On this page of StockholderLetter.com we present the latest annual shareholder letter from LINCOLN ELECTRIC HOLDINGS INC — ticker symbol LECO. Reading current and past LECO letters to shareholders can bring important insights into the investment thesis.

 •  3/19/2026 Letter Continued (Full PDF)
 •  3/17/2023 LECO Stockholder Letter
 •  3/18/2024 LECO Stockholder Letter
 •  3/20/2025 LECO Stockholder Letter
 •  More "Industrial Machinery & Equipment" Category Stockholder Letters
 •  LECO Benford's Law Stock Score = 94

LECO Shareholder/Stockholder Letter Transcript:

2025 ANNUAL REPORT & 2026 PROXY STATEMENT

SUSTAINABILITY HIGHLIGHTS
Safety (TRCR)
2025 GOAL: 52% Reduction
43% REDUCTION *
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
Years ended December 31 (dollars in millions, except per share)
NET SALES
$4,192
OPERATING INCOME MARGIN*
$4,009
$4,233
2024
2025
17.1% 17.1%
15.9%
17.6%
17.0% 17.6%
Energy Intensity
2025 Goal: 16% Reduction
4% REDUCTION *
Recycling
2025 Goal: 80% rate
79% in 2025
2023
AVERAGE OPERATING WORKING
CAPITAL RATIO*
17.1%
16.9%
17.9%
2023
2025
2024
NET INCOME*
$545
$551
$548
$531
$521
$466
GHG Emissions
2025 Goal: 10% Reduction
19% REDUCTION *
2023
2024
2025
2023
2025
2024
Water Use
2025 Goal: 14% Reduction
39% REDUCTION *
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATIONS
$668
Landfill Avoidance
$599
$661
RETURN ON INVESTED CAPITAL*
24.0% 24.1%
19.2%
21.8%
20.2% 21.3%
2025 Goal: 97% rate
96% in 2025
* (2025 vs 2018)
2023
2024
2025
2023
2024
2025
Recognized for
Our Leadership
NEWSWEEK
World   s Most Trustworthy Companies 2025
America   s Most Responsible Companies 2025
America   s Greatest Companies 2025
America   s Greatest Workplaces
for Manufacturing 2025
America   s Greatest Workplaces for Culture,
Belonging & Community 2025
America   s Greenest Companies 2025
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE*
CASH CONVERSION RATIO*
105%
2023
91%
2024
97%
2025
USA TODAY  
America   s Climate Leaders 2025
$9.41
2023
Reported
ETHISPHERE  
One of the World   s Most Ethical Companies
(7x Honoree)
$9.37
$8.15
$9.29
2024
$9.32 $9.87
2025
Adjusted
ANNUAL CASH DIVIDEND
PER COMMON SHARE
$2.56
$2.84
$3.00
2024
2025
TIME
America   s Best Mid-Size Company 2025
FORBES
America   s Best Mid-Size Employers 2025
America   s Best Employers for Company
Culture 2025
Please visit: https://sustainability.lincolnelectric.com
for more details
2023
* Please see Appendix A for definitions and reconciliation of adjusted results to the most comparable reported results.

WE ARE THE ESSENTIAL
LINC HELPING CUSTOMERS
BUILD BETTER
   Steven B. Hedlund Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS,
2025 was a milestone year for Lincoln Electric as we proudly celebrated the 130th
anniversary of the Company   s founding and the 30th anniversary of our NASDAQ
listing. These two achievements honored our rich legacy and the enduring strength of
our business, our values, and our incredible team.
I am pleased to report that 2025 was another year of record performance. Throughout
the year, our team remained resilient and agile responding to challenging end market
conditions. We achieved record sales of $4.2 billion, driven by acquisitions and price
to offset rising input costs. We remained focused on disciplined cost management,
serving customers, and long-term growth with the acquisition of Alloy Steel
International in Australia and are excited about our ability to scale their proprietary
wear plate technology in the years ahead. We also advanced innovation and increased
our vitality index of equipment sales from new products by 800 basis points to 58%
Record Net Sales:
$4.2 BILLION
reflecting a strong product pipeline and new solutions from our acquisitions.
We continued to reshape the business through operational initiatives which generated
approximately $31 million in incremental permanent savings. These achievements
enabled us to maintain last year   s record adjusted operating income margin of 17.6%
and deliver record adjusted earnings per share of $9.87. Disciplined working capital
management supported strong cash flows from operations, top quartile ROIC, a record
return of $507 million of cash to shareholders and 30% total shareholder return.
Record Adjusted EPS:
$9.87
COMPLETION OF THE HIGHER STANDARD 2025 STRATEGY
Our 2025 results cap off a successful five year strategic cycle under our Higher
Standard 2025 Strategy. I am proud that we achieved most of the targets we
established five years ago despite extraordinary global volatility. These include
the doubling of our automation sales and EBIT margin, the near doubling of our
Top Quartile Adjusted ROIC:
International Welding EBIT margins, and outperformance in acquisition growth and
21.3%
our strong    say-do    reputation and the relentless commitment of our global teams to
the Harris Products Group segment   s EBIT margin. These accomplishments highlight
drive long-term value for our stakeholders. The Company has never been stronger as
reflected by our 122% total shareholder return during the Higher Standard Strategy,
which is more than double our proxy peers    performance.

INTRODUCING THE RISE STRATEGY
As we look ahead, we are excited to launch our next strategy: RISE. This strategy supports our mission to
be the essential    Linc    to help customers build better and to expand our impact by solving more problems
for more customers. It leverages our culture which is rooted in the guiding principle of the Golden Rule and
through our shared commitment to promoting integrity, practicing candor, taking ownership, being agile, and
winning together. The    RISE    acronym stands for four themes that we will be emphasizing from 2026 to 2030
to generate superior value for all stakeholders:
R
I
S
E
REIMAGINE
INNOVATE
TO DIFFERENTIATE
CUSTOMERS BETTER
SERVE
ELEVATE
SELF & TEAM
Accelerating product
development, partnerships,
and    techquisitions    to bring
differentiated, higher value
solutions to solve more
problems for more customers.
Using market segmentation
and customer intimacy to
better understand and exceed
customers    expectations to
drive customer satisfaction
and growth.
Investing in enhanced
development, training, and
career-path programs to ensure
that we continue to attract, retain
and engage world class talent.
HOW WORK GETS DONE
Driving greater standardization
and digitization in our core
business processes to make
our operations safer, more
efficient and more effective.
OUR 2030 FINANCIAL TARGETS
LOOKING AHEAD
Under RISE, we are targeting:
Our optimism for the future is grounded in the
     $6+ Billion in Sales by 2030
     20+% Operating Income Margin with a high 20%
incremental operating income margin
     Mid-Teens % EPS CAGR
strength of our people, the trust of our customers,
and the opportunities ahead in automation, and
secular trends such as reshoring, electrification,
infrastructure, energy, and defense, which we are
well-positioned to capitalize on. With the RISE
Strategy as our roadmap, we are confident in our
    100% Cash Conversion
ability to sustain high performance and create long-
     $3.7+ Billion in Cash flow from operations
term value for our shareholders. On behalf of the
(Over the next five years)
     Advancing safety and environmental
performance
Board, the enterprise leadership team and the 12,000
men and women across the Company - thank you for
your continued support and partnership.
We will continue to follow our balanced capital
allocation strategy, including internal investments,
disciplined M&A, and returning cash to shareholders
through dividends and share repurchases.
Steven B. Hedlund
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.

2025
FORM 10-K

3/19/2026 Letter Continued (Full PDF)

 

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