Research Analysts Issue Forecasts for Linde FY2026 Earnings

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank slightly trimmed its FY2026 EPS forecast for Linde to $17.85 (from $17.89) while maintaining a Strong-Buy rating and projecting FY2027 EPS of $19.50; the Street consensus for FY2026 is about $17.81.
• Linde beat the latest quarter with $4.20 EPS (vs. $4.18 consensus) and $8.76B revenue (vs. $8.64B), and reiterated guidance of $4.200–4.300 for Q1 2026 and $17.400–17.900 for FY2026.
• Shares trade near $510 with a consensus analyst rating of Buy and a $527.80 target; the company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.60 (annualized $6.40, ~1.3% yield) and insiders have recently sold shares.

Linde PLC (NASDAQ:LIN - Free Report) - Stock analysts at Erste Group Bank reduced their FY2026 EPS estimates for shares of Linde in a research note issued on Monday, April 27th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the basic materials company will earn $17.85 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $17.89. Erste Group Bank has a "Strong-Buy" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Linde's current full-year earnings is $17.81 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Linde's FY2027 earnings at $19.50 EPS.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.64 billion. Linde had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 19.52%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.97 EPS. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Linde from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Linde in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 report on Friday, March 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Linde from $545.00 to $580.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Linde from $550.00 to $579.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $527.80.

Linde Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ LIN opened at $510.29 on Wednesday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $496.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $455.43. The company has a market cap of $236.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Linde has a 12-month low of $387.78 and a 12-month high of $515.63.

Linde Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $1.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $6.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Linde's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Sean Durbin sold 6,520 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.27, for a total value of $3,111,800.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,151 shares in the company, valued at $3,890,227.77. This trade represents a 44.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Guillermo Bichara sold 4,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.79, for a total transaction of $2,094,802.03. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 22,138 shares in the company, valued at $10,643,729.02. This represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 20,332 shares of company stock worth $9,749,257 over the last quarter. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Linde

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $253,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Blalock Williams LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Blalock Williams LLC now owns 510 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Linde by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,102 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc raised its position in shares of Linde by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 237 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA raised its position in shares of Linde by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Baldwin Wealth Partners LLC MA now owns 711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 23 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.

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