11-K 1 leco-20221231x11k.htm 11-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 11-K

FOR ANNUAL REPORTS OF EMPLOYEE STOCK PURCHASE, SAVINGS AND SIMILAR PLANS PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

(Mark One)

þ      ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

OR

      TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from _________________ to _____________________

Commission file number   0-1402

A.        Full title of the plan and the address of the plan, if different from that of the issuer named below:

The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

B.        Name of issuer of the securities held pursuant to the plan and the address of its principal executive office:

Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.

22801 St. Clair Avenue

Cleveland, Ohio 44117


FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SCHEDULE

The Lincoln Electric Company Employee Savings Plan

December 31, 2022 and 2021, and

Year Ended December 31, 2022

With Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Plan Sponsor and Administrator

The Lincoln Electric Company

Cleveland, Ohio  44117

(216) 481-8100

Plan Number:  005

Employer Identification Number:  34-0359955


The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

Financial Statements and Schedule

December 31, 2022 and 2021, and

Year Ended December 31, 2022

Contents

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms

1

Financial Statements

Statements of Net Assets Available for Benefits

3

Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits

4

Notes to Financial Statements

5

Supplemental Schedule

Form 5500, Schedule H, Line 4i — Schedule of Assets (Held at End of Year)

11


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Participants and Administrator of

The Lincoln Electric Company Employee Savings Plan
Cleveland, Ohio

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying Statement of Net Assets Available for Benefits of The Lincoln Electric Company Employee Savings Plan (the “Plan”) as of December 31, 2022, the related Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits for the year ended December 31, 2022, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the net assets available for benefits of the Plan as of December 31, 2022, and the changes in net assets available for benefits for the year ended December 31, 2022, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

These financial statements are the responsibility of the Plan’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Plan’s financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Plan in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Plan is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for purposes of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Plan’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Supplemental Information

The supplemental information in the accompanying schedule of assets (held at end of year) as of December 31, 2022 has been subjected to audit procedures performed in conjunction with the audit of the Plan’s financial statements. The supplemental information is the responsibility of the Plan’s management. Our audit procedures included determining whether the supplemental information reconciles to the financial statements or the underlying accounting and other records, as applicable, and performing procedures to test the completeness and accuracy of the information presented in the supplemental information. In forming our opinion on the supplemental information, we evaluated whether the supplemental information, including its form and content, is presented in conformity with the Department of Labor’s Rules and Regulations for Reporting and Disclosure under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. In our opinion, the supplemental information is fairly stated, in all material respects, in relation to the financial statements as a whole.

/s/ Bober, Markey, Fedorovich & Company

We have served as the Plan’s auditor since 2023.

Cleveland, Ohio

June 27, 2023

1


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Plan Administrator and Plan Participants
The Lincoln Electric Company Employee Savings Plan

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying statement of net assets available for benefits of The Lincoln Electric Company Employee Savings Plan (the “Plan”) as of December 31, 2021 and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statement”). In our opinion, the financial statement presents fairly, in all material respects, the net assets of the Plan as of December 31, 2021, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.  

Basis of Opinion

The Plan’s management is responsible for this financial statement. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Plan’s financial statement based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Plan in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statement is free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Plan is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audit we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Plan’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.  

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statement. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statement. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

/s/ Plante & Moran, PLLC

We served as the Plan’s auditor from 2016 through 2022.

Cleveland, Ohio

June 24, 2022

2


The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

Statements of Net Assets Available for Benefits

December 31,

 

    

2022

    

2021

Assets

Investments at fair value

$

847,427,413

$

888,037,060

Fully benefit-responsive investment contract, at contract value

1,158,400

-

Receivables:

Notes receivable from participants

12,343,852

11,700,518

Employer contributions receivable

107,698

220,862

Other receivable

-

267,507

Total receivables

12,451,550

12,188,887

Total assets

861,037,363

900,225,947

Net assets available for benefits

$

861,037,363

$

900,225,947

See notes to these financial statements.

3


The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits

Year ended December 31, 2022

Additions

    

 

Interest and dividends

$

15,381,707

Interest on notes receivable from participants

625,189

Contributions:

Participants

31,665,370

Employer

15,369,784

Total additions

63,042,050

Deductions

Participant withdrawals

60,317,060

Administrative expenses

170,512

Net depreciation in fair value of investments

153,607,094

Total deductions

214,094,666

Net decrease in net assets prior to transfers from other qualified plans

151,052,616

Transfers from other qualified plans

111,864,032

Net decrease

39,188,584

Net assets available for benefits at beginning of year

900,225,947

Net assets available for benefits at end of year

$

861,037,363

See notes to these financial statements.

4


Table of Contents

The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

Notes to Financial Statements

Note 1 — Description of Plan

The following description of The Lincoln Electric Company Employee Savings Plan, as amended and restated (“the Plan”), provides only general information. Participants should refer to the Plan document for a complete description of the Plan’s provisions.

General

The Plan is a defined contribution plan covering certain employees of The Lincoln Electric Company and certain related entities (“the Company”), as defined by the Plan. The Plan provides that regular, full-time employees are eligible to make participant contributions immediately and all other eligible employees after completion of 1,000 hours in any year of service with the Company. Such employees will be eligible for Company contributions following six months of regular, full-time employment or 1,000 hours in any year of service with the Company. The Plan is subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”).

Effective January 1, 2022, the Company amended the Plan to receive residual assets from The Lincoln Electric Company Retirement Annuity Program (“RAP”), a frozen defined benefit plan of the Company, which was terminated effective as of the close of business on December 31, 2020. The residual assets from the RAP (following satisfaction of all RAP benefit liabilities) were deposited into a suspense account under the Plan in 2022 and will be used to fund certain employer contributions beginning in the 2022 Plan year and ending no later than the 2028 Plan year. On January 3, 2022, $68,023,914 of assets were deposited into the suspense account under the Plan and are reflected in the Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits as Transfers from other qualified plans. During 2022, $11,118,817 from the suspense account was used to fund employer discretionary contributions and the balance in the account as of December 31, 2022 was $56,905,097.

In April, May, and June 2022, the Techalloy, Inc. Employee Savings Plan, the Tennessee Rand, Inc. 401(k) Plan, the Wayne Trail Technologies, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan, and Coldwater Machine Company, LLC 401(k) Plan were merged into the Plan and were terminated. Total assets transferred to the Plan were $600,237, $12,073,035, $14,005,048, and $17,161,798, respectively, and are reflected in the Statement of Changes in Net Assets Available for Benefits as Transfers from other qualified plans.

Contributions and Vesting

Participant Contributions

Each year, participants may make pre-tax and after-tax Roth contributions to the Plan of 1% to 80% (in whole percentages) of their base pay and/or bonus pay up to the maximum amount as set by the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") ($20,500 for 2022). Participants who are at least 50 years old by the end of the Plan year are allowed to make catch-up contributions for that year (up to an additional $6,500 for 2022). Participants are immediately vested in their contributions plus actual earnings thereon. Participants have the right to direct Fidelity Management Trust Company (“the Trustee”) to invest their contributions to the Plan in any of the investment funds available under the Plan in 1% increments or to invest contributions in a self-directed brokerage account. Eligible employees of The Lincoln Electric Company who become eligible participants in the Plan will be automatically enrolled in the Plan unless action is taken by the employee to elect not to contribute to the Plan. Participants enrolled under this approach will have 4% of their base salary contributed to the Plan.

The Plan is subject to certain non-discrimination standards under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”). In order to comply with these standards, tests are performed to provide a limit on the amount of benefits provided to highly compensated employees. As a result, certain participants who are defined as highly compensated employees may have a portion of their contributions refunded to them after the end of the plan year and are recorded as Corrective distributions payable in the Statements of Net Assets available for Benefits.

5


Table of Contents

The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)

Company Contributions

In general, participants may receive up to 6% of their annual compensation, which is defined as base pay and bonus compensation, in Company contributions through:

(1)Company matching contributions of 100% of the first 3% of participant compensation contributed to the Plan; and
(2)Automatic Company contributions equal to 3% of annual compensation.

In addition, certain employees who were participants in the Company’s frozen defined benefit plan receive employer contributions equal to 6% of annual compensation for a minimum of five years or to the end of the year in which they complete 30 years of service. In general, Company contributions are 100% vested when made. A small percentage of participants (from acquired companies) have different Company contribution and vesting provisions applicable to them, as described in the Plan.

Participant Accounts

Each participant’s account is credited with the participant’s contributions and allocations of (a) the Company’s contributions and (b) Plan earnings. Forfeited balances of terminated participants’ nonvested accounts are used to reduce future Company contributions to the Plan or to pay Plan expenses. The benefit to which a participant is entitled is the amount credited to the participant’s account.

Participant Loans

Active participants may borrow from their accounts a minimum of $1,000 up to a maximum equal to the lesser of $50,000 or 50% of their vested account balance. Loan terms range from one to five years, or up to 15 years for the purchase of a primary residence. The loans are secured by the balance in the participant’s account and bear interest at a rate computed as the prime rate in effect at the loan origination date plus 1%, as determined by the Company. Principal and interest are paid ratably through payroll deductions.

Payment of Benefits

Participants may receive the value of their account in a single lump sum payment or in ten or fewer annual installment payments following separation from the Company, whether by retirement, disability or otherwise, except that if the full value of a participant’s account is $1,000 or less or if the participant dies while in service and his/her account is payable to his/her beneficiary, such account balance will be paid in a single lump sum payment. Participants who leave the Company may withdraw their money at any time. Withdrawals must begin no later than April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which age 72 is attained or the calendar year in which the participant’s employment is terminated, if later. Participants or their beneficiaries may elect to receive the portion of their distributions which are attributable to common shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. allocated to their account in the form of whole shares with any fractional shares paid in cash or all in cash. During employment, participants may withdraw certain amounts from their accounts if they are over age 59 ½, disabled or have a financial hardship and may withdraw rollover contributions at any time.

Plan Termination

The Company has the right to amend, modify, suspend or terminate the Plan subject to the provisions of ERISA at any time. Upon termination of the Plan, the rights to benefits accrued by participants or their beneficiaries, to the extent that such benefits are funded or credited to participants’ accounts, shall be nonforfeitable. No amendment, modification,

6


Table of Contents

The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)

suspension or termination of the Plan shall have the effect of providing that any amounts then held under the Plan may be used or diverted to any purpose other than for the exclusive benefit of the participants or their beneficiaries.

Note 2 — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Accounting

The financial statements of the Plan are prepared under the accrual method of accounting in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

Investment Valuation and Income Recognition

The Plan’s investments are stated at fair value. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The valuation methodologies used for the investment assets measured at fair value are as follows:

Units of registered investment companies (“mutual funds”): Valued at quoted market prices in active markets, which represent the net asset values of the units held by the Plan on the last business day of the Plan year.

Self-directed brokerage account: Consists primarily of the following: (1) common stocks and bonds, which are valued at the closing price reported on the active market on which the individual securities are traded; and (2) mutual funds, which are valued at quoted market prices, which represent the net asset values of the units held by the Plan on the last business day of the plan year.

Lincoln Electric Stock: Consists of common stock of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., which is determined based on the quoted market price as of year-end.

Common/collective trusts: Valued at net asset value ("NAV") per share or its equivalent of the funds, which are based on the fair value of the funds underlying assets. There are no redemption restrictions or unfunded commitments on these investments.

The methods described above may produce a fair value calculation that may not be indicative of net realizable value or reflective of future fair values. Furthermore, while the Plan believes its valuation methods are appropriate and consistent with other market participants, the use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value of certain financial instruments could result in a different fair value measurement at the reporting date.

Purchases and sales of securities are recorded on a trade-date basis. Open trades of Lincoln Electric Stock that have not settled are reflected in the Statements of Net Assets Available for Benefits as either an Other receivable or Other liability. Interest income is recorded on the accrual basis. Dividends are recorded on the ex-dividend date. Net depreciation includes the Plan’s gains and losses on investments bought and sold as well as held throughout the year. See Note 6 for additional disclosures relative to the fair value of the investments held in the Plan.

Benefit Payments

Benefits are recorded by the Plan when paid.

7


Table of Contents

The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates that affect amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Notes Receivable from Participants

Notes receivable from participants represent participant loans that are recorded at their unpaid principal balance plus any accrued but unpaid interest. Interest income is recorded when it is earned. If a participant ceases to make loan repayments and the loan is deemed to be a distribution, the participant loan balance is reduced and a benefit payment is recorded.

Administrative Expenses

All direct costs and expenses incurred in connection with the administration of the Plan and trust were primarily paid by the Company in 2022.

Note 3 — Income Tax Status

The Plan received a determination letter from the IRS dated March 10, 2017, stating that the Plan is qualified under Section 401(a) of the IRC, and, therefore, the related trust is exempt from taxation. Subsequent to this determination by the IRS, the Plan was amended and restated. Once qualified, the Plan is required to operate in conformity with the IRC to maintain its qualification. The Plan Administrator believes the Plan, as amended and restated, is qualified and the related trust is tax exempt. Accordingly, no provision for income taxes has been made in the accompanying statements. The Plan Administrator believes the Plan is no longer subject to income tax examinations for years prior to 2019.

Note 4 — Transactions with Parties-in-Interest

At December 31, 2022, the Plan held 881,086 common shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. with a fair value of $127,319,156. For the year ended December 31, 2022, transactions involving common shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. included purchases and sales of approximately $4,130,361 and $11,402,843, respectively, and the Plan received dividends of $1,933,494. At December 31, 2021, the Plan held 918,531 common shares of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. with a fair value of $128,116,514.

Party-in-interest transactions also include the investment in the proprietary funds of the Trustee and the payment of administrative expenses by the Company. Such transactions are exempt from being prohibited transactions under ERISA.

Note 5 — Risks and Uncertainties

The Plan invests in various investment securities. Investment securities are exposed to various risks such as interest rate, market and credit risks. Due to the level of risk associated with certain investment securities, it is at least reasonably possible that changes in the values of investment securities will occur in the near term and that such changes could materially affect participants’ account balances and the amounts reported in the Statements of Net Assets Available for Benefits.

The Plan’s investments in Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. common shares are exposed to market risk in the event of a decline in the value of Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. common shares. Participants assume all risk in connection with any decrease in the market price of any investment.

8


Table of Contents

The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)

Note 6 — Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. GAAP establishes a framework for measuring fair value. That framework provides a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements).

The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

Level 1Inputs to the valuation methodology are unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.

Level 2Inputs to the valuation methodology include:

Quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets;
Quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets;
Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability; and
Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

If the asset or liability has a specific (contractual) term, the Level 2 input must be observable for substantially the full term of the asset or liability.

Level 3Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.

The asset’s or liability’s fair value measurement level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Valuation techniques used maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs.

The following tables set forth by level within the fair value hierarchy the Plan’s investments at fair value as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Assets at Fair Value as of December 31, 2022

 

    

Level 1

    

Total

Mutual funds

$

314,937,754

$

314,937,754

Self-directed brokerage accounts

23,797,371

23,797,371

Lincoln Electric Stock

127,319,156

127,319,156

Total investments in the fair value hierarchy

466,054,281

466,054,281

Common/collective trusts measured at NAV

381,373,132

Total investments at fair value

$

847,427,413

9


Table of Contents

The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

Notes to Financial Statements (continued)

Assets at Fair Value as of December 31, 2021

 

    

Level 1

    

Total

Mutual funds

$

529,438,718

$

529,438,718

Self-directed brokerage accounts

30,321,186

30,321,186

Lincoln Electric Stock

128,116,514

128,116,514

Total investments in the fair value hierarchy

687,876,418

687,876,418

Common/collective trusts measured at NAV

200,160,642

Total investments at fair value

$

888,037,060

Note 7 — Fully Benefit-Responsive Investment Contract

The Plan offers an investment option of a group annuity contract with Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company, a related entity of the Plan’s trustee. The contract is a traditional investment contract. This contract meets the fully benefit-responsive investment contract criteria and therefore is reported at contract value. Contract value is the relevant measure for fully benefit-responsive investment contracts because this is the amount received by participant if they were to initiate permitted transactions under the terms of the Plan. Contract value represents contributions made under each contract, plus earnings, less participant withdrawals, and administrative expenses. As a traditional investment contract, the Plan owns only the contract itself.

The traditional investment contract held by the Plan is a guaranteed investment contract. The contract issuer is contractually obligated to repay the principal and interest at a specified interest rate that is guaranteed to the Plan. The crediting rate is based on a formula established by the contract issuer but may not be less than zero percent. The credit rating is reviewed on a quarterly basis for resetting.

The Plan’s ability to receive amounts due in accordance with the fully benefit-responsive investment contract is dependent upon the third-party issuer’s ability to meet its financial obligations. The issuer’s ability to meet its contractual obligations may be affected by future economic and regulatory developments.

Certain events might limit the ability of the Plan to transact at contract value with the contract issuer. These events may be different under each contract. Examples of such events include, but are not limited to the Plan’s failure to qualify under Section 401(a) of the IRC or the failure of the trust to be tax-exempt under section 501(a) of the IRC; premature termination of the contract; Plan termination or merger; changes to the Plan’s prohibition or competing investment options; and bankruptcy of the Plan Sponsor or other events of the Sponsor, such as divestitures, that significantly affect the Plan’s normal operations.

Management believes that there are no events probable of occurring that might limit the ability of the Plan to transact at contract value with the contact issuer and that also would limit the ability of the Plan to transact at contact value with the participants.

10


The Lincoln Electric Company 

Employee Savings Plan

 EIN:  34-0359955          Plan Number:  005

Form 5500, Schedule H, Line 4i—Schedule of Assets

(Held at End of Year)

December 31, 2022

Identity of Issuer, Borrower, Lessor or Similar Party

    

Description of Investment Including

Maturity Date, Rate of Interest,

Collateral, Par or Maturity Value

   Cost

Current Value

 

Common/Collective Trusts:

Vanguard

Vanguard Retirement Savings Trust IV

**

$

70,529,828

*Fidelity

T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Trust T2

**

66,479,961

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2025 Trust II

**

37,128,114

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2030 Trust II

**

36,926,811

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2035 Trust II

**

28,352,296

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Trust II

**

24,903,228

Wellington Trust Company, NA

Wellington Mid-Cap Opportunities Portfolio

**

23,391,556

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2050 Trust II

**

22,199,102

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2045 Trust II

**

20,394,346

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2055 Trust II

**

18,228,234

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2020 Trust II

**

12,921,047

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2060 Trust II

**

11,092,020

*Fidelity

Vanguard Institutional Target Retirement Inc

**

6,667,994

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2065 Trust II

**

2,143,005

*Fidelity

Vanguard Target Retirement 2070 Trust II

**

13,264

*Fidelity

Managed Income Portfolio CL 2

**

2,326

381,373,132

Registered investment companies:

*Fidelity

Fidelity Equity Index Fund

**

73,666,237

*Fidelity

MetWest Low Duration Bond Fund I

**

50,227,509

*Fidelity

Dodge & Cox Balanced Fund

**

33,690,417

*Fidelity

Vanguard Small Cap Index Institutional

**

30,922,340

*Fidelity

WA Core PLS Bond IS

**

28,409,299

*Fidelity

American Washington Mutual Fund

**

25,810,991

*Fidelity

Vanguard Mid-Cap Value Index Fund Admiral Shares

**

16,982,297

*Fidelity

Fidelity Diversified International

**

15,729,137

*Fidelity

American EuroPacific Growth Fund

**

13,281,472

*Fidelity

Vanguard Tot Intl

**

10,184,228

*Fidelity

Fidelity Extended Market Index

**

9,486,779

*Fidelity

Fidelity Government Money Market Fund K6

**

6,547,048

314,937,754

Investment in Insurance Contract:

Empower

Key Guaranteed Portfolio Fund

**

1,158,400

*Fidelity BrokerageLink

Self-directed brokerage accounts

**

23,797,371

*Lincoln Electric Stock

881,086 Common Shares

**

127,319,156

*Participant loans

Loans bearing interest at rates ranging from 4.25% to 9.25%

-

12,343,852

Total assets

$

860,929,665

* Denotes party-in-interest

** Cost information is omitted due to transactions being participant directed.

11


SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the trustees (or other persons who administer the employee benefit plan) have duly caused this annual report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

The Lincoln Electric Company

Employee Savings Plan

By:

The Lincoln Electric Company,

Plan Administrator

By:

/s/ Gabriel Bruno

Gabriel Bruno

Executive Vice President,

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

Date: June 27, 2023

12