HII vs. LECO: Huntington Ingalls Industries vs. Lincoln Electric Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but HII is classified in Aerospace & Defense while LECO is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Profile Item	HII	LECO
Name	Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.	Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Machinery
GICS Sub-Industry	Aerospace & Defense	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization	11.38 billion USD	14.91 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	March 22, 2011	April 7, 1994
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

HII

LECO

GSPC

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Metric	HII	LECO
Total Return (1Y)	-0.48%	27.30%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	12.21%	17.31%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	11.63%	16.33%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

HII

LECO

GSPC

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Metric	HII	LECO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	40.58%	31.13%
Beta (5Y)	0.17	1.17
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-45.21%	-34.29%
Avg. Volume (3M)	505.72K	409.99K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

HII and LECO are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Metric	HII	LECO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	-0.12	0.74
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	-0.18	1.11

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 38.75% sits in the top ROE quartile, while Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 13.99% is closer to the peer norm — stronger capital efficiency for LECO.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

13.99%

Max: 40.55%
Q3: 19.29%
HII: 13.99%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

38.75%

Max: 40.55%
LECO: 38.75%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their ROE against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 12.40% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 5.42%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

5.42%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
HII: 5.42%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

12.40%

Max: 27.47%
LECO: 12.40%
Q3: 12.10%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 7.72% and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 18.29% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

7.72%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
Median: 11.12%
HII: 7.72%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

18.29%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
LECO: 18.29%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Metric	HII	LECO
ROE (TTM)	13.99%	38.75%
ROA (TTM)	4.57%	13.32%
Net Margin (TTM)	5.42%	12.40%
Operating Margin (TTM)	7.72%	18.29%
Gross Margin (TTM)	12.72%	35.54%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 8.23% and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 5.60% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 10.24% and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 14.36% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Metric	HII	LECO
Revenue Growth (YoY)	8.23%	5.60%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.35%	4.02%
EPS Growth (YoY)	10.24%	14.36%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	2.15%	5.05%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 1.91 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 1.27 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for HII.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

1.27

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
HII: 1.27
Min: 0.36

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

1.91

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
LECO: 1.91
Q1: 1.43
Min: 0.36

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 0.53 and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 0.78 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

0.53

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
Median: 0.60
HII: 0.53
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

0.78

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
LECO: 0.78
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Metric	HII	LECO
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.27	1.91
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.53	0.78
Net Debt / EBITDA	2.05	1.00

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 1.91% and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 1.16% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

1.91%

Max: 2.66%
HII: 1.91%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

1.16%

Max: 2.66%
LECO: 1.16%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 29.73% and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 30.30% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

29.73%

Max: 67.39%
HII: 29.73%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

30.30%

Max: 67.39%
LECO: 30.30%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Metric	HII	LECO
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.91%	1.16%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	29.73%	30.30%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 15.55 sits in the cheaper P/E ratio quartile, while Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 26.40 is closer to its industry’s usual earnings multiple — a discount for HII, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

15.55

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
HII: 15.55
Min: 3.03

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

26.40

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
LECO: 26.40
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
Min: 3.03

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 0.84 sits in the cheaper P/S ratio quartile while Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 3.21 prices around its industry’s middle — HII costs less per dollar of sales, though read it alongside growth and margins.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

0.84

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
HII: 0.84
Min: 0.03

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

3.21

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
LECO: 3.21
Median: 2.15
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) at 2.07 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 9.59 carries an above-peer premium to book — LECO is pricier on assets.

HII

Capital Goods industry group

2.07

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
HII: 2.07
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

LECO

Capital Goods industry group

9.59

Max: 9.66
LECO: 9.59
Q3: 5.00
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Metric	HII	LECO
P/E Ratio (TTM)	15.55	26.40
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.84	3.21
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	2.07	9.59
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.70%	2.68%