Linde plc (Nasdaq: LIN) ended Friday, December 12, 2025 at $416.24, up 3.21%, before drifting modestly lower in extended trading to around $415.00 (down about 0.30%) in after-hours action. [1]
That move stood out on a down day for the broader market, with major U.S. indexes finishing lower (including the S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq) while LIN outperformed. [2]
Below is what drove the move, what analysts updated on 12.12.2025, and what investors should have on their checklist heading into the next market open.
Linde stock price after the bell (12.12.2025): close, after-hours, and the day’s range
- Close (4:00 PM ET): $416.24 (+3.21%) [3]
- After-hours (as of ~5:33 PM ET): $415.00 (-0.30% vs. close) [4]
- Intraday range: Open $406.75 / High $418.02 / Low $406.75 / Volume ~4.68M shares [5]
- MarketScreener after-hours snapshot: $415.14 (-0.26%) [6]
The key takeaway: there wasn’t an obvious “shock” headline after the close—after-hours trading was relatively calm compared with the strong regular-session rally. [7]
Why Linde (LIN) outperformed on 12.12.2025
Friday’s strength was less about a single earnings headline and more about a cluster of fresh analyst notes and investor-event takeaways that reframed the narrative around growth, backlog visibility, and valuation.
1) “Valuation reset” talk gained traction
Evercore ISI reiterated Outperform with a $490 price target, calling attention to what it described as a rare valuation reset and highlighting Linde’s valuation relative to forward earnings. [8]
2) Investor-day messaging put the EPS “algorithm” back in focus
Multiple notes referenced an investor event and management sessions that emphasized the company’s long-standing EPS growth framework:
- UBS reiterated Buy and a $500 target after the investor event and said it has confidence Linde can deliver 10%+ EPS growth over time, driven by a mix of pricing/productivity and capital allocation levers. [9]
- Mizuho (Outperform) reduced its target to $495 from $520, but explicitly attributed the cut to lower market/peer multiples, not a company-specific deterioration, while also noting a stable backlog expected to increase by end-2026. [10]
3) Macro caution didn’t erase longer-term confidence
RBC Capital lowered its target to $490 from $540 (Outperform) and built in a potential 2–3% EPS drag tied to macro and end-market pressures (including European weakness and industrial production challenges). Still, RBC pointed to a new “Growth6” strategy introduced at the investor meeting as a way to add a non-macro-dependent growth element. [11]
All the key analyst updates and forecasts dated 12.12.2025
A notable feature of 12.12.2025 was how many firms weighed in on the same day. Here are the major rating/target headlines that hit the tape:
- Evercore ISI: Outperform, $490 target; highlighted valuation reset and pointed to a large sale-of-gas backlog and coming project start-ups. [12]
- RBC Capital: Outperform, $490 target (cut from $540); modeled 6.7% and 9.7% EPS growth, lowered FY2026/FY2027 EPS estimates to $17.50 and $19.20, and discussed “Growth6.” [13]
- Mizuho: Outperform, $495 target (cut from $520); reiterated 8–12% combined trendline EPS growth framework and said backlog is expected to increase by end-2026. [14]
- UBS: Buy, $500 target; reiterated confidence in 10%+ EPS growth and argued the market may be pricing in only mid-single-digit growth. [15]
- Deutsche Bank: Buy, $495 target maintained. [16]
- Jefferies: Buy, $535 target maintained. [17]
Zooming out, MarketScreener’s compiled view shows 26 analysts covering the stock with an average target price of $502.88, implying roughly +20.81% upside from the $416.24 close (as of that snapshot). [18]
What analysts emphasized: the growth “engine” behind Linde stock
The EPS growth algorithm: what it means in plain English
The common thread across several notes is that Linde frames growth as something it can drive even when macro demand is mediocre, through:
- Price/cost management and productivity, and
- Capital allocation, including backlog conversion, capex, buybacks, and bolt-on M&A
UBS described the 10%+ EPS growth construct as based on 4–6% from “management actions” and 4–6% from capital allocation (excluding macro volume growth). [19]
Mizuho echoed a similar concept, noting management reiterated 8–12% combined trendline EPS growth, again built from pricing/productivity plus capital allocation initiatives (including backlog and buybacks). [20]
The “Growth6” angle
RBC’s note introduced a new label—“Growth6”—as a potentially important addition, described as a “third non-macro dependent element” to help sustain double-digit EPS growth if Europe remains challenged and trade restrictions persist. [21]
Backlog and demand drivers: semiconductors, clean energy, and space
For longer-term investors, the most “newsworthy” fundamental content in Friday’s research notes was how much emphasis went to project visibility.
Evercore flagged a $7+ billion sale-of-gas backlog expected by end-2025, with major projects expected to contribute in 2026—calling out semiconductor-related supply and other large projects (including named projects tied to fabs and low-carbon ammonia), plus a space-sector site. [22]
Strategically, this lines up with what Linde itself highlights as core end markets. In Linde’s investor materials, the company shows a diversified mix across healthcare, chemicals & energy, manufacturing, metals & mining, food & beverage, and electronics. [23]
That diversification matters in drawdowns: Linde’s presentation materials describe roughly ~62% of sales as “defensive” (based on 2024 sales excluding engineering), reflecting resilience across parts of its portfolio. [24]
What to watch before the “open” on 13.12.2025
One important nuance: December 13, 2025 is a Saturday, and U.S. markets do not have a regular session. For a U.S.-listed stock like LIN, the practical “next open” to plan for is the next regular trading day (i.e., Monday).
With that said, here’s the checklist investors typically run through over the weekend after a big Friday move:
1) Did anything material hit after hours?
So far, the tape suggests no major after-hours shock: LIN was down about 0.3% in extended trading (roughly $415 vs. $416.24 close). [25]
2) Are analysts clustering around a new “floor” for targets?
Targets updated on 12.12.2025 cluster tightly in the $490–$535 zone across multiple firms, even after several cuts. [26]
3) Macro risk is still the swing factor—watch rates, industrial data, and Europe
RBC explicitly modeled a 2–3% EPS drag tied to macro pressures (industrial production, Europe, helium pricing dynamics). That’s a reminder that even a “defensive” industrial compounder can de-rate when investors worry about cyclical demand. [27]
4) Know the near-term corporate calendar: dividend and the next earnings window
- Dividend: Linde’s board declared a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share, payable December 17, 2025 to shareholders of record December 3, 2025. [28]
- Earnings: MarketScreener’s calendar view lists Q4 2025 earnings (projected) on Feb. 4. [29]
5) Key “reference prices” traders will use heading into the next session
Without making a prediction, the numbers most traders tend to anchor to after Friday’s move are:
- $418 area: Friday’s high (a near-term resistance reference) [30]
- $416 area: Friday’s closing “line in the sand” [31]
- $403 area: Thursday’s close (a nearby support reference after the rally) [32]
LIN has also rallied roughly 6.9% from Monday’s close ($389.38) to Friday’s close ($416.24), which can matter for short-term positioning and profit-taking risk into the next session. [33]
Bottom line: the story changed from “macro drag” to “valuation + visibility”
Linde stock’s Friday surge wasn’t just a random bounce. It coincided with:
- A wave of same-day analyst refreshes,
- A renewed focus on Linde’s EPS growth algorithm,
- Continued attention to backlog visibility and large-project ramp timing, and
- A debate over whether the stock’s pullback created a valuation opportunity or whether macro risk still caps the upside. [34]
For investors heading into the next trading session, the most actionable takeaway is simple: watch whether Friday’s outperformance holds once the market digests the investor-event messaging and the updated target-price cluster—especially if broader risk sentiment remains fragile.
References
1. stockanalysis.com, 2. uk.investing.com, 3. stockanalysis.com, 4. stockanalysis.com, 5. stockanalysis.com, 6. www.marketscreener.com, 7. stockanalysis.com, 8. www.investing.com, 9. www.investing.com, 10. www.investing.com, 11. uk.investing.com, 12. www.investing.com, 13. uk.investing.com, 14. www.investing.com, 15. www.investing.com, 16. www.marketscreener.com, 17. www.marketscreener.com, 18. www.marketscreener.com, 19. www.investing.com, 20. www.investing.com, 21. uk.investing.com, 22. www.investing.com, 23. assets.linde.com, 24. assets.linde.com, 25. stockanalysis.com, 26. www.investing.com, 27. uk.investing.com, 28. www.linde.com, 29. www.marketscreener.com, 30. stockanalysis.com, 31. stockanalysis.com, 32. stockanalysis.com, 33. stockanalysis.com, 34. www.investing.com
