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Stock Comparison · Structural lead, mixed market

Lincoln Electric Holdings vs Advanced Drainage Systems: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Lincoln Electric holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across stability and growth. Advanced Drainage Systems does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. On the market side, Lincoln Electric is in better shape — its trend is intact while Advanced Drainage Systems's trend has broken down. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Lincoln Electric's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the Russell 1000 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

The lead is spread across stability and growth, rather than sitting in one isolated gap. Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. leads by 15 points on the overall comparison score.

Trajectory Similarity
0.74
Similar
Peer-set rank: #98
within Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.'s functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

This level of similarity signals a strong structural match, even though some dimensions still separate the two companies.

The match is driven mainly by capital structure and revenue growth trajectory.

Similarity drivers
capital structurerevenue growth trajectory
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
LECO
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.
59
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Russell 1000
vs
WMS
Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.
44
Peer-Score
Signal qualityMedium
Peer basis: Russell 1000

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: LECO vs WMS Profitability 52 44 Stability 57 18 Valuation 64 69 Growth 63 32 LECO WMS
Gap Ranking
#1 Stability +39
#2 Growth +31
#3 Profitability +8
#4 Valuation +5
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for LECO and WMS Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer LECOWMS Relative valuation Structural strength

Structure clearly favours Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., even though current pricing leans the other way.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where LECO and WMS each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY LECO Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 24 pct gap WMS Elevated · near norm 0th 50th 100th 96th 72nd
Today WMS sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (72nd percentile), while LECO sits higher in its own history (96th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, WMS is at a historically more favourable entry position than LECO. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Stability
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. sits in the stronger part of the group on stability, while Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. is closer to mid-pack.
Growth
On growth, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. is positioned higher in the group, while Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. is closer to the middle.
Stability — Dominant Gap
LECO
57
WMS
18
Gap+39in favour of LECO

The clearest distance comes from a steadier profile over time.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc. still looks less cycle-sensitive — that keeps the result from looking completely one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both stability and growth, making it broader than a single-dimension result.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the LECO vs WMS comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar stability-and-growth comparisons

Explore how LECO and WMS each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.