EQS-News: Linde plc
/ Key word(s): Quarter Results
Linde Reports Third-Quarter 2026 Results Third-Quarter Highlights
Woking, UK, October 29, 2026 - Linde plc (Nasdaq: LIN) today reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $1,692 million and diluted earnings per share of $3.66, down 12% and 11%, respectively. Excluding Linde AG purchase accounting impacts and cost reduction program and other charges, adjusted net income was $2,122 million, up 7% versus prior year. Adjusted diluted earnings per share was $4.59, 9% above prior year. Linde's sales for the third quarter were $9,404 million, up 9% versus prior year including 1% favorable currency impact. Compared to prior year, underlying sales increased 5% from 3% price attainment and 2% volumes primarily in the electronics, chemicals & energy, and manufacturing end markets. Third-quarter operating profit was $2,150 million. Adjusted operating profit of $2,763 million was up 8% versus prior year resulting in an adjusted operating profit margin of 29.4%. Operating margin was 30 basis points lower than the previous year but flat when excluding the effects of cost pass-through. Third-quarter operating cash flow of $3,169 million increased 8% versus prior year. After capital expenditures of $1,392 million, free cash flow was $1,777 million. During the quarter, the company returned $1,685 million to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases, net of issuances. Commenting on the financial results and business outlook, Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Lamba said, "Linde's financial performance continued to improve in the third quarter, with record sales of $9.4 billion and record EPS of $4.59, alongside strong operating cash flow of $3.2 billion. During the quarter we took further actions to improve productivity and strengthen performance across our businesses, while maintaining our goal to deliver industry-leading results." Lamba continued, "Customer proposal activity remains robust, particularly across electronics, supporting our confidence in continued backlog growth. Regardless of the economic environment, we remain focused on operational excellence, disciplined capital deployment and securing high-quality projects that will compound shareholder value over the long term." For the fourth quarter of 2026, Linde expects adjusted diluted earnings per share in the range of $4.40 to $4.50, up 5% to 7% versus prior-year quarter, with no expected impact from foreign currency translation. For the full year 2026, the company expects adjusted diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $17.82 to $17.92, up 8% to 9% when assuming favorable currency of 2% versus prior year. Full-year capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $5.5 billion to $6.0 billion to support growth and maintenance requirements including the $7.9 billion contractual sale of gas project backlog. Americas sales of $3,601 million were up 11% versus prior year. Compared with third quarter 2025, underlying sales increased 9%, driven by 6% higher pricing and 3% higher volumes, primarily in the electronics, chemicals & energy, and metals & mining end markets. Operating profit of $1,263 million was 35.1% of sales, 50 basis points above prior year. APAC (Asia Pacific) sales of $1,950 million were up 12% versus prior year. Compared with third quarter 2025, underlying sales increased 8%, driven by 3% higher pricing and 5% volumes, primarily in the electronics and chemicals & energy end markets and project start-ups. Operating profit of $534 million was 27.4% of sales, 70 basis points below prior year or 40 basis points when excluding the effects of cost pass-through. EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa) sales of $2,327 million were up 7% versus prior year. Compared with third quarter 2025, underlying sales increased 3%, driven by 2% higher pricing and 1% higher volumes primarily in the healthcare and food & beverage end markets. Operating profit of $817 million was 35.1% of sales, 80 basis points below prior year or flat when excluding the effects of cost pass-through. Linde Engineering sales were $582 million, up 12% versus prior year, and operating profit was $107 million or 18.4% of sales. Order intake for the quarter was $499 million and third-party sale of equipment backlog was $2.9 billion. Earnings Call A teleconference on Linde's third-quarter 2026 results is being held today at 9:00 am EDT.
About Linde For more information about the company and its products and services, please visit www.linde.com
Adjusted amounts, free cash flow and return on capital are non-GAAP measures. See the attachments for a summary of non-GAAP reconciliations and calculations for adjusted amounts. Attachments: Summary Non-GAAP Reconciliations, Statements of Income, Balance Sheets, Statements of Cash Flows, Segment Information and Appendix: Non-GAAP Measures and Reconciliations. *Note: We are providing adjusted earnings per share ("EPS") guidance for 2026. This is a non-GAAP financial measure that represents diluted earnings per share from continuing operations (a GAAP measure) but excludes the impact of certain items that we believe are not representative of our underlying business performance, such as cost reduction and other charges, and the impact of other potentially significant items. Given the uncertainty of timing and magnitude of such items, we cannot provide a reconciliation of the differences between the non-GAAP adjusted EPS guidance and the corresponding GAAP EPS measure without unreasonable effort.
Forward-looking Statements Linde plc assumes no obligation to update or provide revisions to any forward-looking statement in response to changing circumstances. The above listed risks and uncertainties are further described in Item 1A. Risk Factors in Linde plc's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025 filed with the SEC on February 25, 2026 which should be reviewed carefully. Please consider Linde plc's forward-looking statements in light of those risks.
Additional features: File: Linde Q3 2026 Earnings Release Tables 29.10.2026 CET/CEST Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS Group. |
| Language: | English |
| Company: | Linde plc |
| Forge, 43 Church Street West | |
| GU21 6HT Woking, Surrey | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Phone: | +1-203-837-2210 |
| E-mail: | Investor.Relations@Linde.com |
| Internet: | www.linde.com |
| ISIN: | IE000S9YS762 |
| Listed: | Nasdaq |
| LEI Code: | 8945002PAZHZLBGKGF02 |
| EQS News ID: | 2424074 |
| End of News | EQS News Service |
2424074 29.10.2026 CET/CEST
