New York, Jan 9, 2026, 15:13 (EST) — Regular session
Linde plc shares (LIN.O) rose about 1% on Friday as investors turned to the next catalyst: the industrial gases maker’s fourth-quarter report on Feb. 5. The stock was up $4.49 at $444.18, after trading between $437.59 and $444.62.
Linde said it will publish fourth-quarter 2025 results by 6 a.m. EST on Feb. 5 and host a conference call at 9 a.m. EST. The group, which reported 2024 sales of $33 billion, supplies gases and engineering services into chemicals and energy, manufacturing, metals and mining, and healthcare. (Linde)
The backdrop is a market leaning into materials and other lagging sectors. The S&P 500 hit a record high on Friday after a softer-than-expected U.S. jobs report did little to shift expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts, with the materials sector up 1.69% at the time. (Reuters)
For Linde, Feb. 5 is the next read on whether demand held up into year-end, especially in Europe. In October, the company forecast fourth-quarter adjusted earnings per share — a profit measure that strips out some one-off items — of $4.10 to $4.20, below analysts’ $4.23 mean estimate, and said volume sales in its Europe, Middle East and Africa region fell 3%, a trend CEO Sanjiv Lamba said he expected to continue. (Reuters)
Rival Air Products & Chemicals shares were also higher on Friday, up about 1.1%.
Investors will be listening for more than the quarter’s numbers. Pricing, plant start-ups and any shift in demand from big end-markets like metals, electronics and chemicals tend to move the stock as much as the headline EPS.
But the risk is straightforward: a softer factory economy can show up quickly in volumes, even for companies with long contracts. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said on Friday the “low-hire environment continues,” pointing to uncertainty and productivity gains outside the AI and healthcare sectors — not the kind of signal industrial suppliers like to see. (Reuters)
Linde’s steady cash generation often buys it a premium valuation in shaky markets. That premium can thin if Europe stays weak or if the U.S. industrial pulse fades.
Next up is Feb. 5, when Linde reports results and management outlines how it sees 2026 volumes and margins shaping up.
