NEW YORK, Dec. 28, 2025, 2:06 p.m. ET — Market Closed
Linde plc (NASDAQ: LIN) is heading into the final trading stretch of 2025 with investors balancing two competing narratives: a defensive, contract-heavy industrial gas model that has historically held up in choppy macro environments, and persistent softness in parts of Europe that management and analysts continue to monitor closely.
With U.S. stock markets closed today (Sunday), LIN shares won’t print a fresh trade until premarket on Monday, Dec. 29. The week ahead is also holiday-shortened, with New Year’s Day shutting markets on Thursday and year-end schedules affecting liquidity and bond trading hours. [1]
Where Linde stock stands heading into Monday
LIN last closed at $424.77 (Friday, Dec. 26), with extended-hours indications around $426.16 later that evening, according to MarketBeat’s pricing snapshot. [2]
From a technical and positioning standpoint, recent MarketBeat data puts LIN’s:
- 1-year range at roughly $387.78 to $486.38
- 50-day moving average near $420
- 200-day moving average near $453 [3]
That mix matters going into a year-end week where thin liquidity can exaggerate moves—especially for mega-cap, index-heavy names that may see portfolio rebalancing flows.
The core bull case: pricing power, long-term contracts, and a massive backlog
Linde’s investment story has long been built around sticky demand, high switching costs, and multi-year supply contracts that can smooth earnings through the cycle. In an interview on CNBC’s “Mad Money” earlier this month, CEO Sanjiv Lamba pointed to project execution as a key pillar, noting the company is working through an all-time-high backlog and emphasizing that a large share is tied to long-term contracts that generate recurring revenue. [4]
That theme also showed up in Linde’s most recent quarterly results. In its third-quarter release, the company highlighted:
- Sales of $8.615 billion (up 3% year over year)
- Adjusted EPS of $4.21 (up 7% year over year)
- Operating cash flow of $2.948 billion (up 8% year over year)
- Free cash flow of $1.672 billion after capex
- $1.685 billion returned to shareholders via dividends and buybacks (net of issuances) [5]
In that release, Lamba summarized the operating backdrop bluntly—“stagnant industrial activity”—while still pointing to resilient execution and margins. [6]
The key pressure point: Europe volumes and what it could mean for near-term expectations
The area investors keep coming back to is Europe. Reuters’ coverage of Linde’s Q3 report emphasized that the company’s fourth-quarter adjusted EPS guidance came in below the Street’s consensus at the time, with Europe weakness flagged as a driver. Reuters also reported that volume sales fell 3% in Linde’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) segment, and that management expected the trend to continue. [7]
For investors, that puts extra weight on two questions as 2026 approaches:
- Does Europe stabilize (or re-accelerate) as industrial demand normalizes?
- Can Linde’s pricing discipline, contract mix, and productivity offset volume headwinds if Europe remains sluggish?
Latest headlines in the last 24–48 hours: what investors are reading right now
Over the past two days, the most prominent fresh headlines around Linde have been market-screening and institutional-positioning updates rather than new company press releases.
1) “Stocks to watch” and sector screeners
MarketBeat published a Dec. 28 “Industrial Stocks to Research” roundup that included Linde among several widely followed industrial names highlighted by its screener tool. [8]
2) Institutional ownership moves (Form 13F-based)
Several MarketBeat “instant alert” items published Dec. 26–27 focused on third-quarter filing updates, including:
- Pacer Advisors Inc. trimming its Linde position (reported as an 8.8% reduction in Q3 holdings), while noting institutional ownership remains high. [9]
- Avanza Fonder AB increasing its stake (reported +7.3% in Q3 holdings). [10]
- A separate MarketBeat ownership page estimates institutional ownership around 82.8%. [11]
Important context: these are institutional filings and portfolio disclosures, not real-time trade prints. They can be useful for understanding longer-term sponsorship, but they’re not the same as insider buying/selling or current-day fund flows.
Dividend and shareholder returns: what income-focused investors should know
Linde’s shareholder return profile remains a central part of its appeal for many long-term investors.
On Linde’s own investor site, the company lists 2025 quarterly dividends at $1.50 per share, including a dividend declared Oct. 27, 2025 with a record date of Dec. 3 and payable date of Dec. 17. [12]
MarketBeat’s filing-based summaries similarly describe a $1.50 quarterly dividend (annualized $6.00) and put the indicated yield in the ~1.4% range based on recent prices. [13]
Wall Street outlook: analyst targets and what “upside” looks like from here
Analyst views remain broadly constructive, even as some price targets have been adjusted over time.
- MarketBeat’s compiled snapshot shows a consensus “Buy” rating and an average 12-month price target of $501, with targets ranging roughly $455 to $520 (based on 10 analysts in its set). [14]
- MarketWatch’s analyst-estimates page (as indexed publicly) lists an average target price around $502.40 and an “Overweight” average recommendation (30 ratings). [15]
- A Nasdaq-hosted Fintel write-up notes RBC Capital maintained an “Outperform” stance and cites a broader one-year target compilation near the low-$500s in early December. [16]
One useful way to frame this for investors: at roughly $425, a $500–$502 consensus-style target implies something like high-teens percentage upside—but those targets usually assume a normal liquidity regime and a forward-looking macro view that can shift quickly in 2026.
What to watch before the next session opens
Because markets are closed today, Monday’s open becomes the next key “information junction”—especially with the calendar getting compressed around New Year’s.
1) Holiday week structure and liquidity
Investopedia reports:
- Stock markets operate normally on New Year’s Eve (Wed., Dec. 31)
- Bond markets close early at 2 p.m. ET on Dec. 31
- Both stock and bond markets are closed Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026 [17]
Translation for LIN: a holiday-shortened week can mean lighter volume, making it easier for large buy/sell programs to move prices.
2) The economic calendar that can sway cyclicals
Investopedia’s “Markets This Week” calendar highlights:
- Mon., Dec. 29: Pending home sales (November)
- Tue., Dec. 30: Case-Shiller home price index; Chicago Business Barometer; FOMC meeting minutes
- Wed., Dec. 31:Initial jobless claims (week ending Dec. 27) and early bond close [18]
While Linde isn’t a “macro headline” stock day-to-day, it is often treated as an industrial bellwether because its gases are used across manufacturing, chemicals, healthcare, and electronics. A surprise in rates expectations or growth sentiment can shift the multiple investors are willing to pay for a high-quality industrial compounder.
3) Earnings timing: when the next major fundamental reset may arrive
Looking beyond the holiday week, investors are already anchoring on the next earnings window. MarketBeat estimates Linde’s next report for Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026 (before market open) and shows a consensus EPS expectation around $4.18 for the quarter. Investing.com also lists Feb. 5, 2026 as the upcoming earnings date. [19]
(As always, companies can confirm or adjust dates later—so treat these as schedule estimates until Linde posts an official announcement.)
Risks to keep on the radar (especially into 2026)
Even for a “quality compounder,” LIN investors should keep a clear list of swing factors:
- Europe industrial demand and pricing dynamics: Management has already flagged volume weakness; prolonged softness could pressure near-term growth expectations. [20]
- Currency and energy/input costs: Linde operates globally and has exposure to power and natural gas dynamics; margins can be influenced by pass-through timing. [21]
- Execution risk on large projects/backlog: Big backlogs are a positive—until timelines, permitting, or customer schedules shift. [22]
- Valuation sensitivity: With LIN trading around the high-20s P/E range in some compiled datasets, rate expectations and risk appetite can matter. [23]
Bottom line
With the market closed today, Linde stock enters Monday’s session with investors focused less on fresh company-specific headlines and more on the macro calendar, holiday-week liquidity, and the ongoing question of Europe’s industrial trajectory. Meanwhile, Linde’s long-term story—anchored by contractual supply, pricing discipline, and a project backlog management continues to emphasize—remains the backbone of the bull case.
This week’s setup suggests a simple investor checklist before Monday’s open:
- Know the holiday schedule and expect thinner volume. [24]
- Track Tuesday’s Fed minutes and Wednesday’s jobless claims for rate/growth sentiment shifts. [25]
- Keep an eye on how analysts are framing upside (targets around ~$500) versus the stock’s current level in the mid-$420s. [26]
This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.
References
1. www.investopedia.com, 2. www.marketbeat.com, 3. www.marketbeat.com, 4. www.linde.com, 5. www.businesswire.com, 6. www.businesswire.com, 7. www.reuters.com, 8. www.marketbeat.com, 9. www.marketbeat.com, 10. www.marketbeat.com, 11. www.marketbeat.com, 12. www.linde.com, 13. www.marketbeat.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.marketwatch.com, 16. www.nasdaq.com, 17. www.investopedia.com, 18. www.investopedia.com, 19. www.marketbeat.com, 20. www.reuters.com, 21. www.businesswire.com, 22. www.linde.com, 23. www.marketbeat.com, 24. www.investopedia.com, 25. www.investopedia.com, 26. www.marketbeat.com
