Fortive vs Lincoln Electric
Lincoln Electric reported revenue of $4.2 billion in fiscal 2025, about the same as Fortive's $4.2 billion in fiscal 2025. Fortive's revenue grew 1.9% in its latest year, and Lincoln Electric's grew 5.6%. Fortive had an operating margin of 17.3%, against 17.0% at Lincoln Electric. Free cash flow was $978 million at Fortive and $534 million at Lincoln Electric.
Side by side
| Fortive | Lincoln Electric | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest fiscal year | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 | FY2025, Dec 31, 2025 |
| Revenue | $4.2B | $4.2B |
| Revenue growth | 1.9% | 5.6% |
| Revenue growth a year, last 5 years | −2.1% | 9.8% |
| Gross margin | 63.5% | 36.2% |
| Operating margin | 17.3% | 17.0% |
| Net margin | 13.9% | 12.3% |
| Free cash flow | $978M | $534M |
| Free cash flow margin | 23.5% | 12.6% |
| Return on capital | 5.7% | 24.5% |
| Net debt to EBITDA | 2.4x | 1.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.7B | $506M |
| Change in diluted share count | −5.2% | −2.3% |
| Last close | $60.78 | $258.65 |
| P/E at the last close | 36.4× | 25.8× |
| Insider trades, last 12 months | sold $6.9 million | sold $8.3 million |
| Piotroski F-score | 5 of 9 | 7 of 9 |
Amounts in each company's own currency, US$ unless marked (a foreign company may report in another), each company's latest fiscal year from its 10-K, or 20-F or 40-F for a foreign company. Growth rates compare with the year before; the five-year rate is the average a year. Free cash flow is cash from operations minus capital spending; return on capital is after-tax operating income over the money invested in the business; P/E is the last close over the latest earnings per share. Banks are measured differently (return on equity, efficiency ratio), so some rows apply to one company only.
Ten years
Revenue
US$ billions, fiscal years
FortiveLincoln Electric
Operating margin
Percent of revenue
FortiveLincoln Electric
Free cash flow
US$ billions. Cash from operations minus capital expenditure.
FortiveLincoln Electric
Source: the companies' Form 10-K filings, from SEC EDGAR, and the last close. For information only, not investment advice: the figures describe results, not which company is the better investment. The Filing Desk is not affiliated with either company. Full figures on the Fortive and Lincoln Electric pages.