Analysts Have Made A Financial Statement On Linde plc's (NASDAQ:LIN) Annual Report

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) last week reported its latest annual results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. It was a credible result overall, with revenues of US$33b and statutory earnings per share of US$13.62 both in line with analyst estimates, showing that Linde is executing in line with expectations. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Linde

Taking into account the latest results, the consensus forecast from Linde's 24 analysts is for revenues of US$34.0b in 2025. This reflects a modest 2.9% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are predicted to accumulate 9.2% to US$15.15. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$34.0b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$15.22 in 2025. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$496. The consensus price target is just an average of individual analyst targets, so - it could be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. The most optimistic Linde analyst has a price target of US$540 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$381. There are definitely some different views on the stock, but the range of estimates is not wide enough as to imply that the situation is unforecastable, in our view.

Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that Linde's revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 2.9% annualised growth rate until the end of 2025 being well below the historical 4.5% p.a. growth over the last five years. Compare this against other companies (with analyst forecasts) in the industry, which are in aggregate expected to see revenue growth of 4.4% annually. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than Linde.

The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although forecasts imply they will perform worse than the wider industry. The consensus price target held steady at US$496, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on their price targets.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Linde. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Linde going out to 2027, and you can see them free on our platform here.

Plus, you should also learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Linde .

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.