Linde PLC Reports 9% Sales Growth in Q2

By Ahmed Jamerson • Friday, July 31 10:58 • Permanent Link

Linde reported second-quarter 2026 sales of $9.289 billion, up 9% from a year earlier, as price and volume gains offset a smaller contribution from acquisitions. Underlying sales rose 4%, with 2% coming from pricing and 2% from volumes.

Net income climbed to $1.928 billion, up 9%, while diluted earnings per share rose 11% to $4.15. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased 10% to $4.50.

Operating profit was $2.554 billion, and adjusted operating profit reached $2.744 billion, up 7% year over year. The adjusted operating profit margin was 29.5%, while the reported operating margin was 27.5%, down 60 basis points from the prior year.

Operating cash flow increased 3% to $2.271 billion. After $1.438 billion of capital spending, free cash flow was $833 million. Linde returned $1.590 billion to shareholders during the quarter through dividends and stock repurchases, net of issuances.

By region, the Americas posted sales of $4.083 billion, up 7%, with underlying sales up 4%. Operating profit in the region was $1.272 billion, equal to 31.2% of sales, down 50 basis points from a year earlier.

Asia Pacific sales rose 13% to $1.870 billion, with underlying sales up 8%. Operating profit was $531 million, or 28.4% of sales, down 120 basis points year over year, or down 70 basis points excluding cost pass-through effects.

Europe, Middle East and Africa sales increased 7% to $2.303 billion, with underlying sales up 1%. Operating profit was $823 million, or 35.7% of sales, down 40 basis points from a year earlier, though up 10 basis points excluding cost pass-through effects.

Linde Engineering reported sales of $625 million, up 13%, and operating profit of $100 million, equal to 16.0% of sales. Order intake in the segment was $871 million, and third-party sale of equipment backlog stood at $3.0 billion.

The company said project backlog reached $11 billion, including a record $8.1 billion in contractual sale of gas backlog after signing another long-term electronics supply contract in the U.S. Following these announcements, the company's shares moved -6.57%, and are now trading at a price of $475.24. For more information, read the company's full 8-K submission here.

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