One-glance verdict
Within fair range
$189.22 our estimate vs market $253.06
Wall Street consensus: $304.91 (61.1% higher than our fair-value estimate)
34% above our estimate
Fundamentals snapshot
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.
LECO · NMS · Industrials · Tools & Accessories
Current price
$253.06
52-week range
$216.22 - $310.00
Market cap
$13.79B
Balance sheet
Watch
14.28x Strong cushion
Net debt $959.68M. Interest coverage shows how many times profit covers the interest bill.
What stands out
3 Rewards
1 Risk
3 rewards · 1 risks
- Reward Revenue grew 5.9% last year.
- Reward Returns 37.7% on equity, ahead of 66% of its peers.
- Reward Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
- Risk Stock trades 12.6% above its 5-year average P/E.
What this company does
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.
Lincoln Electric makes the tools and materials used for welding, cutting, and joining metal, selling everything from handheld welders to large robotic systems. The company earns its money from sales to foundational industries like construction, manufacturing, and energy, so its performance often reflects the health of the broader industrial economy.
How the company got here
Lincoln Electric started in 1895 with a $200 investment to build and sell electric motors designed by its founder, John C. Lincoln. [3, 18] A key turning point came in 1911 when the company invented its first arc welder, a machine that uses electricity to melt and join pieces of metal, which set the course for its future. [3, 17] The founder's brother, James F. Lincoln, later introduced a unique pay-for-performance system that rewards employees for their productivity, a system still studied today. [18, 31] Over many decades, the company grew into a global leader by expanding its product lines and acquiring other companies, including a major European competitor in 2017 to broaden its international reach. [5]
What it actually does
At its core, Lincoln Electric makes the tools and materials needed to weld, cut, and join metals. [19] Think of the equipment used to build everything from skyscrapers and ships to cars and pipelines. [5] Their products range from handheld welding machines for small workshops to complex robotic systems that automate (or handle automatically) welding and cutting in large factories. [2, 5] They also sell the consumable materials used up in the welding process, like spools of wire and welding sticks, which creates a steady, repeatable business. [5]
Americas Welding
This is Lincoln Electric's largest and most profitable business division, covering welding operations in North and South America. [2, 5] It sells welding equipment, consumables (the materials like wire and rods that are used up during welding), and fume control systems to a wide range of industrial customers. This segment is the heart of the company's traditional business and also includes the majority of its fast-growing automation solutions, which help factories use robots to weld and assemble products. [22]
International Welding
As the name suggests, this segment handles the company's welding business everywhere outside of the Americas, including Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. [2, 19] It serves similar customers to the Americas segment, providing them with the tools and materials needed for manufacturing and construction. A significant portion of this division's business is in Europe. [22] This part of the company grew substantially after Lincoln Electric bought the welding business from a large European competitor, Air Liquide, in 2017. [5]
The Harris Products Group
This is a specialized part of the company that focuses on different ways of joining and cutting metals, such as brazing and soldering (which are like welding but use lower temperatures to join parts). [5, 11] It also makes equipment for cutting with a mix of oxygen and fuel gas, and products for controlling specialty gases. [2, 4] This group, which was built through acquisitions, also manages Lincoln Electric's sales to retail stores, making its products available to smaller businesses and individuals. [1, 21]
What management is betting on now
The company's main focus is on growing its automation business, which involves selling robotic systems that help customers weld, cut, and handle materials more efficiently. [5] Management is also pushing into new technologies, such as creating software to make welding processes smarter and developing large-scale 3D printing services with metal. [20] In a move to leverage its expertise in managing high-power electricity, the company has also recently entered the market for fast chargers for electric vehicles. [27, 28] The company's overall strategy aims to increase growth through innovation and by acquiring other companies that add to its earnings per share (a measure of a company's profitability). [13]
Price history
How the share price has moved
—
Loading price history…
Earnings history
Last 8 quarters — what happened
Click any quarter to read the call summary and what the numbers say.
FY2024 Q3
$140.34M
FY2024 Q4
$87.45M
FY2025 Q1
$158.74M
FY2025 Q2
$118.39M
FY2025 Q3
$179.61M
FY2025 Q4
$77.46M
FY2026 Q1
$63.01M
FY2026 Q2
$222.33M
Revenue
$1.22B
Net income
$158.52M
Diluted EPS
2.88
Operating cash flow
$253.76M
Free cash flow
$222.33M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.12B
Net income
$136.38M
Diluted EPS
2.47
Operating cash flow
$102.17M
Free cash flow
$63.01M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.08B
Net income
$136.02M
Diluted EPS
2.45
Operating cash flow
$94.97M
Free cash flow
$77.46M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.06B
Net income
$122.63M
Diluted EPS
2.21
Operating cash flow
$236.69M
Free cash flow
$179.61M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.09B
Net income
$143.40M
Diluted EPS
2.56
Operating cash flow
$143.83M
Free cash flow
$118.39M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.00B
Net income
$118.49M
Diluted EPS
2.10
Operating cash flow
$185.69M
Free cash flow
$158.74M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$1.02B
Net income
$140.23M
Diluted EPS
2.47
Operating cash flow
$95.80M
Free cash flow
$87.45M
Fetching…
Sources
Revenue
$983.76M
Net income
$100.76M
Diluted EPS
1.77
Operating cash flow
$199.20M
Free cash flow
$140.34M
Fetching…
Sources
Is it cheap or expensive?
Fair value $189.22 vs current price $253.06
Wall Street consensus is the average analyst price target: $304.91 (61.1% higher than our fair-value estimate).
Our most-likely fair value is $189.22 a share — about 25.2% away from today's price of $253.06, so the stock currently looks fairly priced.
Is it drowning in debt?
Watch
Net debt $959.7M. Interest coverage 14.3x.
Net debt
$959.68M
Interest coverage
14.28x
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.'s profit covers its interest bill about 14.3 times over. which is stronger than most peers shown here.
Watch
Worse cushion
Baseline
Better cushion
LECO
BASELINE
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.
Total debt $1.20B Interest coverage 14.28x This is the baseline the peer rows are being compared against.
Total debt $9.69B Interest coverage 14.44x +1% vs LECO Has roughly the same debt cushion as LECO.
Total debt $2.54B Interest coverage 5.24x -63% vs LECO Carries about 2.7x less debt cushion than LECO.
Total debt $5.21B Interest coverage 2.43x -83% vs LECO Carries about 5.9x less debt cushion than LECO.
Total debt $52.21M Interest coverage 211.11x +1,378% vs LECO Carries about 14.8x more debt cushion than LECO.
Total debt $2.20B Interest coverage 5.13x -64% vs LECO Carries about 2.8x less debt cushion than LECO.
What you should know
The case for and against LECO
3 Rewards
1 Risk
Rewards
-
Revenue grew 5.9% last year.
-
Returns 37.7% on equity, ahead of 66% of its peers.
-
Free cash flow was positive in 10/10 years.
Risks
-
Stock trades 12.6% above its 5-year average P/E.
The numbers
All the key metrics, grouped by purpose
Tap any ? icon to learn what it means.
Valuation
How expensive the stock looks
P/E (TTM)
25.31x
Forward P/E
20.22x
P/B
8.87x
P/S
3.08x
EV/EBITDA
16.67x
PEG ratio
1.43x
Profitability
How much profit each dollar creates
Gross margin
36.1%
Operating margin
18.2%
Net margin
12.4%
ROE
37.7%
ROA
13.0%
Health
Liquidity and balance-sheet strength
Debt / equity
0.77x
Current ratio
1.98x
Quick ratio
1.02x
Total debt
$1.20B
Total cash
$242.44M
Growth
How the business has been compounding
Revenue TTM
$4.48B
Revenue 5Y CAGR
7.0%
EPS TTM
10.00
EPS 5Y CAGR
5.0%
Cash flow
How much cash the business throws off
Operating CF TTM
$687.59M
Free CF TTM
$534.20M
FCF margin
11.9%
Dividend
Shareholder payout
Yield
1.2%
Payout ratio
31.2%
Last ex-div date
2026-09-30