ITW vs LECO: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of September 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. ITW and LECO share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined ITW and LECO exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW) is a Glenview, Illinois-based diversified manufacturer founded in 1912 that makes engineered fasteners, components, equipment, and consumable systems for customers around the world. The company is organized into seven segments: Automotive OEM, Test & Measurement and Electronics, Food Equipment, Polymers & Fluids, Welding, Construction Products, and Specialty Products. Its defining feature is the 80/20 operating model, a discipline of focusing on the roughly 20% of products and customers that drive about 80% of value, which has produced some of the highest and most consistent operating margins in the industrial sector, near 26%. ITW competes largely on proprietary, patent-protected niche products embedded in customer processes, which gives it pricing power and sticky demand.

Full ITW guide

Lincoln Electric designs and manufactures arc-welding equipment, welding consumables (electrodes, wire, fluxes), cutting and automation systems, and brazing and soldering products through its Harris Products Group. The company sells into a broad set of end markets including general fabrication, heavy industries, automotive, energy, construction, and infrastructure, and it holds one of the largest global shares of the welding equipment and consumables market. Its strategy pairs organic growth from pricing and new products with a steady cadence of bolt-on acquisitions, particularly in automation, where it is building capabilities in robotic welding and factory systems.

Full LECO guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• ITW drivers: Margin expansion from the 80/20 model; Diversified, niche-leading segments.
• LECO drivers: Automation and robotic welding expansion; Pricing power and consumables razor-and-blade model.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: ITW's end markets are mature and cyclical, so a downturn in global auto production, industrial capital spending, or construction activity would pressure organic sales, which already grow only in the low single digits. For LECO, lincoln Electric's revenue is cyclical and tied to global manufacturing activity, industrial capital spending, and construction, so a slowdown in factory output or a recession can pressure both equipment sales and consumables volumes.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick ITW if you believe its drivers more; LECO if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the ITW and LECO guides.

ITW. ITW is usually valued as a quality industrial compounder, so investors focus less on revenue growth and more on margins, free cash flow, return on invested capital, and per-share earnings growth. Its operating margin near 26% is among the highest in diversified industrials, and the forward price-to-earnings ratio in the low twenties reflects a premium the market assigns to that consistency and the long dividend record. Because organic growth is modest, the earnings-per-share story leans on margin expansion and buybacks, which is why guidance for about 7% EPS growth in 2026 comes alongside only 2 to 4% expected revenue growth.

LECO. Lincoln Electric posted record first-quarter 2026 sales of about $1.12 billion, up roughly 12 percent, with adjusted EPS near $2.50 beating estimates. Trailing revenue is around $4.35 billion with operating margins in the mid-teens. The premium P/E near 27 reflects the market's view of the franchise quality, margin durability, and capital-return record.

Headline figures (approximate, JULY 2026): ITW shows revenue (fy2025) ~$16 billion, up ~0.9% YoY, operating margin (fy2025) ~26.3%, gaap eps (fy2025) ~$10.49, 2026 eps guidance ~$11.00 to $11.40 (up ~7% at midpoint); LECO shows revenue (ttm) ~$4.35B, q1 2026 net sales ~$1.12B (up ~12% YoY), adjusted operating margin ~16.9%, market cap ~$14.6B.

ITW and LECO are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined ITW and LECO exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.