Flowserve vs Lincoln Electric
Add, change or remove companies; up to four.
KIRA’s take AI analyst
I put Flowserve and Lincoln Electric side by side, using each one’s latest annual report. Here is what stands out:
- Flowserve is the larger business, with $4.7B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $4.2B for Lincoln Electric.
- Lincoln Electric grew revenue faster (5.6%, against 3.8%).
- Lincoln Electric kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (17.0% operating margin, against 8.5%).
- Lincoln Electric turned more of its sales into free cash flow (12.6% FCF margin, against 9.2%).
- Lincoln Electric earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (24.5%, against 9.4%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Lincoln Electric’s earnings: a P/E of 25.8x against 24.2x for Flowserve.
Who comes out ahead
Of the 11 measures where higher (or lower) is clearly better, how many each company leads.
Flowserve
FLS
1/11
Piotroski F-score
Lincoln Electric
LECO
10/11
Revenue growth5-year growthGross marginOperating marginNet marginFCF marginReturn on capitalReturn on equityNet debt / EBITDAShare count change
Side by side
Best in the row
| Latest fiscal year | FLS FY25 | LECO FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $8.9B | $14.3B |
| Revenue | $4.7B | $4.2B |
| Free cash flow | $435M | $534M |
| Net income | $346M | $521M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 3.8% | 5.6% |
| 5-year growth | 4.9% | 9.8% |
| Share count change | −1.0% | −2.3% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 33.4% | 36.3% |
| Operating margin | 8.5% | 17.0% |
| Net margin | 7.3% | 12.3% |
| FCF margin | 9.2% | 12.6% |
| Return on capital | 9.4% | 24.5% |
| Return on equity | 16.5% | 37.2% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $845M | $841M |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.7x | 1.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $365M | $507M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 24.2x | 25.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 8 | 7 |
Ten years
Revenue
Operating margin
Free cash flow
Return on capital
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.