Sifting through countless of stocks in the Machinery industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc.

Alamo Group Inc. manufactures and sells industrial and vegetation management equipment for governmental, industrial, and agricultural uses worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vegetation Management and Industrial Equipment. The Vegetation Management segment offers tractor powered equipment such as rotary, finishing, flail, and disc mowers; rotary cutters; front end loaders, backhoes, tillers, posthole diggers, scraper blades, cultivators, subsoilers, and other tractor attachments and implements. This segment also provides commercial and residential zero turn mowers; hydraulic and mechanical boom and reach mowers; hedge and hedgerow cutters; industrial grass mowers; seedbed preparation equipment; and forestry and tree care tools, including chippers, stump grinders, mulchers, brush cutters, flails, and debarkers, as well as remote control mowers and related replacement parts. Its Industrial Equipment segment offers hydraulic telescoping booms; catch basin and roadway debris vacuum systems; sewer cleaners; vacuum trucks, combination sewer cleaners, hydro excavators, trenchers, and high pressure cleaning systems; truck mounted snow plows, blowers, dump bodies, spreaders, deicers, brine sprayers, snow throwers, and wing systems; salt spreaders; street sweepers, including mechanical broom and regenerative air models; leaf and debris collection equipment and replacement brooms; solid waste and recycling equipment; municipal tractors and attachments; asphalt patchers; underground construction forms; traffic control and crash attenuator trucks; industrial vacuum excavation units; trailer mounted and custom truck mounted systems; and related accessories and truck up fitting services. The company serves the infrastructure building and maintenance, industrial construction, public works, land maintenance, agriculture, and tree care markets. Alamo Group Inc. was founded in 1955 and is headquartered in Seguin, Texas.

Proto Labs, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a digital manufacturer of custom parts in the United States and Europe. It offers manufacturing services, such as molding, computer numerical control machining, 3D printing, and sheet metal to developers, engineers, and supply chain teams. The company was incorporated in 1999 and is headquartered in Maple Plain, Minnesota.

Latest Machinery and Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs, Inc. Stock News

As of August 4, 2026, Alamo Group Inc. had a $2.1 billion market capitalization, compared to the Machinery median of $4.1 million. Alamo Group Inc.’s stock is down 0.5% in 2026, up 6.5% in the previous five trading days and down 21.01% in the past year.

Currently, Alamo Group Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 20.4. Alamo Group Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.6 billion with a 6.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.7%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $10.584 per share for the current fiscal year. Alamo Group Inc. currently has a 0.8% dividend yield.

As of August 4, 2026, Proto Labs, Inc. had a $2.1 billion market cap, putting it in the 54th percentile of all stocks. Proto Labs, Inc.’s stock is up 74.9% in 2026, up 24% in the previous five trading days and up 104.68% in the past year.

Currently, Proto Labs, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 70.1. Proto Labs, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $560.5 million with a 5.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 10.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.214 per share for the current fiscal year. Proto Labs, Inc. does not currently pay a dividend.

How We Compare Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

Learn more about A+ Investor here!

Sign Up to Receive a Free Special Report Showing How A+ Grades Can Help You Make Smarter Investment Decisions

Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Alamo Group Inc.	ALG	C
Proto Labs, Inc.	PRLB	F

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Alamo Group Inc. has a Value Score of 53, which is Average. Proto Labs, Inc. has a Value Score of 18, which is Ultra Expensive.

The Value Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs or Inc. has a high enough value grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolio. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to value.

Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
Alamo Group Inc.	ALG	C
Proto Labs, Inc.	PRLB	A

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

Alamo Group Inc. has a Quality Score of 57, which is Average. Proto Labs, Inc. has a Quality Score of 86, which is Very Strong.

The Quality Grade Winner: Proto Labs, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Quality Grade breakdown above, Proto Labs, Inc. has a better overall quality grade than Alamo Group Inc.. For investors who are looking for companies with higher quality than others in the same industry, Proto Labs, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolios. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Alamo Group Inc.	ALG	D
Proto Labs, Inc.	PRLB	A

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Alamo Group Inc. has a Momentum Score of 26, which is Weak. Proto Labs, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 89, which is Very Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Proto Labs, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Proto Labs, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to Alamo Group Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Proto Labs, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Quality and Momentum, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Alamo Group Inc. stock has a Value Score of 53, Momentum Score of 26 and Quality Score of 57.

Proto Labs, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 18, Momentum Score of 89 and Quality Score of 86.

Comparing Alamo Group Inc., Proto Labs and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.