Linde Plc.

Resilient Financial Performance: Linde reported a 5% year-over-year increase in EPS to $3.95, or an 8% increase when excluding currency translation effects. Operating margins improved by 120 basis points to 30.1%, demonstrating effective management actions in pricing and cost productivity despite a challenging economic environment.

Guidance and Economic Outlook: For Q2 2025, Linde provided an EPS guidance range of $3.95 to $4.05, reflecting a 3% to 5% growth. The full-year guidance was narrowed to $16.20 to $16.50. The company assumes recessionary conditions with lower volumes impacting two-thirds of the guidance range, highlighting potential headwinds primarily from weak manufacturing activity in key markets.

Defensive Business Model: Linde's operating model is positioned to be resilient during economic downturns, with two-thirds of global gas sales generated from defensive categories such as healthcare, fixed contract fees from on-site customers, and rental income from owned assets. This structure provides stable revenues and cash flows, which continue to support strong return on capital (ROC), currently at 25.7%.