Verdict: Side-by-side breakdown using the Bull Rankings model. LECO scored 55.3, MLI scored 77.1 — MLI leads.
Compare another set
LECO
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.
Tools & Accessories · Quality-Growth
55.3
$261.13 · $14.2B
fundamentals as of
Score gap
21.8
MLI leads
MLI
Mueller Industries, Inc.
Metal Fabrication · Quality-Growth
77.1
$60.71 · $13.4B
fundamentals as of
At a glance · who leads each dimension, on the model's own rules
CheapestMLI15.8x
Fastest growthMLI+14.8%
Strongest balance sheetMLI0.01
Highest qualityMLI83 / 100
Side by side · every name on one set of axes
Growth against the P/E multiple. Up and to the right is cheaper and faster — the quality-growth idea in one picture. Points beyond the axis are pinned to the edge and marked off-scale rather than allowed to compress everything else.
The model, pillar by pillar (0–100 each)
LECO
stronger →← stronger
MLI
82
Qualityreturns · margins · balance sheet
83
63
Growthrevenue & earnings expansion
84
33
Valuevaluation vs sector peers
66
MLI is stronger on 3 of 3 pillars.
Fundamentals, head-to-head
LECO
MLI
$542mC+
FCF
$666mC+
+5.6%C+
Rev
+14.8%B+
0.77B
D/E
0.01A
26.1xB
P/E
15.8xA-
1.46B
PEG
3.41D
Winner per row is the stronger grade; where grades tie, the better figure breaks it. A true tie or a missing value shows no highlight.
Valuation · DCF cross-check
LECO
MLI
82% above
Price vs fair valuelower is cheaper
22% above
~23%/yr
Growth the price impliesyr-1 FCF growth, fading to 4% · lower = less priced in
~13%/yr
-49%
1-yr DCF upside
-26%
-45%
5-yr DCF upside
-18%
-39%
10-yr DCF upside
-5%
The DCF is a cross-check on intrinsic value, separate from the quality-growth score above.
Model signals
LECO
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
MLI
Why this score
Raising its dividend
Durable high returns
Diluting shareholders
The companies
LECOLincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.
Tools & Accessories · $261.13 · beta 1.22
Why now
Tools & Accessories · market cap $14.2b. 16% off the 52-week high of $310.00. 11 sell-side analysts rate this a Buy with a mean 1-yr target of $304.91 (implying +17% upside).
Moat
Net margin 12% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 38% — top-decile capital efficiency. Either pricing leverage, low capital intensity, or aggressive buybacks; the durability story depends on which. FCF converts 98% of net income — earnings translate cleanly into cash.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
MLIMueller Industries, Inc.
Metal Fabrication · $60.71 · beta 1.09
Why now
Metal Fabrication · market cap $13.4b. 15% off the 52-week high of $71.12. Revenue growing +15%, comfortably above the S&P median.
Moat
Net margin 18% beats the market median by a meaningful margin — the company is keeping more of every revenue dollar than the average S&P constituent. ROE 24% is above 15% — the equity base is compounding at a rate the market struggles to discount accurately.
Risk
Mature compounder — the risk is paying up for quality at a moment when growth is decelerating. Watch for sequential revenue + margin trends; the inflection from "compounder" to "ex-compounder" is hard to spot until the multiple already started compressing.
Verdict — model-derived comparison
Generating verdict… typically 5–10 seconds
Not investment advice. The Bull Rankings publishes a quantitative ranking model and accompanying analysis for general informational purposes only. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security; nothing is personalized to your circumstances, risk tolerance, or tax situation. Investing carries the risk of loss — invest at your own risk and consider consulting a licensed financial professional before acting on anything you read here. See terms and methodology for full disclosures.
Where LECO and MLI diverge
On the headline score the gap is 21.8 points in favor of MLI. The widest single difference is Value, where MLI leads by 32.9 points.
ValueLECO 32.9 · MLI 65.8MLI +32.9
GrowthLECO 62.5 · MLI 84.1MLI +21.6
QualityLECO 82.2 · MLI 82.8level
Pillars run 0–100. Value is judged against each company's own sector, so a Value score is a statement about a company relative to its own industry rather than to the other name here. A wide Value gap usually means the market already prices the difference in quality or growth — which is the trade-off this comparison comes down to.
Common questions
Is MLI or LECO the better stock?
MLI scores higher: MLI 77.1, LECO 55.3 out of 100 on the Bull Rankings quality-growth score, which blends business quality, growth and valuation into one number. A higher score means a stronger business at a more reasonable price — it is not a price target or a recommendation.
Where do MLI and LECO differ most?
The widest gap is value, where MLI leads by 33 points on the 0–100 pillar scale. MLI also leads growth, while quality is effectively level between them.
How are MLI and LECO scored?
Each carries the same 0–100 quality-growth score used everywhere on the site, built from three pillars — quality (profitability and returns on capital), growth (revenue and earnings), and value (what you pay for them) — combined as a geometric mean, so a weak pillar cannot be papered over by a strong one.
How current is this comparison?
The whole universe is re-scored every trading day after the US market close, so the scores and fundamentals here reflect the latest published edition.