LINDE PLC (LIN)

Linde plc is the world's largest industrial gas company and a technological innovator in the industry. It is a public limited company formed under the laws of Ireland, with principal offices in the United Kingdom and United States. The company produces and distributes atmospheric gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon and rare gases) and process gases (hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, electronic gases, specialty gases and acetylene). It also designs and builds equipment and plants that produce and process gases. Sales were $33,986 million in 2025, $33,005 million in 2024 and $32,854 million in 2023.

The industrial gases business supplies product through three distribution methods, often integrated and served from the same plant. On-site supply delivers the largest volumes by pipeline from plants built on or next to customer sites, under total requirement contracts typically lasting 10 to 20 years. Merchant supply delivers liquid gases by tanker truck to customer storage containers, usually under three to seven-year contracts. Packaged gases are supplied in cylinders to small-volume customers, generally under one to three-year contracts or purchase orders. Linde's Engineering business plans, designs and builds plants for air separation, hydrogen, synthesis gas, olefin and natural gas, including technologies for carbon capture and the hydrogen value chain, and digital services. It either supplies plant components to outside customers or to Linde's own gases business, which operates plants under long-term supply contracts. Linde also develops low-carbon (blue) and renewable (green) hydrogen alongside conventional hydrogen made mainly from natural gas.

Linde serves healthcare, chemicals and energy, manufacturing, metals and mining, food and beverage, and electronics customers, as well as petrochemical, refining and fertilizer customers for its engineered plants. It is not dependent on a single customer or a few customers, and its business is generally not seasonal. About 64% of 2025 sales were outside the United States. Majority or wholly owned subsidiaries operate in roughly 50 European, Middle Eastern and African countries, about 15 Asian and South Pacific countries, and about 20 countries in the Americas. It also holds equity method investments in Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Energy, mainly electricity, natural gas and diesel fuel, is the largest cost in producing and distributing industrial gases, and Linde manages price swings through pricing formulas, surcharges, cost pass-through and tolling arrangements. Raw materials for hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and specialty gases are largely purchased externally, and helium is sourced from helium-rich natural gas streams in the United States and from other suppliers abroad. Research and development is conducted mainly in Pullach, Germany; Tonawanda, New York; Burr Ridge, Illinois; and Shanghai, China. Linde owns or licenses many patents and trademarks, with "Linde" the most significant trademark. Competitors include L'Air Liquide, Air Products and Chemicals, Messer Group, and Taiyo Nippon Sanso (Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings), plus many small and mid-size local companies, and customer-owned plants make up a significant part of the international market. Linde had 65,177 employees as of December 31, 2025.