Lincoln Electric vs Mueller Industries
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The short version
- Lincoln Electric is the larger business, with $4.2B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $4.2B for Mueller Industries.
- Mueller Industries grew revenue faster (10.9%, against 5.6%).
- Mueller Industries kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (22.9% operating margin, against 17.0%).
- Mueller Industries turned more of its sales into free cash flow (16.4% FCF margin, against 12.6%).
- Mueller Industries earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (40.3%, against 24.5%).
| Latest fiscal year | LECO · FY25 | MLI · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $14.1B | $11.9B |
| Revenue | $4.2B | $4.2B |
| Free cash flow | $534M | $687M |
| Net income | $521M | $765M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.6% | 10.9% |
| 5-year growth | 9.8% | 11.8% |
| Share count change | −2.3% | −2.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 36.3% | — |
| Operating margin | 17.0% | 22.9% |
| Net margin | 12.3% | 18.3% |
| FCF margin | 12.6% | 16.4% |
| Return on capital | 24.5% | 40.3% |
| Return on equity | 37.2% | 25.6% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $841M | −$1.4B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.0x | −1.4x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $507M | $353M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 25.5x | — |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
LECO $2.3B
MLI $2.1B
FY17
LECO $2.6B
MLI $2.3B
FY18
LECO $3.0B
MLI $2.5B
FY19
LECO $3.0B
MLI $2.4B
FY20
LECO $2.7B
MLI $2.4B
FY21
LECO $3.2B
MLI $3.8B
FY22
LECO $3.8B
MLI $4.0B
FY23
LECO $4.2B
MLI $3.4B
FY24
LECO $4.0B
MLI $3.8B
FY25
LECO $4.2B
MLI $4.2B
LECO
MLI
Operating margin
FY16
LECO 12.5%
MLI 7.5%
FY17
LECO 14.4%
MLI 6.7%
FY18
LECO 12.4%
MLI 6.9%
FY19
LECO 12.4%
MLI 7.9%
FY20
LECO 10.6%
MLI 10.3%
FY21
LECO 14.3%
MLI 17.4%
FY22
LECO 16.3%
MLI 22.0%
FY23
LECO 17.1%
MLI 22.1%
FY24
LECO 15.9%
MLI 20.4%
FY25
LECO 17.0%
MLI 22.9%
LECO
MLI
Free cash flow
FY16
LECO $263M
MLI $120M
FY17
LECO $273M
MLI −$2.1M
FY18
LECO $258M
MLI $129M
FY19
LECO $334M
MLI $169M
FY20
LECO $292M
MLI $201M
FY21
LECO $303M
MLI $280M
FY22
LECO $312M
MLI $686M
FY23
LECO $577M
MLI $619M
FY24
LECO $482M
MLI $566M
FY25
LECO $534M
MLI $687M
LECO
MLI
Return on capital
FY16
LECO 20.1%
MLI 12.8%
FY17
LECO 21.7%
MLI 12.5%
FY18
LECO 23.0%
MLI 14.7%
FY19
LECO 23.0%
MLI 15.6%
FY20
LECO 17.1%
MLI 18.4%
FY21
LECO 29.8%
MLI 44.6%
FY22
LECO 29.2%
MLI 56.6%
FY23
LECO 28.7%
MLI 50.1%
FY24
LECO 23.7%
MLI 40.7%
FY25
LECO 24.5%
MLI 40.3%
LECO
MLI
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.