Revenue Growth
Sales of $8.8 billion, up 8% year-over-year and flat sequentially; underlying sales +3% (price +2%, volume +1%); foreign currency was a 5% tailwind and net acquisitions added ~1%.
May 1st, 2026
Summary
- Earnings Call Date:
- 2026-05-01
- Change Since:
- +1.86%
- Next Earnings Date:
- 2026-07-23
Earnings Call Sentiment
PositiveThe call presents solid financial and operational results — double-digit EPS growth, strong cash generation, margin stability with sequential improvement, backlog and targeted investments (notably in electronics and space-related opportunities), plus continued shareholder returns (dividend increase and buybacks). These positives are tempered by regional weakness in EMEA, project timing slippage on a major project, helium market uncertainty, and an overall guarded outlook due to geopolitical volatility. On balance, the strengths (growth, cash flow, capital allocation, backlog, and guidance raise at the low end) outweigh the challenges, though management remains cautious until geopolitical clarity improves.
Company Guidance
Linde updated guidance with Q2 EPS of $4.40–$4.50 (≈8–10% y/y growth) and full‑year 2026 EPS of $17.60–$17.90 (≈7–9% y/y growth), each range assuming a 1% currency tailwind and “no economic improvement” at the midpoint; management raised the prior bottom by $0.20 but left the top at $17.90, explicitly excluded any upside from potential helium volume/price improvements versus February guidance, and framed the outlook against Q1 results (EPS $4.33, +10% / +5% ex‑FX) and a 30% operating margin.
Earnings Per Share and Profitability
Reported EPS of $4.33, up 10% year-over-year (≈+5% ex-currency); operating profit $2.6 billion, up 8% YoY; operating margin 30% (flat YoY) and sequential margin improvement of ~50 basis points.
Strong Cash Generation and Capital Allocation
Operating cash flow $2.2 billion (up 4% YoY); CapEx $1.3 billion; free cash flow $900 million used to pay dividends and repurchase shares; repurchased $800 million of stock during the quarter.
Dividend Increase and Shareholder Returns
Raised the annual dividend by 7%, marking 33 consecutive years of dividend growth (average growth ~13%); disciplined allocation between reinvestment (≈$1.5 billion) and returns.
Backlog and Project Execution
Sale-of-gas backlog at $7.1 billion; started up 10 backlog projects (~$300 million invested) and signed 5 new sale-of-gas projects adding ~$100 million; signed nine bolt-on acquisitions in the quarter.
End-Market Strengths — Electronics and Food & Beverage
Electronics sales increased 10% YoY driven by advanced chip investments (>$1 billion currently being invested in ultra-high-purity plants); Food & Beverage up 5% YoY with broad-based strength.
Operational Returns and Outlook
Industry-leading return on capital ~23.8%–24%; updated 2026 guidance: Q2 EPS $4.40–$4.50 (+8%–10%) and full-year EPS $17.60–$17.90 (+7%–9%); raised bottom-end of prior guidance by $0.20.
Helium Positioning (Contracted Base)
Helium business ~85%–90% contracted; current priority is meeting contractual commitments and securing long-term agreements rather than spot sales, positioning the company to capture upside as market tightens.
Operator
Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Linde plc First Quarter 2026 Earnings Call and Webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. After the speakers' presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. I would now like to hand the conference over to Mr. Juan Pelaez, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.
Abby, thank you.
Juan Pelaez
Good morning, everyone, and thanks for attending our 2026 First Quarter Earnings Call and Webcast. I'm Bob Bedaez, Head of Investor Relations, and I'm joined this morning by Matt White, Chief Financial Officer. Today's presentation materials are available on our website at littie.com in the Investors section. Please read the forward-looking statement disclosure on Page 2 of the slides and note that it applies to all statements made during this teleconference. Reconciliations of the adjusted numbers are in the appendix to this presentation. Matt will provide some opening remarks. I'll give an update on Linde plc's first quarter financial performance, and then Matt will finish the updated outlook, after which we will wrap up with Q&A. Now turn the call over to Matt.
Matthew White
Thanks, Juan. Good morning, everyone. The Linde plc team delivered another solid quarter against a challenging economic backdrop. EPS of $4.33 grew 10%. Operating margins reached 30%. And return on capital remained at a healthy level of 24%. The high-quality compounding growth of our company no matter what the environment is a testament to the unwavering commi...
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