Linde plc-Linde (LIN) Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates

Core Viewpoint - Linde reported quarterly earnings of $3.97 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate of$ 3.93 per share, and showing an increase from $3.59 per share a year ago, indicating a positive earnings surprise of 1.02% [1] Group 1: Earnings Performance - The company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates for the last four quarters [2] - Linde's revenues for the quarter ended December 2024 were$ 8.28 billion, slightly missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.89%, and down from $8.3 billion year-over-year [2] - The company has not beaten consensus revenue estimates in the last four quarters [2] Group 2: Stock Performance and Outlook - Linde shares have increased approximately 8.4% since the beginning of the year, outperforming the S&P 500's gain of 3.1% [3] - The future performance of Linde's stock will depend on management's commentary during the earnings call and the earnings outlook [3][4] - The current consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming quarter is$ 4 on revenues of $8.47 billion, and for the current fiscal year, it is$ 16.73 on revenues of $34.42 billion [7] Group 3: Industry Context - The Chemical - Specialty industry, to which Linde belongs, is currently ranked in the bottom 22% of over 250 Zacks industries, which may impact stock performance [8] - Empirical research indicates a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions, suggesting that investors should monitor these revisions closely [5][6]