Does Linde's (LIN) Insider Buying Reinforce Its Long‑Term Growth Story Or Raise New Questions?

• In recent days, Linde has attracted renewed attention as multiple banks reiterated positive views on its long-term growth model, underpinned by a project backlog of over US$7.10 billion and continued shareholder returns via dividends and buybacks, following a period of softer industrial demand.
• An interesting development is the uptick in insider share purchases, including by CEO Sanjiv Lamba, which many investors interpret as a concrete signal of management’s confidence in Linde’s future earnings resilience and growth plans.
• Next, we’ll examine how this insider buying and reaffirmed confidence in Linde’s project backlog could reshape its existing investment narrative.

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Linde Investment Narrative Recap

To own Linde, you need to believe its long-term gas infrastructure and project backlog can more than offset bouts of softer industrial demand and regional economic weakness. The recent analyst reaffirmations and insider buying mainly reinforce this thesis, but they do not materially change the near term catalyst of executing its US$7.1 billion sale of gas backlog or the key risk that prolonged industrial softness, especially in Europe and Asia-Pacific, could keep base volumes under pressure.

The most relevant recent announcement here is Linde’s confirmation of a US$7.1 billion sale of gas project backlog that several banks expect to start ramping in 2026. This pipeline, alongside its ongoing dividends and share repurchases, is central to the current growth narrative because it provides visibility on future earnings while investors weigh near term volume headwinds, pricing pressure in some product lines and the pace of the global energy transition.

Yet investors should also pay close attention to how prolonged industrial weakness in Europe could erode Linde’s network density and...

Read the full narrative on Linde (it's free!)

Linde's narrative projects $38.9 billion revenue and $9.1 billion earnings by 2028. This requires 5.4% yearly revenue growth and a roughly $2.4 billion earnings increase from $6.7 billion today.

Uncover how Linde's forecasts yield a $502.88 fair value, a 19% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Eight members of the Simply Wall St Community currently estimate Linde’s fair value between US$302 and US$503, reflecting a wide spread of views. You are weighing those opinions against the same core question analysts are watching most closely: whether Linde’s large sale of gas project backlog can offset the risk that ongoing global industrial softness and slower energy transition projects might pressure future volumes and profitability.

Explore 8 other fair value estimates on Linde - why the stock might be worth 29% less than the current price!

Build Your Own Linde Narrative

Disagree with existing narratives? Create your own in under 3 minutes - extraordinary investment returns rarely come from following the herd.

• A great starting point for your Linde research is our analysis highlighting 2 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free Linde research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate Linde's overall financial health at a glance.

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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.

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