Linde (LIN) AI Stock Analysis

• Market Cap: $207.12B
• Dividend Yield: 1.29%
• Average Volume (3M): 2.50M
• Price to Earnings (P/E): 32.2
• Beta (1Y): 0.64
• Revenue Growth: 0.46%
• EPS Growth: 7.97%
• Country: US
• Employees: 65,289
• Sector: Basic Materials
• Sector Strength: 60
• Industry: Chemicals - Specialty
• EPS (TTM): 13.62
• Shares Outstanding: 472,911,620
• 10 Day Avg. Volume: 2,079,858
• 30 Day Avg. Volume: 2,503,045
• PEG Ratio: 4.04
• Price to Book (P/B): N/A
• Price to Sales (P/S): 6.57
• Price to Cash Flow (P/CF): 19.30
• P/FCF Ratio: 17.30
• Enterprise Value/Market Cap: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Revenue: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Gross Profit: N/A
• Enterprise Value/Ebitda: N/A
• 1Y Price Target: $506.36
• Price Target Upside: 15.62% Upside
• Rating Consensus: Moderate Buy
• Number of Analyst Covering: 14

Linde's overall stock score reflects its strong financial performance, characterized by robust revenue growth and profitability. The positive technical indicators and optimistic earnings call further support the stock's performance. However, the high P/E ratio suggests potential overvaluation, which slightly tempers the overall outlook.

Positive Factors

EPS Growth

LIN should see robust price/volumes, efficiency gains, new projects, and tailwinds from a normalized energy/power cost environment that should drive double-digit EPS growth for multiple years.

Market Stability

Healthcare, Food & Beverage, and Electronics customers, which make up a significant portion of gas sales, are normally stable.

Pricing Power

The company expects to pass-through inflation driven pricing in all regions, indicating pricing power.

Negative Factors

China Market Weakness

China remains weak especially on the industrial side given the over capacity issues across the board.

Tariffs Impact

The threat of broader tariffs likely hinders demand for packaged products in cyclical end markets such as manufacturing, energy, and metals & mining.

Trade Policy Uncertainty

Uncertainty surrounding protectionist trade policies likely slows the pace of project evaluation and scope discussions in 2025, and stalls a rebound in demand from the cyclical markets.

Linde Business Overview & Revenue Model

Company Description

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas and engineering company in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene. The company also designs and constructs turnkey process plants for third-party customers, as well as for the gas businesses in various locations, such as olefin, natural gas, air separation, hydrogen, and synthesis gas plants. It serves a range of industries, including healthcare, energy, manufacturing, food, beverage carbonation, fiber-optics, steel making, aerospace, chemicals, and water treatment. The company was founded in 1879 and is based in Woking, the United Kingdom.

How the Company Makes Money

Linde makes money primarily through the production and distribution of industrial gases to a diverse range of end markets, including healthcare, manufacturing, and energy. The company operates through two main business segments: Gases and Engineering. The Gases segment generates revenue through the sale of gases and related equipment, offering on-site gas production, pipeline supply, and packaged gas. The Engineering segment designs and constructs large industrial plants, contributing to the company's revenue by leveraging its expertise in process technologies. Linde also capitalizes on long-term contracts and strategic partnerships, providing stability and growth opportunities. Additionally, the company invests in innovations like hydrogen energy solutions, which position it for future revenue expansion as global energy demands evolve.

Linde Financial Statement Overview

Summary

Linde exhibits strong financial health characterized by consistent revenue growth, high profitability, a balanced capital structure, and healthy cash flows. While the company has a stable leverage position, maintaining its cash flow growth will be crucial to sustain its financial strength in the competitive chemicals industry.

Income Statement

Linde has demonstrated strong financial performance with consistent revenue growth and improving profit margins. The Gross Profit Margin for 2024 is 48.06%, and the Net Profit Margin is 19.89%, both indicating high profitability. Revenue has grown steadily, and the EBIT Margin of 26.16% and EBITDA Margin of 38.63% further underscore operational efficiency.

Balance Sheet

Linde maintains a solid balance sheet with a moderate Debt-to-Equity Ratio of 0.57, reflecting manageable leverage. The company has a strong Equity Ratio of 47.52%, showing a stable financial structure. Return on Equity is robust at 17.23%, indicating efficient use of equity capital.

Cash Flow

Linde's cash flow position is strong, with a significant Free Cash Flow of $4.93 billion, though slightly down from the previous year. The Operating Cash Flow to Net Income Ratio of 1.43 suggests healthy cash generation relative to earnings. Free Cash Flow to Net Income Ratio stands at 0.75, indicating good cash conversion.

Breakdown
Dec 2024	Dec 2023	Dec 2022	Dec 2021	Dec 2020
Income Statement		Total Revenue
33.01B	32.85B	33.36B	30.79B	27.24B
	Gross Profit
15.86B	15.36B	13.91B	13.25B	11.86B
	EBIT
8.63B	8.02B	5.37B	4.98B	3.32B
	EBITDA
12.75B	12.22B	10.86B	10.14B	8.73B
	Net Income Common Stockholders
6.57B	6.20B	4.15B	3.83B	2.50B
Balance Sheet		Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
4.85B	4.66B	5.44B	2.82B	3.75B
	Total Assets
80.15B	80.81B	79.66B	81.61B	88.23B
	Total Debt
21.62B	20.32B	17.91B	14.21B	16.15B
	Net Debt
16.77B	15.65B	12.48B	11.38B	12.40B
	Total Liabilities
40.66B	39.72B	38.27B	36.16B	38.65B
	Stockholders Equity
38.09B	39.72B	40.03B	44.03B	47.32B
Cash Flow		Free Cash Flow
4.93B	5.52B	5.69B	6.64B	4.03B
	Operating Cash Flow
9.42B	9.30B	8.86B	9.72B	7.43B
	Investing Cash Flow
-4.64B	-4.67B	-3.09B	-3.01B	-2.99B
	Financing Cash Flow
-4.36B	-5.40B	-3.09B	-7.59B	-3.35B

Linde Technical Analysis

• Technical Analysis Sentiment: Negative
• Last Price: 437.96
• 50DMA: Negative
• 100DMA: Negative
• 200DMA: Negative
• MACD: Negative
• RSI: Neutral
• STOCH: Neutral

Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For LIN, the sentiment is Negative. The current price of 437.96 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 458.89, below the 50-day MA of 456.87, and below the 200-day MA of 451.22, indicating a bearish trend. The MACD of 2.28 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 59.17 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 79.46 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Negative sentiment for LIN.

Linde Peers Comparison

Name	Overall Rating	Market Cap	P/E Ratio	ROE	Dividend Yield	Revenue Growth	EPS Growth
LIN	77 Outperform	$207.12B	32.16	16.87%	1.29%	0.46%	7.97%
ECL	75 Outperform	$67.44B	32.26	25.14%	1.03%	2.75%	54.39%
APD	69 Neutral	$58.62B	15.30	24.40%	2.69%	-3.12%	64.53%
DD	65 Neutral	$24.75B	35.38	3.12%	2.62%	2.64%	80.37%
PPG	65 Neutral	$22.50B	16.62	19.13%	2.71%	-4.59%	11.09%
LYB	59 Neutral	$18.75B	13.96	10.69%	9.24%	-1.46%	-36.00%
Sector *	47 Neutral	$2.36B	-2.99	-21.59%	3.58%	4.21%	-28.30%

Linde Corporate Events

Linde Announces Retirement of Executive John Panikar

John Panikar, former Executive Vice President-APAC at Linde plc, will retire on March 31, 2025, after 33 years of service. During his transition, he will maintain his salary and benefits while being eligible for a performance-based bonus. Post-retirement, Panikar will receive a severance package exceeding $1.4 million, along with COBRA health benefits. He will also adhere to non-disclosure and non-compete agreements, reflecting Linde’s structured approach to leadership transitions.