Linde plc
- Open
- 486.76
- Day high
- 490.97
- Day low
- 485.52
- Prev close
- 486.76
- Volume
- 1.2M
- Mkt cap
- $224.7B
- P/E (TTM)
- 31.3
- EPS (TTM)
- $15.56
- P/B
- 5.7
- P/S
- 6.3
- Yield
- 1.27%
- Per share
- $6.20
- ▲Insiders net buying $48K over the last 3 months (1 open-market buy, 0 sales)
- 🏛Institutions accumulating (13F)
Linde plc (LIN) is a Basic Materials company listed on NASDAQ. The stock is up 4% over the past year. Over the trailing 3 months, insiders filed 1 open-market buy and 0 sales (SEC Form 4). Drillr has 1 published research article covering LIN.
Linde plc (LIN) financials & analyst ratings
Fundamentals (TTM)
Analyst consensus · 6 analysts
Source: exchange market data + company filings. Figures are trailing-twelve-month or as most recently reported. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
LIN earnings date, history & EPS estimates
| Report date | EPS est | EPS actual | Surprise | Revenue | Rev. surprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 31, 2026 | $4.49 | $4.50 | +0.3% | $9.3B | +3.1% |
| May 1, 2026 | $4.27 | $4.33 | +1.5% | $8.8B | +2.3% |
| Feb 5, 2026 | $4.18 | $4.20 | +0.5% | $8.8B | +1.4% |
| Oct 31, 2025 | $4.18 | $4.21 | +0.7% | $8.6B | -0.1% |
| Aug 1, 2025 | $4.03 | $4.09 | +1.5% | $8.5B | +1.6% |
| May 1, 2025 | $3.92 | $3.95 | +0.8% | $8.1B | -1.6% |
| Feb 6, 2025 | $3.94 | $3.97 | +0.8% | $8.3B | -1.6% |
| Oct 31, 2024 | $3.89 | $3.94 | +1.3% | $8.4B | -0.4% |
| Aug 2, 2024 | $3.78 | $3.85 | +1.9% | $8.3B | -0.4% |
| May 2, 2024 | $3.68 | $3.75 | +1.9% | $8.1B | -3.4% |
| Oct 26, 2023 | $3.57 | $3.63 | +1.7% | $8.2B | -4.7% |
| Jul 27, 2023 | $3.48 | $3.57 | +2.5% | $8.2B | -5.8% |
LIN insider trading activity (SEC Form 4)
| Date | Insider | Type | Shares | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2026 | Reynolds Paula Rosputdirector | Buy | 100 | $479.12 |
| Jul 2, 2026 | Reynolds Paula Rosputdirector | Grant | 16 | — |
| Jul 2, 2026 | GRANT HUGHdirector | Grant | 64 | — |
| Jun 10, 2026 | Innocenzi Stefanosofficer: SVP, Linde Engineering | Tax | 2,062 | $507.90 |
| Jun 10, 2026 | Innocenzi Stefanosofficer: SVP, Linde Engineering | Option | 4,035 | — |
| May 18, 2026 | WOOD ROBERT Ldirector | Sell | 880 | $508.76 |
| May 18, 2026 | WOOD ROBERT Ldirector | Sell | 4,335 | $506.39 |
| Apr 14, 2026 | Patwari Binodofficer: Senior Vice President - APAC | Option | 195 | — |
| Apr 3, 2026 | Reynolds Paula Rosputdirector | Grant | 17 | — |
| Apr 3, 2026 | GRANT HUGHdirector | Grant | 69 | — |
| Mar 12, 2026 | Durbin Seanofficer: EVP, Chief Operating Officer | Tax | 4,639 | $476.54 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | Durbin Seanofficer: EVP, Chief Operating Officer | Option | 7,045 | $173.13 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | Durbin Seanofficer: EVP, Chief Operating Officer | Sell | 4,114 | $477.78 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | Durbin Seanofficer: EVP, Chief Operating Officer | Sell | 2,406 | $476.41 |
| Mar 12, 2026 | Bichara Guillermoofficer: Exec VP & Chief Legal Officer | Sell | 4,357 | $480.79 |
Source: LIN SEC Form 4 filings, latest Aug 19, 2026. For informational purposes only — not investment advice.
See the full LIN insider & 13F page →Linde plc company profile
Overview
Linde plc (NYSE:LIN) is a multinational industrial gas and engineering company formed through the 2018 merger of German Linde AG and American Praxair Inc. Originally founded in 1879 by German engineer Carl von Linde, the company has evolved into the world's largest industrial gas supplier. Headquartered in Woking, United Kingdom, Linde operates across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific region, serving diverse industries from healthcare and manufacturing to electronics and energy production.
Business
Linde operates in the industrial gases industry, which involves the production, distribution, and application of gases essential to modern industrial processes. Industrial gases are basic chemical compounds in gaseous form that serve as raw materials, processing aids, or finished products across numerous industries. The company's core offerings fall into two main categories. Atmospheric gases include oxygen (used in steel production and healthcare), nitrogen (for food preservation and electronics manufacturing), argon (for welding and metal processing), and rare gases like neon and krypton. Process gases encompass carbon dioxide (for food and beverage carbonation), helium (for cooling and lifting applications), hydrogen (for refining and chemical processes), electronic gases (ultra-pure gases for semiconductor manufacturing), specialty gases for specific applications, and acetylene (for welding and cutting). Beyond gas production, Linde designs and constructs turnkey process plants - complete industrial facilities that are ready for immediate operation upon delivery. These include olefin plants (for plastic production), natural gas processing facilities, air separation units, hydrogen production plants, and synthesis gas plants that convert raw materials into useful chemical compounds. The company's revenue is distributed across several business segments: 1. Americas segment generates approximately 40% of total revenue, serving North and South American markets with strong presence in resilient end markets like healthcare and food processing. 2. EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) segment contributes roughly 35% of revenue, though facing current headwinds from European industrial weakness. 3. APAC (Asia Pacific) segment accounts for about 25% of revenue, with particular strength in electronics manufacturing and growth markets like India, while managing challenges in China's industrial sector.
Revenue model
Linde operates multiple complementary business models that create recurring revenue streams and capital-efficient growth. The primary revenue model is sale of gas through long-term contracts, typically spanning 10-20 years. Under these agreements, Linde builds on-site gas production facilities at customer locations and supplies gases under take-or-pay contracts, ensuring predictable cash flows regardless of actual usage volumes. This model generates approximately two-thirds of total revenue and provides defensive characteristics during economic downturns. The company also generates revenue through merchant gas sales, where gases are produced at centralized facilities and distributed via truck or pipeline to multiple customers. This model offers higher margins but involves more market exposure. Additionally, Linde sells packaged gases in cylinders and containers for smaller-scale applications, providing higher per-unit margins but requiring extensive distribution networks. Engineering and construction services represent another revenue stream, where Linde designs and builds industrial process plants for third-party customers. While this business is more cyclical and capital-intensive, it generates substantial upfront revenues and often leads to long-term gas supply relationships. The company's paying customers span numerous industries. Healthcare systems purchase medical gases like oxygen and nitrous oxide. Steel manufacturers require oxygen for blast furnaces and argon for specialty steel production. Electronics companies need ultra-pure gases for semiconductor fabrication. Food and beverage companies use carbon dioxide for carbonation and nitrogen for packaging preservation. Chemical and petrochemical companies utilize hydrogen, synthesis gases, and specialty chemicals for their production processes. Several factors influence Linde's profitability margins. Positive margin drivers include the company's pricing power through long-term contracts with escalation clauses, productivity improvements through digital technologies and AI implementation, network density effects that reduce distribution costs, and exposure to growing end markets like electronics and clean energy. Negative margin pressures include energy cost inflation (particularly natural gas and electricity), economic downturns that reduce industrial demand, competitive pricing in merchant markets, regulatory changes affecting environmental compliance costs, and currency translation headwinds from a strong U.S. dollar.
Competitive moat
Linde possesses a strong and durable competitive moat built on several interconnected advantages. The company's primary moat stems from high switching costs and customer lock-in through its on-site gas model. When Linde builds a dedicated gas production facility at a customer's location under a long-term contract, the customer becomes economically tied to Linde for the contract duration, typically 15-20 years. The capital-intensive nature of these installations creates significant barriers for competitors to displace Linde's position. Network density effects provide another layer of competitive advantage. Linde's extensive distribution infrastructure, including production facilities, pipelines, and logistics networks, creates economies of scale that become more pronounced as density increases within geographic regions. This makes it increasingly difficult for competitors to match Linde's cost structure and service levels in established markets. The company benefits from high barriers to entry in the industrial gas industry. New entrants face substantial capital requirements, complex regulatory approvals, lengthy customer qualification processes (particularly in electronics and healthcare), and the need to achieve sufficient scale to compete effectively. Linde's established relationships with major industrial customers, built over decades, create additional competitive barriers. Technical expertise and specialized knowledge in gas applications, plant design, and process optimization provide sustainable advantages. Linde's engineering capabilities and deep understanding of customer applications make it difficult for competitors to replicate the company's value proposition, particularly in specialized markets like electronics and clean energy. However, Linde faces potential competitive threats from several sources. Regional competitors may challenge Linde in specific geographic markets, particularly in developing economies where local players have regulatory or relationship advantages. Backward integration by large industrial customers represents a threat, as some customers may choose to produce their own gases rather than outsource to Linde. Technological disruption in gas production methods, such as more efficient electrolysis for hydrogen production, could potentially alter competitive dynamics. Additionally, economic cyclicality in industrial markets can pressure margins and growth, though Linde's defensive business model provides some protection against downturns.
Risks & safety
Linde demonstrates a moderate to strong margin of safety with solid financial fundamentals but some areas of concern regarding valuation and working capital management. • Liquidity and Solvency: Cash and short-term investments of $5.3 billion provide adequate liquidity buffer. Debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63 indicates manageable leverage levels. Strong operating cash flow of $9.4 billion annually supports debt service capabilities. Current ratio of 0.94 shows tight working capital management but potential short-term liquidity constraints. • Valuation Metrics: Price-to-earnings ratio of 33x appears elevated for an industrial company, suggesting limited valuation safety margin. EV/EBITDA of 19x is reasonable for a defensive industrial business with recurring revenues. Price-to-book ratio of 5.8x reflects significant premium to tangible assets, typical for asset-heavy industrial gas companies with valuable long-term contracts. • Other Considerations: Free cash flow of $4.9 billion provides substantial cash generation capability. Return on equity of 17% demonstrates efficient capital utilization. Graham number analysis suggests potential overvaluation at current levels. Strong project backlog of $10 billion provides revenue visibility, with $7 billion in sale-of-gas projects offering defensive characteristics.
Recent development
Over the past few years, Linde has executed several strategic initiatives to position itself for long-term growth while navigating challenging macroeconomic conditions. The company has significantly expanded its clean energy and hydrogen portfolio, maintaining confidence in $8-10 billion of clean energy investment opportunities over the next decade. Management has adopted a pragmatic approach, focusing primarily on low-carbon (blue) hydrogen projects that offer better economic returns compared to green hydrogen alternatives, while conducting feasibility studies for steam methane reformer decarbonization. Linde has strengthened its project execution capabilities, achieving a record sale-of-gas backlog of $7 billion and signing 59 long-term contracts for 64 small on-site plants during 2024. The company completed its largest-ever sale-of-gas project with Dow Chemical, representing over $2 billion in investment for low-carbon hydrogen production in Alberta, Canada. This project exemplifies Linde's strategy of securing large, long-term contracts that provide stable cash flows and support customer decarbonization goals. The company has implemented comprehensive cost management and productivity initiatives in response to challenging market conditions. Management executed a 2% global workforce reduction and launched over 4,000 productivity projects in Q1 2025 alone, with 30-32% of these efforts leveraging digital technologies and artificial intelligence. These initiatives are expected to deliver 1-2% EPS improvement with full run-rate savings realized in the second half of 2025. Linde has pursued strategic portfolio optimization, completing 18 tuck-in packaged gas acquisitions with $200 million in annual revenue while simultaneously pruning its healthcare portfolio to focus on higher-growth segments. The company has also increased its low-carbon power consumption to 40% of total energy usage, supporting its 2035 decarbonization targets while reducing operational costs. In response to economic uncertainty, particularly in Europe and China, Linde has enhanced its defensive positioning by focusing on resilient end markets like electronics, food and beverage, and healthcare, which now represent approximately two-thirds of total sales. The company has maintained pricing discipline across all segments while adapting its China strategy to treat the market as mature, emphasizing productivity improvements and technology deployment rather than volume growth.
LIN company profile · for informational purposes only — not investment advice.
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