LECO (Lincoln Electric Holdings) Earnings Power Value (EPV): $102.55 (As of Mar26)


LECO Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc LECO
97 GF Score
Price $268.82
GF Value $236.84
Valuation Modestly Overvalued
! 4 Warning Signs
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What is Lincoln Electric Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV)?

Lincoln Electric Holdings LECO -0.07% 97 Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $102.55 as of Mar26. GuruFocus rates LECO with a GF Score™ of 97/100 and a GF Value™ of $236.84 (Modestly Overvalued). The stock has 4 warning signs investors should review.

As of Mar26, Lincoln Electric Holdings's earnings power value is $102.55. *

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

Margin of Safety is -162.13

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future. Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.


Lincoln Electric Holdings  (NAS:LECO) Earnings Power Value (EPV) Explanation

Assumption: Current profitability is sustainable.

Earnings power value (EPV) uses a very basic equation which assumes no growth, although it does rely on an assumption about the cost of capital as well as the fact that current earnings are sustainable. It also involves several adjustments to clean up the underlying Earnings figures.


Be Aware

Though using today's earnings in calculating Earnings Power Value, GuruFocus is normalizing these earnings to the business cycle. This eliminates the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle. This means that we are considering the average earnings over 5 years.


Lincoln Electric Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV) Related Terms


Lincoln Electric Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV) Historical Data

* Premium members only.

The historical data trend for Lincoln Electric Holdings's Earnings Power Value (EPV) can be seen below:

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

Lincoln Electric Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV) Chart

Lincoln Electric Holdings Annual Data
Trend Dec16 Dec17 Dec18 Dec19 Dec20 Dec21 Dec22 Dec23 Dec24 Dec25
Earnings Power Value (EPV)
Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 58.36 63.13 78.68 86.38 100.28

Lincoln Electric Holdings Quarterly Data
Jun21 Sep21 Dec21 Mar22 Jun22 Sep22 Dec22 Mar23 Jun23 Sep23 Dec23 Mar24 Jun24 Sep24 Dec24 Mar25 Jun25 Sep25 Dec25 Mar26
Earnings Power Value (EPV) Get a 7-Day Free Trial Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only Premium Member Only 89.80 94.31 98.01 100.28 102.55

LECO vs SWK, RBC, SNA: Earnings Power Value (EPV) Comparison

For the Tools & Accessories subindustry, Lincoln Electric Holdings's Earnings Power Value (EPV), along with its competitors' market caps and Earnings Power Value (EPV) data, can be viewed below:

* Competitive companies are chosen from companies within the same industry, with headquarter located in same country, with closest market capitalization; x-axis shows the market cap, and y-axis shows the term value; the bigger the dot, the larger the market cap. Note that "N/A" values will not show up in the chart.


Lincoln Electric Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV) vs Industrial Products Industry

For the Industrial Products industry and Industrials sector, Lincoln Electric Holdings's Earnings Power Value (EPV) distribution charts can be found below:

* The bar in red indicates where Lincoln Electric Holdings's Earnings Power Value (EPV) falls into.


LECO
97GF Score
Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc LECO
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Score™, valuation, warning signs, and more.
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Lincoln Electric Holdings Earnings Power Value (EPV) Calculation

Earnings Power Value also known as just Earnings Power is a valuation technique popularised by Bruce Greenwald, an authority on value investing at Columbia University. It is arguably a better way to analyze stocks than Discounted Cash Flow analysis that relies on highly speculative growth assumptions many years into the future.

The basic concept of EPV is that one should value a stock based on the current free cash flow of a company and not on future projections which may, or may not, come true. This valuation tool excludes the potential growth that a company may have so that needs to be looked at separately. Since future growth is excluded from the analysis, only the maintenance capital expenditures are subtracted from after-tax EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) and growth capex is ignored.

Lincoln Electric Holdings's "Earning Power" Calculation:

Average of Last 20 Quarters Last Quarter
Revenue 3,959
DDA 88
Operating Margin % 16.66
SGA * 25% 183
Tax Rate % 20.01
Maintenance Capex 81
Cash and Cash Equivalents 299
Short-Term Debt 164
Long-Term Debt 1,148
Shares Outstanding (Diluted) 55

1. Start with "Earnings" not including accounting adjustments (one-time charges not excluded unless policy has changed). "Earnings" are "Operating Income.

2. Look at average margins over a business/Industry cycle: Average Operating Margin = 16.66%

To normalize margins and eliminate the effects on profitability of valuing the firm at different points in the business cycle, it is usually best to take a long-term average of operating margins. Ideally this would be as long as 10 years and include at least one economic downturn. However, since most of companies do not have as long as 10-year history, here GuruFocus uses the latest 5 years data to do the calculation. To smooth out unusual years but reflect recent developments, we take an average of the 5 year margin.

3. Multiply average margins by sustainable revenues and then adjust for maintenance SGA. This yields "normalized" EBIT:

To be conservative, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year revenues as the sustainable revenue.
EPV analysis recognises that part of SG&A expenditure is made to maintain and replace the existing assets, while part is made to grow sales. Since EPV is only interested in what it costs a going concern to maintain its existing asset base, it adds back a percentage of SG&A (between 15% and 50% - this is a matter of judgment and industry knowledge) to make up for the fact that some of this expenditure went to fund growth and shouldn't be accounted for. To start off, we assume 25% for the sake of prudence.
Sustainable Revenue = $3,959 Mil, Average Operating Margin = 16.66%, Average Adjusted SGA = 183,
therefore "Normalized" EBIT = Sustainable Revenue * Average Operating Margin + Average Adjusted SGA = 3,959 * 16.66% +183 = $842.246052708 Mil.

4. Multiply by one minus Average Tax Rate (NOPAT):

Same as average operating margin calculation, GuruFocus takes an average of the 5 years tax rates.
Average Tax Rate = 20.01%, and "Normalized" EBIT = $842.246052708 Mil,
therefore After-tax "Normalized" EBIT = "Normalized" EBIT * ( 1 - Average Tax Rate ) = 842.246052708 * ( 1 - 20.01% ) = $673.74630740324 Mil.

5. Add back Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate). This yields "normalized" Earnings:

Excess Depreciation = Average DDA * % of Excess Depreciation (after tax at 1/2 average tax rate) = 88 * 0.5 * 20.01% = $8.7936373 Mil.
"Normalized" Earnings = After-tax "Normalized" EBIT + Excess Depreciation = 673.74630740324 + 8.7936373 = $682.53994470324 Mil.

6. Adjusted for Maintenance Capital Expenditure:

First, calculate the revenue change regarding to the previous year. If the revenue decreased from the previous year, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
Second, if the revenue increased from the previous year, then calculate the percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue.
Third, calculate Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was negative, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive).
If [Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase] was positive, then the Maintenance Capital Expenditure = Capital Expenditure (positive) - percentage of Net PPE as of corresponding Revenue * revenue increase.
Fourth, GuruFocus uses an average of the 5 year maintenance capital expenditures as maintenance CAPEX.
Lincoln Electric Holdings's Average Maintenance CAPEX = $81 Mil *.
* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

7. Investors require a return of "WACC" for the risk they are taking: WACC = 9%

8. Lincoln Electric Holdings's current cash and cash equivalent = $299 Mil.
Lincoln Electric Holdings's current interest bearing debt = Long-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation + Short-Term Debt & Capital Lease Obligation = 1,148 + 164 = $1311.132 Mil.
Lincoln Electric Holdings's current Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average) = 55 Mil.

Lincoln Electric Holdings's Earnings Power Value (EPV) for Mar26 is calculated as:

EPV = ( ( Norm. Earnings-Maint. CAPEX *) / WACC + CashandEquiv - Int. Bearing Debt ) / Shares Outstanding (Diluted Average)
= ( ( 682.53994470324 - 81)/ 9%+299-1311.132 )/55
=102.55

Margin of Safety (EPV)=( Earnings Power Value (EPV)-Current Price )/Earnings Power Value (EPV)
=( 102.55140266369-268.82 )/102.55140266369
= -162.13%

* For Operating Data section: All numbers are indicated by the unit behind each term and all currency related amount are in USD.
* For other sections: All numbers are in millions except for per share data, ratio, and percentage. All currency related amount are indicated in the company's associated stock exchange currency.

* GuruFocus does not store EPV value into our database if Average Maintenance CAPEX is 0.

What does a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $102.55 mean?
Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) has a Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $102.55 as of Mar26. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Lincoln Electric Holdings and its competitors.
Is Lincoln Electric Holdings' Earnings Power Value (EPV) too high?
Lincoln Electric Holdings' current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $102.55. Overall, Lincoln Electric Holdings has a GF Score™ of 97/100 and is considered Modestly Overvalued, reflecting its overall financial health beyond just this single metric.
How does Lincoln Electric Holdings' Earnings Power Value (EPV) compare to SWK and RBC?
Lincoln Electric Holdings' Earnings Power Value (EPV) of $102.55 can be compared against companies in the Industrial Products industry. See the competitive comparison table and distribution chart on this page for a detailed peer-by-peer breakdown.
What is a good Earnings Power Value (EPV) for an Industrial Products company?
A good Earnings Power Value (EPV) depends on the Industrial Products industry context. However, Earnings Power Value (EPV) should not be evaluated in isolation — investors should consider it alongside profitability, growth, and financial strength metrics. Use the industry distribution chart on this page to see where any company falls relative to its peers.
What does a high Earnings Power Value (EPV) mean?
A high Earnings Power Value (EPV) can signal that a stock is expensive relative to its fundamentals. Bruce Greenwald's earnings power value focuses on current earnings without factoring in future growth. View historical data on Lincoln Electric Holdings and its competitors. Lincoln Electric Holdings's current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $102.55. However, context matters — high-growth companies often justify higher valuations. Always evaluate alongside other metrics like GF Score™ and GF Value™.
Is Lincoln Electric Holdings stock overvalued right now?
Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) is currently considered Modestly Overvalued. The stock's GF Value™ is $236.84, compared to a current price of $268.82 — trading 13.5% above its estimated fair value. The current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $102.55. Lincoln Electric Holdings' overall GF Score™ is 97/100 with 4 warning signs to review. Investors should evaluate multiple metrics — including profitability, growth, and financial strength — before making a decision.
How is Earnings Power Value (EPV) calculated?
Earnings Power Value (EPV) is calculated from a company's financial statements. For Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO), the current Earnings Power Value (EPV) is $102.55 as of Mar26. GuruFocus calculates this using data sourced from SEC filings and annual reports. See the calculation section and 30-year financial data on this page for the full breakdown.

Is Lincoln Electric Holdings (LECO) Overvalued in 2026?

Based on GuruFocus' analysis, Lincoln Electric Holdings stock appears to be overvalued. The current stock price of $268.82 is trading 13.5% above its estimated GF Value™ of $236.84. GuruFocus considers Lincoln Electric Holdings to be Modestly Overvalued.

Key valuation signals for LECO:

  • Earnings Power Value (EPV): $102.55
  • GF Value™: $236.84 vs. price of $268.82 (13.5% above fair value)
  • GF Score™: 97/100 with 4 warning signs

No single metric tells the full story. See the LECO stock analysis page for a complete view including 30-year financials, guru trades, and insider activity.


Lincoln Electric Holdings Business Description

Other Exchanges LNE:Germany
Address 22801 Saint Clair Avenue, Cleveland, OH, USA, 44117
Lincoln Electric is a leading manufacturer of welding, cutting, and brazing products. Its portfolio includes arc-welding solutions, plasma and oxy-fuel cutting systems, brazing and soldering alloys, and automation solutions. Lincoln Electric serves clients across general fabrication, heavy industries, automotive, construction, shipbuilding, energy, and process industries, among others. The company generated roughly $4.2 billion in sales in 2025.
97GF Score

Get the complete analysis for LECO

Earnings Power Value (EPV) is just one metric. See GF Value™, 30-year financials, guru trades, warning signs, and more.

$268.82
Price
$236.84
GF Value