Lincoln Electric vs Valmont Industries
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The short version
- Lincoln Electric is the larger business, with $4.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $4.1B for Valmont Industries.
- Lincoln Electric grew revenue faster (5.6%, against 0.7%).
- Lincoln Electric kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (17.0% operating margin, against 10.1%).
- Lincoln Electric turned more of its sales into free cash flow (12.6% FCF margin, against 7.6%).
- Lincoln Electric earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (24.5%, against 17.9%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Lincoln Electric’s earnings: a P/E of 25.5x against 17.0x for Valmont Industries.
| Latest fiscal year | LECO · FY25 | VMI · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $14.1B | $8.5B |
| Revenue | $4.2B | $4.1B |
| Free cash flow | $534M | $311M |
| Net income | $521M | $350M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.6% | 0.7% |
| 5-year growth | 9.8% | 7.2% |
| Share count change | −2.3% | −1.6% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 36.3% | 30.2% |
| Operating margin | 17.0% | 10.1% |
| Net margin | 12.3% | 8.5% |
| FCF margin | 12.6% | 7.6% |
| Return on capital | 24.5% | 17.9% |
| Return on equity | 37.2% | 22.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $841M | $609M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.0x | 1.2x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $507M | $251M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 25.5x | 17.0x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 7 |
Revenue
FY16
LECO $2.3B
VMI $2.5B
FY17
LECO $2.6B
VMI $2.7B
FY18
LECO $3.0B
VMI $2.8B
FY19
LECO $3.0B
VMI $2.8B
FY20
LECO $2.7B
VMI $2.9B
FY21
LECO $3.2B
VMI $3.5B
FY22
LECO $3.8B
VMI $4.3B
FY23
LECO $4.2B
VMI $4.2B
FY24
LECO $4.0B
VMI $4.1B
FY25
LECO $4.2B
VMI $4.1B
LECO
VMI
Operating margin
FY16
LECO 12.5%
VMI 9.7%
FY17
LECO 14.4%
VMI 9.7%
FY18
LECO 12.4%
VMI 7.7%
FY19
LECO 12.4%
VMI 8.2%
FY20
LECO 10.6%
VMI 7.8%
FY21
LECO 14.3%
VMI 8.2%
FY22
LECO 16.3%
VMI 10.0%
FY23
LECO 17.1%
VMI 7.0%
FY24
LECO 15.9%
VMI 12.9%
FY25
LECO 17.0%
VMI 10.1%
LECO
VMI
Free cash flow
FY16
LECO $263M
VMI $175M
FY17
LECO $273M
VMI $77.9M
FY18
LECO $258M
VMI $81.0M
FY19
LECO $334M
VMI $210M
FY20
LECO $292M
VMI $210M
FY21
LECO $303M
VMI −$41.9M
FY22
LECO $312M
VMI $233M
FY23
LECO $577M
VMI $210M
FY24
LECO $482M
VMI $493M
FY25
LECO $534M
VMI $311M
LECO
VMI
Return on capital
FY16
LECO 20.1%
VMI 14.6%
FY17
LECO 21.7%
VMI 10.3%
FY18
LECO 23.0%
VMI 9.8%
FY19
LECO 23.0%
VMI 10.8%
FY20
LECO 17.1%
VMI 10.7%
FY21
LECO 29.8%
VMI 11.8%
FY22
LECO 29.2%
VMI 13.5%
FY23
LECO 28.7%
VMI 7.9%
FY24
LECO 23.7%
VMI 18.0%
FY25
LECO 24.5%
VMI 17.9%
LECO
VMI
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.