Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Releases FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Friday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 17.700-17.900 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 17.930. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Linde also updated its Q3 2026 guidance to 4.450-4.550 EPS.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LIN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $560.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $559.00 price target on Linde in a report on Friday, July 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $548.67.

Linde Stock Down 5.9%

Linde stock traded down $30.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $478.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,217,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,820,350. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.83. Linde has a 12 month low of $387.78 and a 12 month high of $548.20. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $515.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $496.23. The company has a market capitalization of $221.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.72.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The basic materials company reported $4.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.01. Linde had a net margin of 20.44% and a return on equity of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.09 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Linde has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.700-17.900 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 4.450-4.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Linde will post 17.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Linde Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.60 per share. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 3rd. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Key Headlines Impacting Linde

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results exceeded estimates: Adjusted EPS rose 10% year over year to $4.50, narrowly beating the $4.49 consensus, while sales increased 9% to $9.29 billion versus expectations of $9.02 billion. Growth benefited from higher pricing, stronger volumes, favorable currency effects and acquisitions. LIN Q2 Earnings & Revenues Beat Estimates on Volume & Pricing Growth
• Positive Sentiment: Semiconductor expansion adds a long-term growth opportunity: Linde secured a long-term agreement to supply ultra-high-purity gases to a major semiconductor manufacturer and plans to invest approximately $1 billion to expand its Phoenix, Arizona, production complex. The deal should support recurring sales tied to U.S. chip manufacturing capacity. Linde to invest $1 billion in Arizona after winning semiconductor supply deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Electronics was a leading end-market: Management highlighted volume and pricing gains, with electronics demand providing notable support. The earnings call also offered additional detail on operating performance and capital investment plans. Linde plc Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Forward guidance fell short of consensus: Linde forecast third-quarter EPS of $4.45–$4.55, below the $4.59 analyst estimate, and full-year 2026 EPS of $17.70–$17.90, below the $17.93 consensus. Although the company raised the lower end of its annual forecast, the outlook implies limited near-term upside relative to expectations. Linde raises lower end of 2026 guidance after Q2 earnings beat

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Triumph Capital Management raised its position in Linde by 69.2% during the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 66 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. EFG International AG acquired a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Sfam LLC acquired a new stake in Linde in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in shares of Linde in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. 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.