Welding equipment manufacturer Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) reported Q2 CY2025 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 6.6% year on year to $1.09 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.60 per share was 12.4% above analysts’ consensus estimates.
Lincoln Electric’s 12.6% return over the past six months has outpaced the S&P 500 by 8.2%, and its stock price has climbed to $218.82 per share. This run-up might have investors contemplating their next move.
Mid-cap stocks have the best odds of scaling into $100 billion corporations thanks to their tested business models and large addressable markets.
But the many opportunities in front of them attract significant competition, spanning from industry behemoths with seemingly infinite resources to small, nimble players with chips on their shoulders.
Jim Cramer recommends buying SoFi Technologies and American Express, while waiting for a pullback in Lincoln Electric shares. FICO also looks promising.
Lincoln Electric’s first quarter results were met with a negative market reaction, as revenue growth was offset by softer volumes and earnings that missed analyst expectations. Management attributed the quarter’s performance to the impact of new tariffs, ongoing labor negotiations in Turkey, and muted customer capital spending. CEO Steve Hedlund highlighted, “Volumes were a bit softer than we expected,” noting that half of the decline was due to temporary disruptions in Turkey. The company’s efforts to maintain margins through pricing and cost controls were challenged by these headwinds, while automation project delays and cautious customer behavior further weighed on results.
Wall Street’s bearish price targets for the stocks in this article signal serious concerns.
Such forecasts are uncommon in an industry where maintaining cordial corporate relationships often trumps delivering the hard truth.
As the Q1 earnings season wraps, let’s dig into this quarter’s best and worst performers in the professional tools and equipment industry, including Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) and its peers.
Mid-cap stocks often strike the right balance between having proven business models and market opportunities that can support $100 billion corporations.
However, they face intense competition from scaled industry giants and can be disrupted by new innovative players vying for a slice of the pie.
Welding equipment manufacturer Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) reported Q1 CY2025 results topping the market’s revenue expectations, with sales up 2.4% year on year to $1 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.16 per share was 3.4% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
While strong cash flow is a key indicator of stability, it doesn’t always translate to superior returns.
Some cash-heavy businesses struggle with inefficient spending, slowing demand, or weak competitive positioning.
Welding equipment manufacturer Lincoln Electric (NASDAQ:LECO) reported revenue ahead of Wall Street’s expectations in Q1 CY2025, with sales up 2.4% year on year to $1.00 billion. Its non-GAAP profit of $2.16 per share was 3.2% below analysts’ consensus estimates.
Lincoln Electric has followed the market’s trajectory closely. The stock is down 5.5% to $183.04 per share over the past six months while the S&P 500 has lost 6.9%. This might have investors contemplating their next move.
The end of the earnings season is always a good time to take a step back and see who shined (and who not so much). Let’s take a look at how professional tools and equipment stocks fared in Q4, starting with Middleby (NASDAQ:MIDD).
Softness in the manufacturing sector, a slowdown in new orders, and the lingering effects of supply-chain issues have impacted the manufacturing tools industry. However, here are some stocks in the space to keep an eye on despite these challenges.
