PRLB vs SSYS vs LECO Stock Comparison

Proto Labs, Stratasys and Lincoln Electric Holdings Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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PRLB Proto Labs Inc
$89.35 -7.2% 1M +64.4% 1Y
Market cap
$2.17B
P/E
71.3x
Revenue (TTM)
$560.54M
Div. yield
–
3D Printing Industrials
2 wins
SSYS Stratasys Ltd.
$7.16 -13.3% 1M -39.9% 1Y
Market cap
$583.84M
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.

QuestionPRLBSSYSLECOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $2.17B $583.84M $15.27B LECO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 71.3x -12.7x 26.6x LECO
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 39.0x 71.6x 24.3x LECO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +10.2% -3.1% +11.1% LECO
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.4% -8.4% 12.4% LECO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 22.6% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 1.0x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.01% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +64.4% -39.9% +16.6% PRLB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +8.8%/yr -25.4%/yr +15.0%/yr LECO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 46.9% 47.8% 30.8% LECO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 59/100 37/100 54/100 PRLB

Percentile Scorecard

PRLBSSYSLECO

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

AxisPRLBSSYSLECO
Valuation 32 #138 of 203 36 #131 of 203 36 #130 of 203
Growth 83 #32 of 188 22 #147 of 188 44 #106 of 188
Profitability 50 #93 of 183 13 #160 of 183 94 #12 of 183
Financial Health 95 #11 of 217 80 #45 of 217 44 #121 of 217
Shareholder Returns 35 #100 of 153 – 54 #71 of 153
Overall 59 37 54
  • PRLB ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • SSYS ranked among 222 companies in Machinery
  • LECO ranked among 222 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodPRLBSSYSLECOSPY
1 month -7.2%-13.3%+3.9% -0.2%
3 months +19.3%-9.9%+5.7% +3.9%
6 months +40.3%-16.5%+8.6% +8.2%
Year to date +76.6%-17.5%+17.8% +12.9%
1 year +64.4%-39.9%+16.6% +12.3%
3 years +283.8%-30.1%+63.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +56.6%-11.3%+17.8% +23.3%
5 years +52.4%-76.9%+101.1% +67.9%
5 years, per year +8.8%-25.4%+15.0% +10.9%
10 years +90.7%-63.2%+331.4% +261.1%
10 years, per year +6.7%-9.5%+15.7% +13.7%

Risk

MeasurePRLBSSYSLECOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 46.9%47.8%30.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 39.0%46.9%31.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.072.221.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.37-0.830.54 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -65.6%-83.4%-35.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -9.4%-39.9%-5.5% -1.2%
52-week high $98.64$11.91$298.88 $779.14
52-week low $46.81$6.80$220.64 $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.

MultiplePRLBSSYSLECO
P/E now vs peer median 70.3xmedian 25.2x -12.7xmedian 25.2x 26.7xmedian 25.2x
P/S now vs peer median 3.8xmedian 1.9x 1.1xmedian 1.9x 3.3xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 28.7xmedian 14.0x -12.2xmedian 14.0x 17.8xmedian 14.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 37.7xmedian 21.7x -26.5xmedian 21.7x 29.9xmedian 21.7x
P/B now vs peer median 3.1xmedian 2.3x 0.8xmedian 2.3x 9.8xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median 2.20median 1.32 -29.27median 1.32 3.82median 1.32

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 monthsPRLBSSYSLECO
Revenue $560.54M $547.27M $4.64B
Gross profit $254.60M $221.15M $1.65B
Operating income $36.81M -$83.46M $802.52M
Net income $30.48M -$115.18M $575.27M
Free cash flow $56.66M -$23.24M $511.89M
R&D $42.36M $77.20M –
EPS (diluted) $1.25 $-0.56 $10.48
Cash & equivalents $127.92M $92.53M $283.24M
Total debt – – $1.15B
Shares (diluted) 24.42M 82.30M 54.87M
Enterprise value $1.65B -$365.98M $14.14B

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
MetricPRLBSSYSLECO
P/E 70.3x -12.7x 26.7x
P/FCF 37.7x -26.5x 29.9x
P/Operating cash flow 27.2x -134.6x 22.9x
P/S 3.8x 1.1x 3.3x
P/B 3.1x 0.8x 9.8x
P/Tangible book 3.2x 0.8x 9.8x
EV/EBITDA 28.7x -12.2x 17.8x
EV/EBIT 54.2x -4.8x 20.1x
EV/Revenue 3.6x 0.7x 3.5x
EV/FCF 35.2x -17.4x 31.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 25.4x -88.2x 24.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 2.20 -29.27 3.82

Growth

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

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricPRLBSSYSLECO
Debt / assets – – 29.5%
Debt / equity – – 0.7x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 1.0x
Debt / FCF – – 2.2x
Liabilities / assets 12.6% 22.0% 60.1%
Equity / assets 87.4% 78.0% 39.9%
Interest coverage – – –
Current ratio 3.6x 3.5x 1.9x
Quick ratio 3.2x 2.3x 1.0x
Cash ratio 2.0x 1.3x 0.3x
Altman Z-score 14.49 -0.97 7.74

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusPRLBSSYSLECO
Forward P/E 39.0xFY2026 71.6xFY2026 24.3xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.29FY2026 $0.10FY2026 $11.62FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +38.0%FY2026 -33.3%FY2026 +17.7%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +10.0% +100.0% +0.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $612.40MFY2026 $582.47MFY2026 $4.84BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.9%FY2026 +5.7%FY2026 +14.5%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.8% +6.8% +5.5%

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

PRLBSSYSLECO
PRLB 1.00 0.66 0.50
SSYS 0.66 1.00 0.40
LECO 0.50 0.40 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, PRLB, SSYS and LECO?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Proto Labs (PRLB) $2.17B, Stratasys (SSYS) $583.84M, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) $15.27B.

Which stock is cheaper, PRLB, SSYS and LECO?

Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Proto Labs (PRLB) 71.3x, Stratasys (SSYS) -12.7x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 26.6x). On next year's consensus earnings, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is cheapest (Proto Labs (PRLB) 39.0x, Stratasys (SSYS) 71.6x, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 24.3x). 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: Proto Labs (PRLB) +10.2%, Stratasys (SSYS) -3.1%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +11.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Proto Labs (PRLB) returned the most: Proto Labs (PRLB) +64.4%, Stratasys (SSYS) -39.9%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +16.6%. Over five years, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) compounded fastest (Proto Labs (PRLB) +8.8%/yr, Stratasys (SSYS) -25.4%/yr, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) +15.0%/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%, Stratasys (SSYS) 0.00%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 0.01%. 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 (Proto Labs (PRLB) 46.9%, Stratasys (SSYS) 47.8%, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) 30.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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.