Volume and price rise, Linde Gas (LIN.US) Q3 performance exceeds expectations

The Zhitong Finance App learned that before the US stock market on Thursday, Linde Gas (LIN.US) announced financial results for the third quarter of 2026. Thanks to sales growth and pricing increases in various regions, both sales and adjusted profit exceeded expectations.

According to the data, the company's third-quarter sales were $9.404 billion, up 9% year over year, exceeding analysts' expectations of $9.140 billion. Basic sales increased 5% year-on-year, mainly driven by a 3% price increase and a 2% increase in sales volume. The growth was mainly concentrated in the electronics, chemicals, energy, and manufacturing terminal markets.

Operating profit for the quarter was US$2.50 billion; adjusted operating profit was US$2,763 billion, up 8% year-on-year, and the adjusted operating margin reached 29.4%. Excluding expenses such as the impact of mergers and acquisitions accounting and cost reduction plans, adjusted net profit was US$2,122 million, up 7% year on year; adjusted diluted EPS was US$4.59, up 9% year over year, exceeding analysts' expectations of US$4.52.

Operating cash flow for the third quarter was US$3.169 billion, up 8% year over year. After deducting capital expenses of $1,392 million, free cash flow was $1,777 million. The company returned US$1,685 billion to shareholders during the quarter through dividends and share repurchases.

Looking at the subregions, growth was achieved in all regions:

America: Sales of US$3.61 billion, up 11% year on year, base sales increased 9% (price increase of 6%, sales volume 3%); operating profit of US$1,263 billion, profit margin 35.1%, up 50 basis points year on year.

Asia Pacific: Sales of USD 1.95 billion, up 12% year on year; base sales increased 8% (price increase of 3%, sales volume of 5%); operating profit of USD 534 million, profit margin of 27.4%.

Europe, Middle East and Africa: Sales of US$2,327 million, up 7% year on year; base sales increased 3% (price increase of 2%, sales volume 1%); operating profit of US$817 million, profit margin 35.1%.

Linde Engineering: Sales of USD 582 million, up 12% year on year, and operating profit of USD 107 million. The quarter's order volume was 499 million US dollars, and the third-party equipment sales backlog was 2.9 billion US dollars.

Executive Reviews and Prospects

CEO Sanjiv Lamba said Linde's financial performance continued to improve in the third quarter, with record sales and adjusted EPS, and strong operating cash flow. Customer activity remains active, particularly in the electronics sector, supporting the company's confidence that the backlog of orders continues to grow.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Linde expects adjusted diluted EPS to be between $4.40 and $4.50, up 5% to 7% year over year; adjusted diluted EPS is expected to be in the range of 17.82 to 17.92 US dollars for the whole year, up 8% to 9% year on year. Annual capital expenditure is expected to be between $5.5 billion and $6 billion to support growth and maintenance needs, including support for the $7.9 billion backlog of contract gas sales projects.

As of press release, Linde Gas is up more than 3% in the premarket.