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 Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LIN traded up $6.78 on Friday, hitting $507.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,577,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,811,189. 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 52-week low of $387.78 and a 52-week high of $521.28. The business has a 50 day moving average of $496.93 and a 200 day moving average of $456.09. The company has a market cap of $235.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.81, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.78.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.27 by $0.06. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.The business had revenue of $8.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.60 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a $1.60 dividend. This represents a $6.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. Linde’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on LIN shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Linde from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Linde from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $455.00 to $525.00 in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $530.00 target price on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Linde from $512.00 to $552.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upped their target price on Linde from $525.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Linde currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $527.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Linde

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,890,227.77. This represents a 44.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 9,455 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.45, for a total value of $4,542,654.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 22,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,636,202.10. The trade was a 29.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 20,332 shares of company stock valued at $9,749,257 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Key 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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Linde

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LIN. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Linde during the third quarter worth about $453,274,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Linde by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,784,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,171,959,000 after buying an additional 695,771 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Linde by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,768,269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,606,756,000 after buying an additional 378,343 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth about $158,952,000. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA boosted its position in shares of Linde by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 888,620 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $378,899,000 after buying an additional 349,700 shares during the period. 82.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Linde

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.