Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Releases Q2 2026 Earnings Guidance

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) issued an update on its second quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 4.400-4.500 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 4.450. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Linde also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 17.600-17.900 EPS.

Linde Stock Up 1.4%

LIN stock opened at $507.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Linde has a twelve month low of $387.78 and a twelve month high of $521.28. The company’s 50 day moving average is $496.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.09. The stock has a market cap of $235.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.73, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.73.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The company had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.95 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.600-17.900 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 4.400-4.500 EPS. Research analysts expect that Linde will post 17.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LIN shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, February 6th. DZ Bank cut shares of Linde from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $460.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $455.00 to $525.00 in a report on Friday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $527.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total transaction of $3,111,800.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total transaction of $4,542,654.75. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,636,202.10. This trade represents a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

More Linde News

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results topped expectations — adjusted EPS $4.33 vs. $4.27 consensus and revenue $8.78B (up ~8% YoY); management cited pricing and project start?ups as growth drivers. Business Wire: Linde Reports First-Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised its dividend alongside the quarter, a shareholder?friendly move that supports income and signals confidence in cash flow. Zacks: Linde Q1 Earnings Beat, Dividend Raised
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains strong — net margin (~20.3%) and ROE (~19.5%) indicate healthy cash conversion and operational leverage that support valuations. MarketBeat: Linde Q1 Summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Q2 guidance given at $4.40–$4.50 is essentially in line with the Street (consensus ~4.45), so near?term guidance doesn’t materially surprise investors either way. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Results Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Management hosted an earnings call and published the slide deck/transcript — useful for assessing segment dynamics (industrial gases, projects) but no new strategic shifts announced. Seeking Alpha: Q1 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: FY 2026 guidance set to $17.60–$17.90 has a midpoint slightly below the current consensus (~17.83), which could be viewed as a modest disappointment if investors expected an upward revision. Zacks: What Key Metrics Say

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Linde

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LIN. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management increased its stake in Linde by 69.2% in the 4th quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. EFG International AG acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new position in Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Linde Company Profile

Linde (NASDAQ: LIN) is a multinational industrial gases and engineering company that supplies gases, related technologies and services to a wide range of industries. The company traces its current form to the 2018 combination of Germany’s Linde AG and U.S.-based Praxair, creating one of the largest global providers of industrial, specialty and medical gases. Linde’s business model centers on production, processing and distribution of gases as well as the design and construction of the plants and equipment needed to produce them.

Core products and services include atmospheric and process gases such as oxygen, nitrogen and argon; hydrogen and helium; carbon dioxide; and a portfolio of higher?value specialty and electronic gases.