LECO vs. NOC: Lincoln Electric vs. Northrop Grumman Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) 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

Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC) both fall under the Capital Goods industry group, but LECO is classified in Machinery while NOC is classified in Aerospace & Defense.

Company profile comparison for Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Profile Item	LECO	NOC
Name	Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.	Northrop Grumman Corporation
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Industrials	Industrials
GICS Industry Group	Capital Goods	Capital Goods
GICS Industry	Machinery	Aerospace & Defense
GICS Sub-Industry	Industrial Machinery & Supplies & Components	Aerospace & Defense
Market Capitalization	14.91 billion USD	74.59 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	April 7, 1994	December 31, 1981
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

LECO

NOC

GSPC

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC), 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 Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	LECO	NOC
Total Return (1Y)	27.30%	-3.34%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	17.31%	7.23%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	16.33%	9.98%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

LECO

NOC

GSPC

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC), 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 Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Northrop Grumman (NOC) reports a negative beta of -0.12, suggesting inverse market sensitivity over the measurement window. That is uncommon for ordinary equities and can reflect commodity-linked or hedge-like exposure, but it can also come from statistical noise. Lincoln Electric (LECO) has a non-negative beta of 1.17.

Risk profile metrics for Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	LECO	NOC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	31.13%	28.86%
Beta (5Y)	1.17	-0.12
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-34.29%	-37.80%
Avg. Volume (3M)	409.99K	902.47K

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

LECO and NOC 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 Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	LECO	NOC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.74	-0.26
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.11	-0.37

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 38.75% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 26.07% sit in the top peer quartile for ROE, suggesting each generates more profit from shareholders’ equity than typical industry peers.

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%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

26.07%

Max: 40.55%
NOC: 26.07%
Q3: 19.29%
Median: 12.12%
Q1: 4.08%
Min: -17.12%

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): 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 Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 10.37%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

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%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

10.37%

Max: 27.47%
Q3: 12.10%
NOC: 10.37%
Median: 6.30%
Q1: 1.40%
Min: -12.89%

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their net margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 18.29% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 12.91% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

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%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

12.91%

Max: 36.60%
Q3: 18.33%
NOC: 12.91%
Median: 11.12%
Q1: 5.14%
Min: -12.63%

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	LECO	NOC
ROE (TTM)	38.75%	26.07%
ROA (TTM)	13.32%	7.11%
Net Margin (TTM)	12.40%	10.37%
Operating Margin (TTM)	18.29%	12.91%
Gross Margin (TTM)	35.54%	20.03%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 5.60% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.24% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 14.36% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 2.61% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	LECO	NOC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	5.60%	2.24%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.02%	4.65%
EPS Growth (YoY)	14.36%	2.61%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	5.05%	-2.60%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 1.91 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.23 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for NOC.

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

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.23

Max: 5.22
Q3: 2.95
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.43
NOC: 1.23
Min: 0.36

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 0.78 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 0.93 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

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

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

0.93

Max: 2.33
Q3: 1.12
NOC: 0.93
Median: 0.60
Q1: 0.29
Min: 0.00

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	LECO	NOC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.91	1.23
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.78	0.93
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.00	1.87

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 1.16% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.82% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

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%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.82%

Max: 2.66%
NOC: 1.82%
Q3: 1.14%
Median: 0.24%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 30.30% and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 30.18% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

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%

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

30.18%

Max: 67.39%
NOC: 30.18%
Q3: 28.02%
Median: 6.86%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	LECO	NOC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.16%	1.82%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	30.30%	30.18%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 16.57 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 NOC, though growth and earnings durability still matter.

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

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

16.57

Max: 59.38
Q3: 35.92
Median: 25.41
Q1: 19.47
NOC: 16.57
Min: 3.03

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

On P/S ratio, both Lincoln Electric (LECO) at 3.21 and Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 1.71 are priced roughly in line with their industries — neither looks cheap nor rich on a sales basis.

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

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

1.71

Max: 7.54
Q3: 3.76
Median: 2.15
NOC: 1.71
Q1: 1.03
Min: 0.03

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Northrop Grumman (NOC) at 3.99 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.

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

NOC

Capital Goods industry group

3.99

Max: 9.66
Q3: 5.00
NOC: 3.99
Median: 3.12
Q1: 1.81
Min: -1.08

Lincoln Electric (LECO) vs. Northrop Grumman (NOC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Capital Goods industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Lincoln Electric (LECO) and Northrop Grumman (NOC)
Metric	LECO	NOC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	26.40	16.57
P/S Ratio (TTM)	3.21	1.71
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	9.59	3.99
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	2.68%	4.21%