Key Highlights

  • Adjusted EPS of USD 4.59 beat the consensus estimate of USD 4.52, while GAAP EPS fell 11% to USD 3.66.
  • Sales of USD 9.40 billion rose 9% and topped the consensus estimate of USD 9.16 billion for the quarter.
  • A USD 425 million cost reduction charge cut reported Operating Margin to 22.9%, against 29.4% adjusted.
  • Fourth quarter adjusted EPS guidance is USD 4.40 to USD 4.50, and full year guidance USD 17.82 to USD 17.92.

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) reported third quarter 2026 adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share of USD 4.59, up 9% from USD 4.21 and above the consensus estimate of USD 4.52. GAAP diluted EPS was USD 3.66 compared with USD 4.09 a year earlier, reflecting the USD 425 million cost reduction program and other charges. Sales of USD 9.40 billion rose 9% from USD 8.62 billion and exceeded the consensus estimate of USD 9.16 billion.

Adjusted operating profit grew 8% to USD 2.76 billion, while reported operating profit fell 9% to USD 2.15 billion.

Margin Detail and the Charge Behind the Gap

The adjusted operating margin of 29.4% slipped 30 basis points from 29.7%, and the chief financial officer said it was flat excluding cost pass-through, with gains in the combined gas segments offset by declines in Engineering and Global Other. Sales growth of 9% combined 3% from price, 2% from volume, 1% each from currency, cost pass-through, acquisitions and engineering. Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Lamba said roughly half of the charge relates to severance, mainly in lower growth regions, with the balance tied to portfolio and asset actions, mostly in the U.S. home care Business Lincare.

Lincare now reports inside the Global Other segment, and management is evaluating strategic alternatives for it. The chief financial officer said Lincare has cost about 2% of year to date EPS growth. By end market, electronics grew 15%, chemicals and energy 12%, and Manufacturing 7%. Americas sales rose 11% to USD 3.60 billion with segment operating profit up 12% to USD 1.26 billion.

Guidance Assumes No Economic Improvement

For the fourth quarter, the company guides to adjusted EPS of USD 4.40 to USD 4.50, which represents growth of 5% to 7%, and full year adjusted EPS of USD 17.82 to USD 17.92. The chief financial officer said the guide assumes no economic improvement, including at Lincare, and embeds no meaningful profit change from the restructuring actions yet. The sequential step down at the midpoint of about 3% reflects roughly 1% from currency, 1% from Equity income that was lifted by a customer true up in the third quarter, and 1% of seasonality and caution.

Operating cash flow reached USD 3.2 billion, up 8%, and the company has deployed over USD 9 billion year to date, with about half invested in the business and the rest returned to shareholders. USD 4.7 billion remains under the 2023 repurchase program. The sale of gas project Backlog sits close to USD 8 billion, with start ups in the fourth quarter that could total around USD 1 billion, and sale of plant backlog is just under USD 3 billion.

Items to Follow After the Charge

Several figures frame the next reports. Fourth quarter adjusted EPS guidance of USD 4.40 to USD 4.50 is the next test of the cost actions, whose severance portion carries a payback of one to two years, nearer the two year end, with full run rate benefits in the second half of next year. The sale of gas backlog is targeted near USD 8 billion at year end. Management does not anticipate the energy and distribution cost pressure behind the Americas pricing recovery to carry into the fourth quarter, and 2027 guidance is scheduled for February.