Linde (LIN) Q3 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Q3 sales reached a record $9.404B, up 9% YoY; underlying sales grew 5%.

• Adjusted operating profit rose 8% to $2.763B and adjusted diluted EPS rose 9% to a record $4.59; reported operating profit fell 9% to $2.150B and reported EPS fell 11% to $3.66.

• A $425M charge for cost-reduction and other actions weighed on reported results; Lincare remained a performance headwind.

Financial highlights

• Q3 sales growth contributions included pricing +3%, volume +2%, currency +1%, acquisitions +1%, cost pass-through +1% and Engineering +1%.

• Adjusted net income rose 7% to $2.122B; reported net income attributable to shareholders fell 12% to $1.692B.

• Operating cash flow increased 8% to $3.169B; capital expenditures were $1.392B and free cash flow was $1.777B.

• 9M sales were $27.474B, adjusted operating profit $8.137B, adjusted net income $6.230B and adjusted diluted EPS $13.41.

Outlook and guidance

• Q4 adjusted diluted EPS guidance is $4.40–$4.50, up 5%–7% YoY; midpoint assumes no economic improvement, with no expected currency translation impact.

• FY 2026 adjusted diluted EPS guidance is $17.82–$17.92, up 8%–9%, with an estimated 2% currency tailwind; midpoint assumes no economic improvement.

• FY 2026 capital expenditure guidance is $5.5B–$6.0B.

• Project backlog was $10.8B: $7.9B in sale-of-gas projects and $2.9B in sale-of-plant orders; customer proposals remained robust, particularly in electronics.