LIN
Linde plc
LIN's fundamentals are mixed: it turned 14% of its revenue into free cash flow, but its operating margin fell 2 points to 25%. At 35x earnings, it's trading in line with its usual 37x. Analysts expect earnings growth.
LIN Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy | |
| Stable |
LIN's revenue, profitability and cash flow are currently healthy, and its balance sheet is stable.
LIN PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 27x | $522 | — |
| Cheap | 33x | $499 | -4.4% |
| Current | 35x | $522 | — |
| Fair | 37x | $556 | +6.4% |
| Expensive | 50x | $760 | +45% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
LIN's PE is in its fair range at 35x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 27x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
LIN Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Limited | |
| High |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for LIN, with profitability improving.
LIN Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $19.11 | +27% |
| Q3 2026 | $15.07 | +0.9% |
| Q2 2026 | $15.50 | +10% |
| Q1 2026 | $15.08 | +9.4% |
| Q4 2025 | $14.61 | +7.3% |
| Q3 2025 | $14.94 | +14% |
| Q2 2025 | $14.07 | +7.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $13.78 | +7% |
| Q4 2024 | $13.62 | +8.2% |
LIN's earnings per share have climbed steadily: $15.07 over the past year, about the same as the year before, and higher year over year every quarter since late 2020.
LIN Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $9.4B | +9.2% |
| Q2 2026 | $9.3B | +9.3% |
| Q1 2026 | $8.8B | +8.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $8.8B | +5.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $8.6B | +3.1% |
| Q2 2025 | $8.5B | +2.8% |
| Q1 2025 | $8.1B | +0.1% |
| Q4 2024 | $8.3B | -0.2% |
LIN's revenue has grown year over year for seven quarters in a row: $9.4B last quarter, up 9.2% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 23% | -4.6 points |
| Q2 2026 | 27% | -0.2 points |
| Q1 2026 | 28% | +0.9 points |
| Q4 2025 | 23% | -4.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 27% | +2.5 points |
| Q2 2025 | 28% | +1.3 points |
| Q1 2025 | 27% | +1.1 points |
| Q4 2024 | 27% | +3 points |
LIN's operating margin was 23% last quarter, down 4.6 points from the same quarter a year ago.
LIN Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.8B | +6.3% |
| Q2 2026 | $833M | -13% |
| Q1 2026 | $898M | +0.8% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.6B | +0.8% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.7B | +0.4% |
| Q2 2025 | $954M | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $891M | -1.7% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.6B | -1.1% |
LIN's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $5.1B over the past year, about the same as the year before.
LIN Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.4% | -2M shares |
| 1 year | -1.9% | -9M shares |
| 3 years | -5.8% | -28.6M shares |
| 5 years | -11% | -57.6M shares |
| Available history | -14% | -78.4M shares |
LIN has 463M diluted shares, down 1.9% from a year ago, with $4B in buybacks over the past year.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $954M |
| Q2 2026 | $871M |
| Q1 2026 | $807M |
| Q4 2025 | $1.4B |
| Q3 2025 | $989M |
| Q2 2025 | $1.1B |
| Q1 2025 | $1.1B |
| Q4 2024 | $1.3B |
LIN spent $4B buying back its own shares over the past year, down 12% from the year before.
LIN Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q2 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q1 2026 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q4 2025 | 2.1x | Moderate |
| Q3 2025 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q2 2025 | 2.0x | Moderate |
| Q1 2025 | 1.8x | Healthy |
| Q4 2024 | 1.7x | Healthy |
LIN's net debt is about 2.1 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), about the same as a year ago.
LIN Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 61.0 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 84.0 | Overbought |
LIN's weekly RSI is 61 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 84 (overbought).
LIN PE vs Basic Materials Sector
| Metric | LIN | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 35x | 19x | 86% above |
| PE % | 40 | 40 | Same percentile |
LIN is trading at 35x earnings, a 86% premium to the Basic Materials sector's median of 19x.
LIN Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $499.0 | 4.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $496.3 | 5.3% above |
| 50 week MA | $485.9 | 7.5% above |
| 100 week MA | $469.6 | 11% above |
| 200 week MA | $439.6 | 19% above |
LIN is in an uptrend: it's above all five of its weekly moving averages, and 19% above its 200-week average.
LIN Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $212.3 | $256.6 | +21% |
| 2021 | $256.6 | $339.2 | +32% |
| 2022 | $339.2 | $329.3 | -2.9% |
| 2023 | $329.3 | $410.7 | +25% |
| 2024 | $410.7 | $423.0 | +3% |
| 2025 | $423.0 | $424.8 | +0.4% |
| 2026 YTD | $424.8 | $522.5 | +23% |
LIN has finished higher in five of the last six years. It's up 23% so far in 2026.