Linde Stock (LIN): UBS Sees Faster 2026 EPS Growth as Big Institutions Boost Stakes and €1.75 Billion Bond Deal Lands

As of Saturday, November 29, 2025, Linde plc (NASDAQ: LIN), the world’s largest industrial gas company, is back in the spotlight. A fresh bullish note from UBS, a wave of new institutional buying, and follow‑up analysis of a €1.75 billion multi‑tranche bond issue are all hitting the wires on the same day — giving investors plenty to digest. ^[1]

Below is a breakdown of the latest Linde stock news from November 29, 2025, and what it could mean for shareholders and prospective investors.

Linde stock today: price, performance and size

Linde trades on Nasdaq under the ticker LIN and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under LIN (ETR:LIN). As of the latest close:

U.S. listing (NASDAQ: LIN): Around $410 per share, with a market capitalization of roughly $190 billion and a trailing P/E ratio near 29x, according to recent institutional‑ownership and fund‑flow data. ^[2]
German listing (ETR: LIN): Closed at €354.00 on November 28, 2025, with a euro market cap around €175.7 billion. ^[3]

Recent performance on the Frankfurt line underlines why sentiment around Linde matters:

1‑month performance: –7.43%
Year‑to‑date: –12.25%
1‑year: –18.29%
5‑year: +64.10% ^[4]

So despite a soft year in 2025, Linde remains a mega‑cap industrial with a long record of compounding shareholder returns — and that’s exactly the backdrop against which today’s news is landing.

UBS predicts EPS acceleration for Linde in 2026

The headline item on November 29 is a new article summarizing UBS’s bullish stance on Linde’s earnings trajectory. ^[5]

Key points from UBS’s view:

Rating and target: On November 19, UBS reaffirmed its Buy rating on Linde with a $500 price target. ^[6]
EPS growth outlook: UBS expects adjusted EPS growth to accelerate from about 6% in 2025 to roughly 9–10% year‑over‑year in 2026, helped by new project ramp‑ups. ^[7]
Headwinds they’re watching:
- Softer base volumes compared with last year
- Lower helium and rare‑gas prices pressuring parts of the portfolio
Re‑rating thesis: The bank argues that once these headwinds ease, Linde’s valuation multiple could drift back toward its historical range, implying upside from current levels. ^[8]

UBS analyst Joshua Spector previously described the stock’s risk‑reward as having a “2.5x up/downside skew”, with an EPS growth inflection in 2026 framed as a key trigger for the next leg of the story. ^[9]

For SEO and news readers: “Linde stock forecast” from UBS’s vantage point is essentially this — modest growth in 2025, faster EPS growth in 2026, and the potential for a higher multiple if execution remains solid and macro headwinds soften.

€1.75 billion bond deal underpins Linde’s balance sheet strategy

Another focal point in today’s coverage is follow‑up analysis of Linde’s recent €1.75 billion euro‑denominated bond issue.

Deal structure: triple‑tranche notes across the curve

Recent legal and financial disclosures outline the key terms of the offering: ^[10]

Total size: €1.75 billion in senior unsecured notes under Linde’s €20 billion Debt Issuance Programme
Three tranches:
- €600 million floating‑rate notes due 2027
  - Coupon: 3‑month Euribor + 22 basis points
- €650 million fixed‑rate notes due 2032
  - Coupon: 3.125%
- €500 million fixed‑rate notes due 2038
  - Coupon: 3.750%
Use of proceeds: General corporate purposes — giving Linde extra flexibility to fund growth projects, refinance existing debt, or support ongoing shareholder returns. ^[11]
Listing and stabilisation: The notes are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, with a stabilisation period running from November 13 to December 19, during which the stabilisation manager can support secondary‑market pricing. ^[12]

A new Simply Wall St article published November 29 frames the deal as a way for Linde to “strengthen its capital base” while the share price hovers near $410, noting that the one‑year total return is negative but three‑ and five‑year returns remain robust at around 26% and 75%, respectively. ^[13]

The same analysis highlights:

A widely followed intrinsic‑value narrative that pegs fair value around $505.61 per share, implying that Linde could be roughly 18–19% undervalued at current prices. ^[14]
A P/E multiple around 27x, modestly above the roughly 23x average for U.S. chemicals, signalling that investors still pay a premium for Linde’s scale, contract profile and clean‑energy exposure. ^[15]

In other words, today’s coverage links the bond issue directly to Linde’s valuation: the new debt adds financial flexibility and locks in long‑term funding, while the equity market is still debating how much growth is already priced in.

Big money moves: Norges Bank and other institutions ramp up Linde exposure

A cluster of fresh 13F‑driven stories on November 29 underline how large institutions have been quietly adding to Linde stock. All of these pieces come from MarketBeat’s instant news alerts. ^[16]

Norges Bank: a $3.1 billion vote of confidence

Norges Bank, Norway’s central‑bank‑run sovereign wealth fund, disclosed a new position of 6,604,654 Linde shares, valued at about $3.10 billion, equating to roughly 1.41% of the company. ^[17]

For a conservative, globally diversified investor like Norges Bank, a multi‑billion‑dollar stake typically signals long‑term confidence in Linde’s cash‑flow durability and competitive moat.

Neuberger Berman: nearly 50% position increase

Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake by 48.7% in Q2, adding 370,261 shares to bring its holdings to 1,131,132 Linde shares, worth about $530.6 million or roughly 0.24% of the company. ^[18]

The firm is known for active, fundamentals‑driven strategies, so this move suggests that Linde’s risk‑reward has become more attractive in its models despite the stock’s pullback.

Groupama, Global Retirement Partners and Bank of Nova Scotia Trust

Additional filings show a steady drip of institutional buyers on November 29:

Groupama Asset Management increased its Linde position by 6.8%, buying 2,001 shares to reach 31,386 shares valued at about $14.56 million. ^[19]
Global Retirement Partners LLC initiated a new Linde stake, purchasing 2,126 shares worth around $998,000. ^[20]
Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Co. lifted its holdings by 13.7%, now owning 13,789 shares valued at roughly $6.47 million after adding 1,657 shares. ^[21]

Zooming out, MarketBeat’s institutional‑ownership dashboard shows that: ^[22]

Institutional ownership of Linde stands around 82.8%
Over the last 12 months, institutional inflows total about $30.2 billion, compared with $15.5 billion in outflows

That net positive flow — plus today’s visible buying — reinforces the idea that professional investors continue to treat Linde as a core long‑term holding in the basic‑materials and industrial‑gas space.

Earnings, guidance and dividend: the fundamental backdrop

All of this November 29 news rests on a fairly strong recent earnings base.

Q3 2025 results: solid beat, healthy margins

For the third quarter of 2025, Linde reported: ^[23]

Sales: $8.62 billion (+3% year‑over‑year)
Net income: about $1.93 billion
Diluted EPS:$4.09, up 27% versus a year earlier
Adjusted EPS:$4.21, up 7%, and a few cents above consensus
Adjusted operating profit: ~$2.56 billion with a 29.7% margin
Operating cash flow: ~$2.95 billion;
Free cash flow after capex: ~$1.67 billion

The company paired that with guidance for full‑year 2025 adjusted EPS of $16.35–$16.45, and Q4 EPS of $4.10–$4.20, while analysts’ average forecast sits near $16.54 per share. ^[24]

Earlier commentary also highlighted that, since late 2023, Linde has completed a share‑repurchase programme totaling about $6.3 billion, underscoring its ability to return cash to shareholders while still funding growth projects. ^[25]

Dividend: steady increases and a 2025 payout of $6.00 per share

Linde has a long streak of dividend growth. The company’s official investor‑relations site shows that in 2025 it declared four equal quarterly dividends of $1.50 per share, payable in March, June, September and December — up from $1.39 per quarter in 2024. ^[26]

MarketBeat’s November 29 coverage notes that: ^[27]

The current annualised dividend is $6.00 per share, implying a yield around 1.5% at current prices
The payout ratio is roughly 40%, leaving room for further buybacks and growth investments

For income‑oriented investors searching Google for “Linde dividend 2025”, this consistency and moderate payout ratio are key parts of the case for LIN stock.

Analyst sentiment and valuation: consensus leans Buy

Several of today’s institutional‑ownership articles recap Wall Street’s current view on Linde: ^[28]

Consensus rating: Overall, analysts rate Linde a “Buy”, with:
- 2 Strong Buy recommendations
- 6 Buy
- 1 Hold
Consensus price target: About $508.83, implying roughly mid‑20s upside from the ~$410 region.
Recent target changes:
- Royal Bank of Canada (RBC): cut its target from $576 to $540, still with an “outperform” rating
- Citigroup: lowered its target from $535 to $520 but kept a “buy” rating
- Sanford C. Bernstein: reiterated “outperform” with a $516 target

From the broader data:

NASDAQ‑listed LIN trades around $407–$410 with a 12‑month range of $406.09 to $486.38, a P/E near 29x and a PEG ratio around 2.85. ^[29]
On the German listing (LIN:ETR), the share has lost 18.29% over 12 months but is still up more than 64% over five years. ^[30]

Simply Wall St, looking at discounted‑cash‑flow and narrative‑based models, suggests Linde may be around 18–19% undervalued, with fair value estimates in the low‑$500s per share — though it also warns that European industrial weakness and pricing pressure in some gas categories could quickly erode that upside if conditions worsen. ^[31]

What all the November 29 news means for Linde stock

Putting the day’s developments together, several themes emerge for investors tracking “Linde stock news today” or “LIN stock analysis”:

Earnings power remains the core story
- Q3 numbers were solid, with margin resilience and strong free cash flow.
- Guidance and UBS’s 2026 forecasts both point toward mid‑ to high‑single‑digit EPS growth over the next couple of years, with possible acceleration if new projects ramp smoothly. ^[32]
Balance sheet flexibility is increasing, not decreasing
- The €1.75 billion multi‑maturity note issue extends Linde’s debt ladder and taps deep European capital markets at relatively attractive coupons.
- Proceeds earmarked for general corporate purposes give management room to fund growth capex, pursue M&A or keep supporting buybacks and dividends. ^[33]
Big institutional buyers are leaning in, not out
- New and enlarged positions from Norges Bank, Neuberger Berman, Groupama, Global Retirement Partners and Bank of Nova Scotia Trust highlight professional confidence in the long‑term story. ^[34]
- Overall institutional ownership above 80% and net inflows above $30 billion over 12 months underline Linde’s status as a core holding in the sector. ^[35]
Valuation sits between “quality at a reasonable price” and “fully priced”
- Relative to peers, Linde still trades at a premium multiple, reflecting its scale, project backlog and clean‑energy positioning. ^[36]
- But after an 18% 12‑month drawdown and slower 2025 share performance, some models now flag potential undervaluation in the high teens versus fair value. ^[37]
Key risks remain in the background
- Ongoing macro uncertainty, especially European industrial demand, remains a drag.
- Pricing pressure in helium and rare gases, plus FX and interest‑rate swings, could temper the earnings acceleration UBS anticipates. ^[38]

Bottom line: How should investors read today’s Linde headlines?

For existing Linde shareholders, November 29, 2025, brings mostly good news:

A major global bank (UBS) is doubling down on a bullish EPS acceleration story for 2026. ^[39]
Multiple large institutional investors are adding meaningful capital at current prices. ^[40]
The company has locked in long‑dated funding via a €1.75 billion bond deal while continuing to raise its dividend and buy back stock. ^[41]

For potential buyers researching “Is Linde stock a buy?”, today’s news doesn’t provide a simple yes or no — but it does sharpen the debate:

On the bullish side, Linde offers scale, contractual revenue, clean‑energy optionality, a strong balance sheet, a growing dividend and clear institutional support.
On the cautious side, the stock still trades at a premium valuation, and the path to faster EPS growth depends on macro conditions and successful execution of a large project pipeline.

As always, this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Anyone considering LIN stock should assess their own risk tolerance, time horizon and portfolio needs, and, if necessary, consult a qualified financial adviser.

Linde Stock Valuation Analysis ($LIN)