Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) issued an update on its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of 17.600-17.900 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of 17.830. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Linde also updated its Q2 2026 guidance to 4.400-4.500 EPS.

Linde Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN traded up $6.78 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $507.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,577,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,811,189. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $496.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $456.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.74. Linde has a 1 year low of $387.78 and a 1 year high of $521.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Linde Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LIN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Linde from $545.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $527.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Linde 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 8,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,643,729.02. The trade was a 16.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257. 0.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Linde

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

Institutional Trading of Linde

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Linde in the 4th quarter valued at $2,752,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 19.3% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Linde by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 5,625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,639,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

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.