Linde Plc (LIN)
NASDAQ:LIN
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Linde
(NASDAQ:LIN)
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Rating:76Outperform
Price Target:
$569.00
▲(15.60% Upside)
Action:Reiterated
Date:05/14/26
The score is driven primarily by strong, improving profitability and solid returns on equity, supported by positive earnings-call guidance and resilient margins. Technicals add moderate support with an established uptrend but neutral momentum. Valuation is the main constraint given the high P/E and modest dividend yield.
Positive Factors
Long-term contracted sales / backlog
A $7.1B sale-of-gas backlog and multi-year on-site contracts create predictable, take-or-pay cash flows that underwrite capital-intensive plant builds. That structural revenue base supports durable cash visibility, capacity planning, and steady returns over multi-year cycles.
Negative Factors
Higher leverage vs. earlier years
A moderately higher D/E versus pre-2024 norms reduces balance-sheet flexibility for opportunistic investment or cushioning downturns. With capital-intensive projects and recurring debt issuance, elevated leverage increases interest sensitivity and constrains incremental financial optionality.
Read all positive and negative factors
Positive Factors
Negative Factors
Long-term contracted sales / backlog
A $7.1B sale-of-gas backlog and multi-year on-site contracts create predictable, take-or-pay cash flows that underwrite capital-intensive plant builds. That structural revenue base supports durable cash visibility, capacity planning, and steady returns over multi-year cycles.
Read all positive factors
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 (LIN) vs. SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY)
Market Cap
$236.32B
Dividend Yield1.41%
Average Volume (3M)1.97M
Price to Earnings (P/E)31.0
Beta (1Y)0.34
Revenue Growth4.96%
EPS Growth9.22%
CountryUS
Employees65,069
SectorBasic Materials
Sector Strength58
IndustryChemicals - Specialty
Share Statistics
EPS (TTM)15.14
Shares Outstanding462,599,550
10 Day Avg. Volume1,938,252
30 Day Avg. Volume1,969,964
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 Cap1.08
Enterprise Value/Revenue7.36
Enterprise Value/Gross Profit16.00
Enterprise Value/Ebitda20.72
Forecast
1Y Price Target
$553.47Price Target Upside12.44% Upside
Rating ConsensusStrong Buy
Number of Analyst Covering18
EPS Forecast (FY)17.9
Revenue Forecast (FY)$35.90B
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 Earnings Call Summary
Earnings Call Date:May 01, 2026
(Q1-2026)
| % Change Since: |
Next Earnings Date:Jul 23, 2026
Earnings Call Sentiment Positive
The call presents solid financial and operational results — double-digit EPS growth, strong cash generation, margin stability with sequential improvement, backlog and targeted investments (notably in electronics and space-related opportunities), plus continued shareholder returns (dividend increase and buybacks). These positives are tempered by regional weakness in EMEA, project timing slippage on a major project, helium market uncertainty, and an overall guarded outlook due to geopolitical volatility. On balance, the strengths (growth, cash flow, capital allocation, backlog, and guidance raise at the low end) outweigh the challenges, though management remains cautious until geopolitical clarity improves.Positive Updates
Revenue Growth
Sales of $8.8 billion, up 8% year-over-year and flat sequentially; underlying sales +3% (price +2%, volume +1%); foreign currency was a 5% tailwind and net acquisitions added ~1%.
Negative Updates
EMEA Volume Weakness
EMEA experienced negative volumes and softer industrial activity, particularly on-site customers shifting production to more feedstock-advantaged assets in the Americas and APAC; continued drag on regional performance.
Read all updates
Q1-2026 Updates
Positive
Negative
Revenue Growth
Sales of $8.8 billion, up 8% year-over-year and flat sequentially; underlying sales +3% (price +2%, volume +1%); foreign currency was a 5% tailwind and net acquisitions added ~1%.
Read all positive updates
Company Guidance
Linde updated guidance with Q2 EPS of $4.40–$4.50 (≈8–10% y/y growth) and full‑year 2026 EPS of $17.60–$17.90 (≈7–9% y/y growth), each range assuming a 1% currency tailwind and “no economic improvement” at the midpoint; management raised the prior bottom by $0.20 but left the top at $17.90, explicitly excluded any upside from potential helium volume/price improvements versus February guidance, and framed the outlook against Q1 results (EPS $4.33, +10% / +5% ex‑FX) and a 30% operating margin.Linde Financial Statement Overview
Summary
Income Statement
86
Very Positive
Balance Sheet
78
Positive
Cash Flow
74
Positive
| Breakdown | TTM | Dec 2025 | Dec 2024 | Dec 2023 | Dec 2022 | Dec 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Income Statement | ||||||
| Total Revenue | 34.66B | 33.99B | 33.01B | 32.85B | 33.36B | 30.79B |
| Gross Profit | 15.94B | 14.73B | 12.08B | 11.55B | 9.71B | 8.62B |
| EBITDA | 12.31B | 12.95B | 12.92B | 12.29B | 9.94B | 9.89B |
| Net Income | 7.13B | 6.90B | 6.57B | 6.20B | 4.15B | 3.83B |
Balance Sheet | ||||||
| Total Assets | 86.31B | 86.82B | 80.15B | 80.81B | 79.66B | 81.61B |
| Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments | 3.96B | 5.06B | 4.85B | 4.66B | 5.44B | 2.82B |
| Total Debt | 24.68B | 26.99B | 22.61B | 20.32B | 18.79B | 15.22B |
| Total Liabilities | 46.22B | 47.08B | 40.66B | 39.72B | 38.27B | 36.16B |
| Stockholders Equity | 38.57B | 38.24B | 38.09B | 39.72B | 40.03B | 44.03B |
Cash Flow | ||||||
| Free Cash Flow | 5.10B | 5.09B | 4.93B | 5.52B | 5.69B | 6.64B |
| Operating Cash Flow | 10.43B | 10.35B | 9.42B | 9.30B | 8.86B | 9.72B |
| Investing Cash Flow | -5.74B | -5.72B | -4.64B | -4.67B | -3.09B | -3.01B |
| Financing Cash Flow | -6.13B | -4.55B | -4.36B | -5.40B | -3.09B | -7.59B |
Linde Technical Analysis
Positive
492.23
Price Trends
498.14
Positive
479.08
Positive
461.95
Positive
Market Momentum
2.75
Negative
52.67
Neutral
63.34
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 492.23 is below the 20-day moving average (MA) of 504.34, below the 50-day MA of 498.14, and above the 200-day MA of 461.95, indicating a bullish trend. The MACD of 2.75 indicates Negative momentum. The RSI at 52.67 is Neutral, neither overbought nor oversold. The STOCH value of 63.34 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 | $236.32B | 30.97 | 18.51% | 1.41% | 4.96% | 9.22% | |
71 Outperform | $19.94B | 29.17 | -0.16% | 1.74% | -22.51% | 63.47% | |
69 Neutral | $70.14B | 43.35 | 21.70% | 1.01% | 4.90% | 0.42% | |
68 Neutral | $74.68B | 36.82 | 58.23% | 0.98% | 3.90% | -1.60% | |
66 Neutral | $65.31B | 22.78 | 13.68% | 2.92% | 3.69% | 37.17% | |
65 Neutral | $23.11B | 15.65 | 31.80% | 2.71% | -3.94% | 18.25% | |
61 Neutral | $10.43B | 7.12 | -0.05% | 2.87% | 2.86% | -36.73% |
* Basic Materials Sector Average
LIN
Linde
506.07
56.63
12.60%
APD
Air Products and Chemicals
291.77
29.15
11.10%
ECL
Ecolab
245.73
-12.54
-4.86%
PPG
PPG Industries
101.70
-6.65
-6.14%
SHW
Sherwin-Williams Company
299.05
-52.52
-14.94%
DD
DuPont de Nemours
46.56
18.84
67.96%
Linde Corporate Events
Business Operations and StrategyPrivate Placements and Financing
Linde Issues €1.6 Billion Notes to Bolster Liquidity
Positive
May 13, 2026
On May 13, 2026, Linde plc issued €600 million of floating rate notes due 2028, €500 million of 3.200% notes due 2030, and €500 million of 3.800% notes due 2036 under its European debt issuance program. The notes were admitted to...
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.