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JCI vs. LECO: Johnson Controls vs. Lincoln Electric Stock Comparison

How do Johnson Controls (JCI) 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

Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but JCI is classified in Building Products while LECO is classified in Machinery.

Company profile comparison for Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
Profile ItemJCILECO
NameJohnson Controls International plcLincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.
Country/RegionIrelandUnited States
GICS SectorIndustrialsIndustrials
GICS Industry GroupCapital GoodsCapital Goods
GICS IndustryBuilding ProductsMachinery
GICS Sub-IndustryBuilding ProductsIndustrial Machinery & Supplies & Components
Market Capitalization81.79 billion USD14.91 billion USD
CurrencyUSDUSD
ExchangeNYSENasdaq
Listing DateSeptember 28, 1987April 7, 1994
Security TypeCommon StockCommon Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

JCI
LECO
GSPC
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Johnson Controls (JCI) 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
MetricJCILECO
Total Return (1Y)17.11%27.30%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)43.46%17.31%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)15.29%16.33%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

JCI
LECO
GSPC
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Johnson Controls (JCI) 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
MetricJCILECO
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)32.91%31.13%
Beta (5Y)1.291.17
Max Drawdown (5Y)-42.32%-34.29%
Avg. Volume (3M)3.57M409.99K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

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JCI 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
MetricJCILECO
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)0.390.74
Sortino Ratio (1Y)0.541.11

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Johnson Controls (JCI) at 21.73% and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 38.75% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

21.73%

Max
40.55%
JCI
21.73%
Q3
19.29%
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%
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Johnson Controls (JCI) 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) at 11.12%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

11.12%

Max
27.47%
Q3
12.10%
JCI
11.12%
Median
6.30%
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%
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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Johnson Controls (JCI) at 17.21% and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 18.29% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

17.21%

Max
36.60%
Q3
18.33%
JCI
17.21%
Median
11.12%
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%
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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
MetricJCILECO
ROE (TTM)21.73%38.75%
ROA (TTM)6.41%13.32%
Net Margin (TTM)11.12%12.40%
Operating Margin (TTM)17.21%18.29%
Gross Margin (TTM)37.07%35.54%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Johnson Controls (JCI) at 2.81% 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.

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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Johnson Controls (JCI) at 99.60% sits in the top EPS growth quartile, while Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 14.36% is closer to the peer norm — faster per-share earnings growth for JCI.

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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
MetricJCILECO
Revenue Growth (YoY)2.81%5.60%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)4.57%4.02%
EPS Growth (YoY)99.60%14.36%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)31.94%5.05%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 1.91 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Johnson Controls (JCI) at 0.90 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for JCI.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

0.90

Max
5.22
Q3
2.95
Median
2.08
Q1
1.43
JCI
0.90
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
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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Johnson Controls (JCI) at 0.68 and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 0.78 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

0.68

Max
2.33
Q3
1.12
JCI
0.68
Median
0.60
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
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Johnson Controls (JCI) 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 Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
MetricJCILECO
Current Ratio (MRQ)0.901.91
Debt / Equity (MRQ)0.680.78
Net Debt / EBITDA1.861.00

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Johnson Controls (JCI) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Lincoln Electric (LECO) reports a yield of 1.16%, ranking against industry peers normally.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

0.00%

Max
2.66%
Q3
1.14%
Median
0.24%
JCI
0.00%
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%
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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Johnson Controls (JCI) at 45.20% and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 30.30% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

45.20%

Max
67.39%
JCI
45.20%
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%
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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
MetricJCILECO
Dividend Yield (TTM)0.00%1.16%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)45.20%30.30%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Johnson Controls (JCI) at 28.61 and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 26.40 land around their industries’ usual P/E ratio levels — neither is getting a clear earnings-multiple discount or premium versus peers.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

28.61

Max
59.38
Q3
35.92
JCI
28.61
Median
25.41
Q1
19.47
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
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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Johnson Controls (JCI) at 3.19 and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 3.21 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

3.19

Max
7.54
Q3
3.76
JCI
3.19
Median
2.15
Q1
1.03
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
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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Both Johnson Controls (JCI) at 5.99 and Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 9.59 carry a premium to book value versus peers, sitting in the upper P/B ratio quartile of their industries.

JCI

Capital Goods industry group

5.99

Max
9.66
JCI
5.99
Q3
5.00
Median
3.12
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
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Johnson Controls (JCI) vs. Lincoln Electric (LECO): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Johnson Controls (JCI) and Lincoln Electric (LECO)
MetricJCILECO
P/E Ratio (TTM)28.6126.40
P/S Ratio (TTM)3.193.21
P/B Ratio (MRQ)5.999.59
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)3.81%2.68%