Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) Releases Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided EPS guidance of 4.200-4.300 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of 4.240. The company issued revenue guidance of -. Linde also updated its FY 2026 guidance to 17.400-17.900 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LIN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Linde in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $510.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $516.00 target price on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, November 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $455.00 price target on shares of Linde in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $530.00 price objective on shares of Linde in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $513.56.

Linde Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ:LIN opened at $448.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $209.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.84. Linde has a 52 week low of $387.78 and a 52 week high of $486.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $431.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $447.83.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The basic materials company reported $4.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $8.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.64 billion. Linde had a return on equity of 19.52% and a net margin of 20.30%.Linde’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.97 earnings per share. Linde has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 17.400-17.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Linde will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Stories Impacting Linde

Here are the key news stories impacting Linde this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat estimates: adjusted EPS $4.20 (vs. $4.18 consensus) and revenue $8.76B (+6% YoY), showing margin resilience and underlying demand. Businesswire: Linde Reports Full-Year and Fourth-Quarter 2025 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Full-year operating profit reported at $8.9B, indicating solid profitability for 2025. Gasworld: Linde reports full year operating profit of $8.9bn
• Positive Sentiment: Company cites record backlog and restructuring initiatives as drivers of steady growth and the 2026 outlook (EPS target $17.40–$17.90). MSN: Linde sees another year of steady growth as Q4 results beat forecasts
• Neutral Sentiment: Management set FY2026 EPS guidance at $17.40–$17.90 and Q1 at $4.20–$4.30 — roughly in line with consensus but tight to the low side of estimates, leaving little upside surprise potential. Linde FY2026 guidance (slide deck)
• Neutral Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed a “neutral” rating with a $455 price target (only modest upside from current levels), signaling limited near-term analyst-driven buy pressure. Benzinga: JPMorgan reaffirms neutral on Linde
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: shares fell after guidance was viewed as disappointing relative to expectations despite the earnings beat; coverage and headlines highlighted the guidance miss. Investing.com: Linde shares fall over 2% as 2026 guidance disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: Operational/headcount action: Linde announced engineering job cuts as it addresses supply-chain challenges — short-term disruption and execution risk that can worry investors. Gasworld: Linde cuts jobs in engineering

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in Linde by 0.5% during the third quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 13,922 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,613,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,090,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 21,869 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,388,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Linde by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 690 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, United Capital Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Linde by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 13,052 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,200,000 after buying an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. 82.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.