.59B, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.13B, Velo3D (VELO) $181.32M.

Which stock is cheaper, PRLB, LECO and VELO?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Proto Labs (PRLB) 45.6x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 26.4x, Velo3D (VELO) -3.2x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is cheapest (Proto Labs (PRLB) 29.0x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 24.0x). 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: Proto Labs (PRLB) +11.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +11.1%, Velo3D (VELO) +31.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has the highest net margin (Proto Labs (PRLB) 6.0%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 12.4%, Velo3D (VELO) -89.6%). On return on invested capital, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) leads (Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 22.6%, Velo3D (VELO) -46.2%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Proto Labs (PRLB) returned the most: Proto Labs (PRLB) +37.6%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +24.1%, Velo3D (VELO) +31.8%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Proto Labs (PRLB) +1.5%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +14.3%/yr, Velo3D (VELO) -75.5%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 1.13%. 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 (Proto Labs (PRLB) 49.3%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 30.9%, Velo3D (VELO) 165.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, PRLB, LECO 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.