Linde plc: Q3 FY2026 earnings call

What management said about Q3 FY2026, from the documents filed with the SEC on 29 October 2026: press release. Guidance figures: 1 raised, 1 new, 1 kept. The quarter’s numbers.

Key takeaways

Record sales and adjusted EPS reported: Sales were $9,404 million, up 9% including 1% favorable currency, with underlying sales up 5%. Adjusted EPS of $4.59 rose 9%. GAAP diluted EPS was $3.66, down 11%. Source
Adjusted profit rose while GAAP fell: GAAP net income was $1,692 million, down 12%. Excluding Linde AG purchase accounting impacts and cost reduction program and other charges, adjusted net income was $2,122 million, up 7%. Source
Americas sales up 11%: Underlying sales rose 9%, from 6% higher pricing and 3% higher volumes, in electronics, chemicals and energy, and metals and mining. Operating margin was 35.1%, 50 basis points above prior year. Source
Operating margin down 30 basis points: Reported operating margin was 22.9%, 30 basis points lower than prior year, but flat excluding the effects of cost pass-through. Source
Electronics proposal activity robust: Management said customer proposal activity remains robust, particularly in electronics, and that this supports confidence in continued backlog growth. Source
Free cash flow of $1.78 billion: Free cash flow was $1,777 million after capex of $1,392 million, compared with $833 million in the second-quarter release. Source

“Linde’s financial performance continued to improve in the third quarter, with record sales of $9.4 billion and record EPS of $4.59”
Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Lamba

Guidance

Area	Period	Figure	Against last quarter
Adjusted diluted EPS Source	Fourth quarter 2026	$4.40 to $4.50	New
Adjusted diluted EPS Source	Full year 2026	$17.82 to $17.92	Raised from $17.70 to $17.90
Capital expenditures Source	Full year 2026	$5.5 billion to $6.0 billion	Kept

What changed from last quarter

Guidance raised: Full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance raised to $17.82 to $17.92, from $17.70 to $17.90 in the previous release. Source
New guidance: Fourth-quarter 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.40 to $4.50 given. The previous release gave guidance for the third quarter only. Source

Results and growth drivers

Record sales and adjusted EPS reported: Sales were $9,404 million, up 9% including 1% favorable currency, with underlying sales up 5%. Adjusted EPS of $4.59 rose 9%. GAAP diluted EPS was $3.66, down 11%. Source
Adjusted profit rose while GAAP fell: GAAP net income was $1,692 million, down 12%. Excluding Linde AG purchase accounting impacts and cost reduction program and other charges, adjusted net income was $2,122 million, up 7%. Source
Adjusted operating profit up 8%: Adjusted operating profit was $2,763 million, up 8%, giving an adjusted operating profit margin of 29.4%. Reported operating profit was $2,150 million. Source
Operating cash flow up 8%: Operating cash flow was $3,169 million, up 8% on the prior year. Prior-quarter operating cash flow was $2,271 million. Source

Segments and regions

Americas sales up 11%: Underlying sales rose 9%, from 6% higher pricing and 3% higher volumes, in electronics, chemicals and energy, and metals and mining. Operating margin was 35.1%, 50 basis points above prior year. Source
APAC growth led by volumes: Underlying sales rose 8%, from 5% volumes and 3% pricing, in electronics, chemicals and energy, and project start-ups. Operating margin was 27.4%, 70 basis points below prior year, or 40 basis points excluding cost pass-through. Source
EMEA underlying growth of 3%: Underlying sales rose 3%, from 2% higher pricing and 1% higher volumes, in healthcare and food and beverage. Operating margin was 35.1%, 80 basis points below prior year, or flat excluding cost pass-through. Source

“Customer proposal activity remains robust, particularly across electronics, supporting our confidence in continued backlog growth.”
Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Lamba

Linde Engineering and project backlog

Engineering sales up 12%: Linde Engineering sales were $582 million, up 12%, with operating profit of $107 million, or 18.4% of sales. Source
Engineering order intake fell: Engineering order intake was $499 million in the quarter, compared with $871 million in the second-quarter release. Source

Margins and pricing

Operating margin down 30 basis points: Reported operating margin was 22.9%, 30 basis points lower than prior year, but flat excluding the effects of cost pass-through. Source
Price attainment contributed 3 points: Underlying sales growth of 5% comprised 3% price attainment and 2% volume growth, led by electronics, chemicals and energy, and manufacturing. Source

“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.”
Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Lamba

Demand and proposal activity

Electronics proposal activity robust: Management said customer proposal activity remains robust, particularly in electronics, and that this supports confidence in continued backlog growth. Source

Cash and shareholder returns

Free cash flow of $1.78 billion: Free cash flow was $1,777 million after capex of $1,392 million, compared with $833 million in the second-quarter release. Source
Shareholder returns of $1.69 billion: The company returned $1,685 million to shareholders through dividends and stock repurchases, net of issuances, compared with $1,590 million in the prior quarter. Source

Strategy and operational focus

Productivity actions taken in quarter: Management said the company took further actions to improve productivity and strengthen performance across its businesses while maintaining its goal of industry-leading results. Source
Focus on high-quality projects: Management said it remains focused on operational excellence, disciplined capital deployment and securing high-quality projects, regardless of the economic environment. Source

Coming up, as management said on 29 October 2026

Continued backlog growth expected: Management said proposal activity supports its confidence in continued backlog growth, with electronics the main source of proposals. Source

Figures management reported

Figure	Reported
Project backlog Source	$11 billion
Third-party sale of equipment backlog (Linde Engineering) Source	$2.9 billion
Contractual sale of gas project backlog Source	$7.9 billion

Other quarters

Summarised with AI from the documents the company filed with the SEC. Every point is checked against the filing before it is shown: management’s own words word for word, figures against the line or table row they come from. A point that fails the check is left out. Source opens the filing at that line.

As filed with the SEC

Open the filing on EDGAR

Linde Reports Third-Quarter 2026 Results

Third-Quarter Highlights

Sales $9.4 billion, up 9% YoY, underlying sales up 5%
Operating profit $2.2 billion, adjusted operating profit $2.8 billion, up 8%
Operating profit margin 22.9%; adjusted operating profit margin 29.4%
EPS $3.66, down 11%; adjusted EPS $4.59, up 9% YoY
Third-quarter operating cash flow of $3.2 billion, up 8% YoY
Full-year 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $17.82 - $17.92 representing 8% to 9% growth
Project backlog $11 billion

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.

Third-Quarter 2026 Results by Segment

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.

Live conference call

US Toll-Free Dial-In Number: +1 833 461 5787 UK Toll-Free Dial-In Number: +44 808 196 8935 Access code: 806577257

Live webcast (listen-only)

https://www.linde.com/investors/financial-reports

Materials to be used in the teleconference are also available on the website.

About Linde

Linde is a leading global industrial gases and engineering company with 2025 sales of $34 billion. We live our mission of making our world more productive every day by providing high-quality solutions, technologies and services which are making our customers more successful and helping to sustain, decarbonize and protect our planet. Linde serves a variety of end markets such as chemicals & energy, food & beverage, electronics, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and mining. Linde’s industrial gases and technologies are used in countless applications, enabling space exploration and launch technologies, delivering ultra-high-purity and specialty gases for semiconductor manufacturing, providing life-saving medical oxygen and enabling clean hydrogen production and carbon capture to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Linde also delivers state-of-the-art gas processing solutions to support customer growth, efficiency improvements and emissions reductions.

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

Forward-looking statements notice

This document contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as: anticipate, believe, intend, estimate, expect, continue, should, could, may, plan, project, predict, will, potential, forecast, and similar expressions. They are based on management’s reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date the statements are made but involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation: the performance of stock markets generally; developments in worldwide and national economies and other international events and circumstances, including trade conflicts and tariffs; changes in foreign currencies and in interest rates; the cost and availability of electric power, natural gas and other raw materials; the ability to achieve price increases to offset cost increases; catastrophic events including natural disasters, epidemics, and acts of war and terrorism; the ability to attract, hire, and retain qualified personnel; the impact of changes in financial accounting standards; the impact of changes in pension plan liabilities; the impact of tax, environmental, healthcare and other legislation and government regulation in jurisdictions in which the company operates; the cost and outcomes of investigations, litigation and regulatory proceedings; the impact of potential unusual or non-recurring items; continued timely development and market acceptance of new products and applications; the impact of competitive products and pricing; future financial and operating performance of major customers and industries served; the impact of information technology system failures, network disruptions and cybersecurity breaches; and the effectiveness and speed of integrating new acquisitions into the business. These risks and uncertainties may cause future results or circumstances to differ materially from adjusted projections, estimates or other 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.