Linde (LIN)
NASDAQ:LIN
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Linde
(NASDAQ:LIN)
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Rating:76Outperform
Price Target:
$568.00
â–²(13.01% Upside)
Action:UpgradedDate:02/06/26
The score is driven primarily by strong financial performance (multi-year margin and earnings expansion with robust operating cash flow) and supportive earnings-call fundamentals (EPS growth outlook, record backlog, disciplined capital returns). Technicals are constructive with an established uptrend, while the main constraint is valuation (high P/E with a modest yield) alongside noted macro/end-market and leverage/cash-conversion risks.
Positive Factors
Margin and profitability expansion
Sustained margin expansion reflects structural improvements in pricing, mix and operating efficiency across on-site, merchant and specialty gas businesses. Higher margins support durable cash generation and resilience through demand cycles, underpinning long-term returns and reinvestment capacity.
Negative Factors
Rising leverage and higher absolute debt
Leverage rising from prior years increases financial risk and reduces flexibility to fund opportunistic M&A or weather extended demand weakness. Higher absolute debt loads amplify interest-rate sensitivity and may constrain capital allocation if cashflow weakens or rates stay elevated.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Margin and profitability expansion
Sustained margin expansion reflects structural improvements in pricing, mix and operating efficiency across on-site, merchant and specialty gas businesses. Higher margins support durable cash generation and resilience through demand cycles, underpinning long-term returns and reinvestment capacity.
Read all positive factors
Linde (LIN) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$232.90B
Dividend Yield1.41%
Average Volume (3M)2.80M
Price to Earnings (P/E)28.8
Beta (1Y)0.40
Revenue Growth1.45%
EPS Growth13.21%
CountryUS
Employees65,069
SectorBasic Materials
Sector Strength58
IndustryChemicals - Specialty
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)4.20
Shares Outstanding463,394,170
10 Day Avg. Volume2,941,110
30 Day Avg. Volume2,798,574
Financial Highlights & Ratios
PEG Ratio4.12
Price to Book (P/B)5.20
Price to Sales (P/S)5.85
P/FCF Ratio39.07
Enterprise Value/Market Cap1.09
Enterprise Value/Revenue7.50
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit17.31
Enterprise Value/Ebitda19.74
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$527.38Price Target Upside4.93% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering15
EPS Forecast (FY)17.84
Revenue Forecast (FY)$35.56B
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, s...
How the Company Makes Money
Linde primarily makes money by selling industrial gases and related services under supply arrangements that vary by customer size and usage profile. A major revenue stream comes from on-site contracts, where Linde designs, builds, owns, and operat...
Linde Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Any
Revenue by Segment
Breaks down revenue across different business units, revealing which segments are performing well and contributing most to the company’s top line.
Breaks down revenue across different business units, revealing which segments are performing well and contributing most to the company’s top line.
Data provided by:
The Fly
The FlyLinde Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:Feb 11, 2026
(Q4-2025)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Apr 30, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presented several strong positives — record full-year financials (EPS, operating cash flow, margins), an industry-leading 24.2% ROC, a record $10 billion backlog, meaningful sustainability progress (low-carbon power +23% and ~2M tCO2 avoided), robust capital return ($7B+), and commercial wins (90+ application wins and space launch positioning). Offsetting this were persistent headwinds in traditional industrial end markets, regional softness in EMEA and parts of APAC, helium/rare gas headwinds (~1–2% EPS drag), increased capital intensity pressuring ROC in the near term, and a conservative 2026 EPS guide with restructuring charges booked in Q4. Overall, the positives (record results, backlog, cash generation, sustainability and disciplined capital allocation) modestly outweigh the negatives, though management remains appropriately cautious on macro and timing risk.Positive Updates
Quarterly Sales Growth
Q4 sales of $8.8 billion, up 6% year-over-year and 2% sequentially; foreign exchange provided a ~3% tailwind; underlying sales ex-FX rose ~3% (2% pricing, 1% volumes).
Negative Updates
Weakness in Traditional Industrial Markets
Persistent retrenchment in manufacturing, metals, chemicals and energy end markets, with broad-based weakness in EMEA and continued softness in certain industrial customers.
Read all updates
Q4-2025 Updates
Positive
Negative
Quarterly Sales Growth
Q4 sales of $8.8 billion, up 6% year-over-year and 2% sequentially; foreign exchange provided a ~3% tailwind; underlying sales ex-FX rose ~3% (2% pricing, 1% volumes).
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Linde guided 2026 EPS of $17.40–$17.90 (up 6%–9% versus 2025), anchoring the midpoint to 0% base volume change and assuming a 1% full‑year FX tailwind (3% FX benefit in Q1); management remains guarded on the macro outlook and expects restructuring/productivity actions (cash payback ~2 years) to drive most benefits in H2. They reiterated long‑term operating‑margin expansion of ~30–50 bps/year (FY25 margin was up 30 bps) and said 2026 should beat that range, expect ROC to stay in the low‑to‑mid‑20% area (2025 ROC 24.2%), and noted a 1–2% EPS headwind in 2025 from helium/rare‑gas. Capital and cash metrics underpinning the outlook include Q4 operating cash flow >$3.0B, ~17% higher CapEx, about $6.0B invested for growth (roughly half toward secured projects/acquisitions), a record $10.0B backlog (plus >$0.5B for rocket propellants), ~$400M of bolt‑ons closed in 2025, $1.4B of Q4 buybacks and $7.4B returned to shareholders for the year.Linde Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
86
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
74
Positive
Cash Flow
78
Positive
| Breakdown | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | |||||
| Total Revenue | 33.99B | 33.01B | 32.85B | 33.36B | 30.79B |
| Gross Profit | 14.73B | 12.08B | 11.55B | 9.71B | 8.62B |
| EBITDA | 12.95B | 12.92B | 12.29B | 9.94B | 9.89B |
| Net Income | 6.90B | 6.57B | 6.20B | 4.15B | 3.83B |
Balance Sheet | |||||
| Total Assets | 86.82B | 80.15B | 80.81B | 79.66B | 81.61B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 5.06B | 4.85B | 4.66B | 5.44B | 2.82B |
| Total Debt | 26.99B | 22.61B | 20.32B | 18.79B | 15.22B |
| Total Liabilities | 47.08B | 40.66B | 39.72B | 38.27B | 36.16B |
| Stockholders Equity | 38.24B | 38.09B | 39.72B | 40.03B | 44.03B |
Cash Flow | |||||
| Free Cash Flow | 5.09B | 4.93B | 5.52B | 5.69B | 6.64B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 10.35B | 9.42B | 9.30B | 8.86B | 9.72B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -5.72B | -4.64B | -4.67B | -3.09B | -3.01B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -4.55B | -4.36B | -5.40B | -3.09B | -7.59B |
Linde Technical Analysis
Positive
502.60
Price Trends
480.58
Positive
449.81
Positive
455.46
Positive
Market Momentum
4.32
Negative
60.16
Neutral
79.35
Neutral
Evaluating momentum and price trends is crucial in stock analysis to make informed investment decisions. For LIN, the sentiment is Positive. The current price of 502.6 is above the 20-day moving average (MA) of 489.68, above the 50-day MA of 480.58, and above the 200-day MA of 455.46, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 4.32 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 60.16 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 79.35 is Neutral, not indicating any strong overbought or oversold conditions. Overall, these indicators collectively point to a Positive sentiment for LIN.
Linde Risk Analysis
Linde disclosed 17 risk factors in its most recent earnings report. Linde reported the most risks in the "Macro & Political" category.
Finance & Corporate - Financial and accounting risks. Risks related to the execution of corporate activity and strategy
Latest Risks Added 0 New Risks
Linde Peers Comparison
UnderperformOutperform
Sector (61)
Name | Overall Rating | Market Cap | P/E Ratio | ROE | Dividend Yield | Revenue Growth | EPS Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
76 Outperform | $232.90B | 28.82 | 18.10% | 1.41% | 1.45% | 13.21% | |
74 Outperform | $74.52B | 35.83 | 22.03% | 1.01% | 1.38% | -2.54% | |
68 Neutral | $23.07B | 14.71 | 33.60% | 2.71% | -12.98% | -11.34% | |
67 Neutral | $78.79B | 31.08 | 58.53% | 0.98% | 0.96% | 1.96% | |
61 Neutral | $10.43B | 7.12 | -0.05% | 2.87% | 2.86% | -36.73% | |
57 Neutral | $65.36B | 20.29 | -2.20% | 2.92% | -0.52% | -110.29% | |
56 Neutral | $18.60B | -21.54 | -3.77% | 1.74% | 2.42% | -196.54% |
* Basic Materials Sector Average
LIN
Linde
502.60
82.41
19.61%
APD
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293.55
41.22
16.34%
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264.28
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15.93%
PPG
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103.24
8.80
9.32%
SHW
Sherwin-Williams Company
318.00
-1.95
-0.61%
DD
DuPont de Nemours
45.48
21.80
92.07%
Glossary
BuyA stock rated as a "Buy" is expected to perform better than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock is likely to deliver higher returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
HoldA stock rated as a "Hold" is expected to perform in line with the overall market or a specific benchmark. This rating indicates that the stock is neither particularly compelling nor unfavorable for investment. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
SellA stock rated as a "Sell" is expected to perform worse than the overall market or a specific benchmark over the near-to-medium term. This rating suggests the stock may deliver lower returns compared to other stocks in the same sector or market index. Note: This is not investment advice; please consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
Disclaimer
This AI Analyst Stock Report is automatically generated by our AI systems using advanced algorithms and publicly available financial, technical, and market data. While the information provided aims to be accurate and insightful, it is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any content created by an AI (Artificial Intelligence) system may contain inaccuracies and/or contain errors. Investing in stocks carries inherent risks, and past performance is not indicative of future results. This report does not account for your personal financial circumstances, objectives, or risk tolerance. Always conduct your own research or consult with a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The analysis and recommendations provided are based on historical and current data and may not fully reflect future market conditions or unexpected developments. Neither the creators of this report nor its affiliated entities guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Use this report at your own discretion and risk.