# Linde plc (LIN)

> Source: Nexqual · https://nexqual.com/LIN · data as of 2026-10-22 20:00 UTC · cite as "Nexqual, Linde plc (LIN), nexqual.com/LIN" · informational, not investment advice.

**Price:** USD 510.36 (+1.96% on the day) · last close of Oct 22, 2026; US market pre market, not a live price. Prev close 500.57 · day 500.29–510.84 · 52w 387.78–548.2 · market cap $235B · NMS

## Key facts
- Last four reported quarters (through Jun 30, 2026): revenue $35.4B, net income $7.24B (20.4% margin), free cash flow $4.97B (SEC filings).
- Valuation: P/E 32.5x (avg 30.8x at the last 3 fiscal year-ends), EV/EBITDA 19.2x, net debt $18.3B.
- 6 of 80 tracked superinvestors hold LIN (13F, Q2 2026 (1 investor on Q3 2026, filed early)): 1 new, 2 added, 1 reduced, 2 unchanged.
- Insider open-market sales, last ~7 months: 1 Form 4 filings, $2.6M; 1 not under a Rule 10b5-1 plan ($2.6M); 0 by opportunistic insiders, 0 by routine insiders (three-year test, Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski 2012).
- Insider open-market purchases, last ~7 months: 1 Form 4 filing, $48K; 0 by opportunistic insiders, 0 by routine insiders.
- Analysts: Buy (mean 2.03 on a 1–5 scale) (29 analysts), mean target USD 545.26 (range 400–591).
- Total return with dividends: 1Y +14.9% vs S&P 500 +14.9%; 5Y +73.8% vs S&P 500 +80.3%.
- Next earnings: 2026-10-29, EPS estimate USD 4.52, revenue estimate $9.16B.

## Financials (SEC 10-K; TTM = last four 10-Q/10-K quarters)
| USD | FY2021 | FY2022 | FY2023 | FY2024 | FY2025 | TTM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $30.8B | $33.4B | $32.9B | $33.0B | $34.0B | $35.4B |
| Operating income | $4.98B | $5.37B | $8.02B | $8.63B | $8.92B | $9.38B |
| Net income | $3.83B | $4.15B | $6.20B | $6.57B | $6.90B | $7.24B |
| EPS (diluted) | $7.33 | $8.23 | $12.59 | $13.62 | $14.61 | — |
| Free cash flow | $6.64B | $5.69B | $5.52B | $4.93B | $5.09B | $4.97B |
| Operating margin | 16.2% | 16.1% | 24.4% | 26.2% | 26.3% | 26.5% |
| Net margin | 12.4% | 12.4% | 18.9% | 19.9% | 20.3% | 20.4% |
| Revenue growth | +13.0% | +8.3% | -1.5% | +0.5% | +3.0% | — |
| Cash + short-term investments | $2.82B | $5.44B | $4.66B | $4.85B | $5.06B | — |
| Total debt | $13.0B | $13.8B | $14.7B | $17.4B | $22.5B | — |
Fiscal years end Dec. EPS is split-adjusted.

## Valuation (price ÷ last four quarters, through Jun 30, 2026)
P/E 32.5x · P/S 6.6x · EV/EBITDA 19.2x · EV/Sales 7.2x · P/FCF 47.3x · P/B 6.0x · FCF yield 2.11% · Earnings yield 3.08% · Dividend yield (paid, TTM) 1.22% · Buyback yield (TTM) 1.72% · Net debt $18.3B · EV $254B
P/E at fiscal year-ends: Dec 2025 29.2x, Dec 2024 30.7x, Dec 2023 32.6x.

## Superinvestors (SEC 13F-HR, Q2 2026)
6 of 80 tracked investors hold LIN (1 investor on Q3 2026, filed early). Each row is the investor's latest 13F; change is vs their prior-quarter share count.
| Investor | Firm | % of portfolio | Value | Change | Quarter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Mandel | Lone Pine Capital | 4.94% | $809M | New position | Q2 2026 |
| John Armitage | Egerton Capital | 1.94% | $191M | Added +33.6% | Q3 2026 |
| Thomas Gayner | Markel Group | 0.85% | $112M | Added +5.4% | Q2 2026 |
| AKO Capital |  | 0.78% | $33.6M | Reduced -51.9% | Q2 2026 |
| Dodge & Cox Funds | Dodge & Cox | 0.36% | $688M | Unchanged | Q2 2026 |
| Jensen Investment Management |  | 0.02% | $669K | Unchanged | Q2 2026 |

## Insider sales (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
0 of 1 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan (scheduled in advance). Unplanned sales were timed by the insider.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | % of holdings sold | 10b5-1 plan | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-14…2026-05-15 | Wood Robert L | Director | 5,215 | $2.6M | 36.1% | No | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2024) |
% of holdings sold = shares sold ÷ (shares sold + all holdings the insider reported on that Form 4, direct and through trusts).
Insider type follows Cohen, Malloy & Pomorski (Journal of Finance, 2012). An insider who traded the stock in the same calendar month in each of the past three years is a routine trader; one who traded in each of those years without such a pattern is an opportunistic trader. In their study, trades by opportunistic insiders predicted future returns and trades by routine insiders did not. Counts open-market purchases and sales only (SEC Form 4 codes P and S) by that insider in that company. Not investment advice.

## Insider purchases (SEC Form 4, open-market, last ~7 months)
1 purchase, $48K. Private placements, offerings, dividend reinvestment and employee stock purchase plan buys are excluded.
| Trade date | Insider | Role | Shares | Value | Avg price | Insider type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-18 | Reynolds Paula Rosput | Director | 100 | $48K | 479.12 | Too little history (no open-market trades in 2023 or 2025) |

## Analysts
Consensus Buy (mean 2.03 on a 1–5 scale), 29 analysts; mean target USD 545.26 (low 400, high 591).
Rating changes, last 120 days:
| Date | Firm | Action | Rating | Price target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-15 | RBC Capital | Target lowered | Outperform | $553 → $549 |
| 2026-10-13 | Barclays | Initiated | Overweight | $577 |
| 2026-10-07 | Citigroup | Target lowered | Buy | $580 → $560 |
| 2026-10-05 | UBS | Target lowered | Buy | $612 → $574 |
| 2026-09-28 | Argus Research | Target lowered | Buy | $563 → $538 |
| 2026-09-11 | Keybanc | Initiated | Overweight | $542 |
| 2026-08-10 | BMO Capital | Target lowered | Outperform | $560 → $546 |
| 2026-08-03 | Citigroup | Target lowered | Buy | $600 → $580 |
| 2026-08-03 | RBC Capital | Target lowered | Outperform | $576 → $553 |
| 2026-08-03 | Bernstein | Target raised | Outperform | $559 → $564 |
| 2026-07-17 | Bernstein | Target raised | Outperform | $561 → $599 |
| 2026-07-10 | Evercore ISI Group | Target raised | Outperform | $515 → $525 |

## Total return (dividends reinvested)
|  | 1Y (from 2025-10-23) | 5Y (from 2021-10-18) |
|---|---|---|
| Total return | +14.9% | +73.8% |
| S&P 500 (SPY) | +14.9% | +80.3% |
| Per year | +15.0% | +11.7% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 19.1% | 19.4% |
| Max drawdown | -16.0% (Jul 2026→Sep 2026) | -21.4% (Dec 2021→Sep 2022) |

## Peers (Specialty Chemicals)
SHW (Sherwin-Williams Company (The)) USD 345.63 +2.48% · ECL (Ecolab Inc.) USD 292.3 +1.46% · APD (Air Products and Chemicals, Inc) USD 308.22 +1.84% · PPG (PPG Industries, Inc.) USD 113.09 +2.65% · IFF (International Flavors & Fragran) USD 93.83 +3.08% · LYB (LyondellBasell Industries NV) USD 65.37 +3.32%

## More
Full page: https://nexqual.com/LIN · Free keyless MCP server with the same data and citations: https://mcp.nexqual.com/mcp · Guide for agents: https://nexqual.com/agents · https://nexqual.com/llms.txt

## Supply chain and relationships (SEC annual reports)


Other companies that name LIN in their own reports (relationship from LIN's side):

| Relationship | Company | Their filing | Sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| customer | ClearSign Technologies Corp (CLIR) | 10-K 2026-03-31 | "Worldwide, suppliers of burners and air pollution control equipment include but are not limited to companies such as Callidus, Eclipse and Maxon (all three are subsidiaries of Honeywell), John Zink Ha…" |
| partner | BXP, Inc. (BXP) | 10-K 2026-02-27 | "Thomas, Linde and LaBelle are important to our success is that each has a national reputation, which attracts business and investment opportunities and assists us in negotiations with lenders, joint v…" |
| customer | CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF) | 10-K 2026-02-25 | "In June 2025, the Blue Point joint venture executed agreements, including a long-term supply agreement, with a subsidiary of Linde plc for them to design, construct, own, operate and maintain an air s…" |
| competitor | Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (APD) | 10-K 2025-11-20 | "Each of the regional industrial gases segments competes against three global industrial gas companies: Air Liquide S.A., Linde plc, and Messer Group GmbH, as well as regional competitors." |

## Revenue by business segment (quarter ended 2026-06-30)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY | Operating income | Op. margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Americas | $4.08B | 44.0% | +7.1% | $1.27B | 31.2% |
| EMEA | $2.30B | 24.8% | +6.5% | $823.0M | 35.7% |
| APAC | $1.87B | 20.1% | +13.0% | $531.0M | 28.4% |
| Engineering | $625.0M | 6.7% | +13.4% | $100.0M | 16.0% |
| Other | $408.0M | 4.4% | +29.5% | $18.0M | 4.4% |
| Total revenue | $9.29B | 100% | — | $2.55B | 27.5% |

## Revenue by region (fiscal year ended 2025-12-31)

| Line | Revenue | Share | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $12.18B | 35.8% | +6.0% |
| Other International | $11.26B | 33.1% | +3.8% |
| China | $2.60B | 7.7% | -1.8% |
| Germany | $2.43B | 7.2% | -3.1% |
| United Kingdom | $1.51B | 4.4% | -1.9% |
| Mexico | $1.39B | 4.1% | +3.3% |
| Brazil | $1.32B | 3.9% | +4.9% |
| Australia | $1.29B | 3.8% | -4.9% |
| Total revenue | $33.99B | 100% | — |

## Company outlook (8-K filed 2026-07-31)

- "Commenting on the financial results and business outlook, Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Lamba said, "Linde employees delivered another solid quarter, generating record sales and EPS while maintaining industry-leading profitability with 29.5% operating margin and 23.5% return on capital."
- "Regardless of the economic climate, I'm confident the Linde team will continue to secure high-quality future growth projects while delivering long-term shareholder value." For the third quarter of 2026, Linde expects adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $4.45 to $4.55, up 6% to 8% versus prior-year quarter, with no expected impact from foreign currency translation."
- "For the full year 2026, the company expects adjusted diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $17.70 to $17.90, up 8% to 9% when assuming favorable currency of 1% versus prior year."
- "Full-year capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $5.5 billion to $6.0 billion to support growth and maintenance requirements including the $8.1 billion contractual sale of gas project backlog."

## Analyst estimates and revisions

| Period | EPS est. | 90d ago | Change | Revenue est. | Analysts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current quarter (ends 2026-09-30) | $4.52 | $4.55 | -0.6% | $9.16B | 20 |
| Next quarter (ends 2026-12-31) | $4.23 | $4.22 | +0.1% | $9.17B | 2 |
| Current fiscal year (ends 2026-12-31) | $17.88 | $17.89 | -0.1% | $36.33B | 28 |
| Next fiscal year (ends 2027-12-31) | $18.21 | $18.31 | -0.6% | $38.10B | 11 |

## Options: expected move (Cboe, 15-min delayed)

Expected move by 2026-11-20 (includes earnings 2026-10-29): ±5.2%; last 8 reports averaged ±2.8%.

| Expiration | Days | ATM IV | Expected move |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-20 | 28 | 23.0% | ±5.2% |
| 2026-12-18 | 56 | 23.0% | ±7.3% |
| 2027-01-15 | 84 | 22.8% | ±8.8% |
| 2027-03-19 | 147 | 23.5% | ±12.0% |
| 2027-04-16 | 175 | 23.1% | ±12.9% |
| 2027-06-17 | 237 | 24.2% | ±15.6% |
| 2027-09-17 | 329 | 24.4% | ±18.6% |