A CNBC analyst just anointed the world's largest industrial gas supplier as the quiet gatekeeper of the AI chip buildout, and the market has largely shrugged.
Q2 remained solid, but operating margin declined 60 basis points despite stronger pricing and volumes. The $8.1 billion backlog supports earnings visibility, although electronics growth is increasingly a sector-wide tailwind rather than a Linde-specific catalyst. Higher CAPEX and delayed project contributions temper the outlook, while APD and Air Liquide currently offer stronger margin-improvement stories.
Linde plc remains a 'Hold' due to excessive valuation, despite its world-class fundamentals and robust profitability. LIN trades at a 27x-30x P/E, requiring unrealistic growth or sector re-rating to justify current levels and deliver meaningful upside. Recent results show strong margins, cash generation, and backlog, but capital allocation—especially buybacks at high multiples—raises concerns.
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Linde plc (LIN) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Linde NASDAQ: LIN reported record second-quarter sales and earnings per share, while expanding its sale-of-gas project backlog to a record $8.1 billion following a new U.S. electronics contract. The industrial-gases company also said it expects to start more than 20 projects during the remainder of 2026, representing approximately $1.3 billion of investment.
Linde delivers Q2 earnings growth as pricing, volume gains, currency and acquisitions drive sales, with electronics leading end-market gains.
Although the revenue and EPS for Linde (LIN) give a sense of how its business performed in the quarter ended June 2026, it might be worth considering how some key metrics compare with Wall Street estimates and the year-ago numbers.
Linde (LIN) came out with quarterly earnings of $4.5 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.49 per share. This compares to earnings of $4.09 per share a year ago.
Linde , the world's largest industrial gases company, raised the bottom end of its full-year earnings forecast on Friday after posting second-quarter results that beat market expectations.