Volume and price both rise, Linde plc (LIN.US) Q3 results beat expectations.

Before the U.S. market open on Thursday, Linde plc (LIN.US) released its third-quarter 2026 financial results. Driven by volume growth and higher pricing across all regions, both sales and adjusted earnings beat expectations. Data showed that third-quarter sales were US$9.404 billion, up 9% year over year and above analysts' expectation of US$9.140 billion. Underlying sales rose 5% year over year, driven mainly by a 3% price increase and 2% volume growth, with growth concentrated in the electronics, chemicals & energy, and manufacturing end markets. Operating profit for the quarter was US$2.150 billion; adjusted operating profit was US$2.763 billion, up 8% year over year, with an adjusted operating margin of 29.4%. Excluding items such as merger accounting impacts and cost-reduction program expenses, adjusted net income was US$2.122 billion, up 7% year over year; adjusted diluted EPS was US$4.59, up 9% year over year and above analysts' expectation of US$4.52. Third-quarter operating cash flow was US$3.169 billion, up 8% year over year. After deducting capital expenditure of US$1.392 billion, free cash flow was US$1.777 billion. During the quarter, the company returned US$1.685 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. By region, all regions achieved growth: Americas: sales of US$3.601 billion, up 11% year over year, with underlying sales growth of 9% (price +6%, volume +3%); operating profit of US$1.263 billion, margin of 35.1%, up 50 basis points year over year. Asia Pacific: sales of US$1.950 billion, up 12% year over year, with underlying sales growth of 8% (price +3%, volume +5%); operating profit of US$534 million, margin of 27.4%. Europe, Middle East and Africa: sales of US$2.327 billion, up 7% year over year, with underlying sales growth of 3% (price +2%, volume +1%); operating profit of US$817 million, margin of 35.1%. Linde plc Engineering: sales of US$582 million, up 12% year over year, operating profit of US$107 million. Orders in the quarter were US$499 million, and third-party equipment sales backlog was US$2.9 billion. Executive Commentary and Outlook Chief Executive Officer Sanjiv Lamba said Linde plc's third-quarter financial performance continued to improve, with both sales and adjusted EPS setting records and strong operating cash flow. Customer activity remains robust, especially in electronics, supporting the company's confidence in continued backlog growth. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Linde plc expects adjusted diluted EPS of between US$4.40 and US$4.50, up 5% to 7% year over year; it expects full-year adjusted diluted EPS in the range of US$17.82 to US$17.92, up 8% to 9% year over year. Full-year capital expenditure is expected to be between US$5.5 billion and US$6.0 billion to support maintenance needs, including supporting the US$7.9 billion contract gas project backlog. As of press time, Linde plc shares were up more than 3% in premarket trading.