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Linde

LIN
62
Chemicals - Specialty · Basic Materials
Also trades as: LIN.DE EUR 444.20 (+0.77%)
Price
$498.43
+5.21 (+1.06%)
Market Cap
$229.77B
Exchange
NASDAQ
Winston Score
62
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Oct 18, 2026 · filings through Jun 30, 2026

§How the score breaks down

Quality
Strong
21/30
Growth
Strong
14/20
Cash Flow
Exceptional
9/10
Stability
Strong
8/10
Valuation
Good
6/10
Ownership
Weak
2/15
Dividends
Mixed
2/5

62 of 100 counted points = Winston Score 62.

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Share count falling — buybacks

−10.2% over 4y

The company has reduced its share count over this period, returning value to shareholders through buybacks.

Diluted shares outstanding: 521.9M (2021) → 468.7M (2025)

§Winston Score History

The full picture

Linde is the world's largest industrial gas company. It makes and delivers gases like oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and argon that factories, hospitals, and laboratories need to operate. Its customers include steel mills, semiconductor chip makers, food processors, healthcare providers, and chemical plants across dozens of industries.

Linde earns money by selling these gases under long-term contracts, often through pipelines directly connected to customer facilities or via deliveries in pressurized tanks and cylinders. It operates in over 100 countries, generating roughly $33 billion in annual revenue. Its moat comes from the high cost of building gas production plants and the long-term "take-or-pay" contracts that lock in customers for years at a time, making it very hard for competitors to steal business. The key growth driver is rising demand for clean hydrogen, which Linde is positioning as a fuel and industrial feedstock — though large capital spending on new projects is a persistent financial risk.

Politician Trades

34 trades / 12mo

20 Congressional buys and 14 sells on LIN in the last 12 months.

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Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+9.3% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+11.2% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Steady EPS growth

R&D Spend

$147M/ year

→ Flat (-2% vs prior year)

0.4% of revenue

Below sector average (3%)

Steady R&D investment year-over-year

Insider Activity

0.5%ownership

→ Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

$4.9B cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↓ Burn rate worsening

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Linde is growing revenue at 9% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Score breakdown

Every number that matters to educated investors.

Each metric is explained in plain language so you know exactly what you're looking at. Start your free trial now.

Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
47.7%
Healthy — 47.7% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
27.3%
Excellent — 27.3% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
15.1%
Strong — 15.1% return on capital

ROIC between 15% and 25%. Every dollar invested in the business earns 15 to 25 cents back per year.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+6.6%
Slow sales growth (+6.6% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+10.2%
Earnings growing (+10.2% YoY)

Healthy double-digit earnings growth — what compounders look like.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
7/8 quarters
Every recent quarter grew earnings vs last year

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
144%
Turns 144% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
14.0%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (14.0%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.72
Moderate — manageable debt (0.72)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
37.91x
Comfortably covers interest (37.9x)

Interest coverage above 8. Profits cover interest many times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
32.0x
Pricey — P/E 32.0

P/E above the market average. People are paying up for expected growth.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+9.2
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow meaningfully — cheaper on forward P/E (32.0 → 22.8)

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
1.31%
Small dividend — 1.31% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+7.0%
Dividend growing modestly (7.0% YoY)
Payout Ratio
40%
no trend
Pays out a modest share of profit and keeps the rest to reinvest. Room to keep paying through a weak year.

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