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Linde (LIN) is still working to repair its U.S. home care business, Lincare, a division management says has weighed on the company’s overall results. Management is restructuring the unit and reviewing its options, but the outlook for the fourth quarter of 2026 counts on no meaningful profit change from that work. The open question is how much earnings growth Linde stands to win back.
Lincare Has Cost Linde About Two Points Of Growth
So far in 2026, Lincare has taken about 2 percentage points off Linde’s earnings per share growth, management said on its third-quarter 2026 call on October 29. Asked later on the call, the finance chief put the drag at about 1.5% to 2%. Management also said that removing that drag will support a return to double-digit EPS growth for the company. Elsewhere, margin gains in the gas segments were offset by declines in Engineering and Global Other, the segment Lincare now reports in.
Analysts asked about the restructuring on that call. Asked whether the Lincare savings would replace Linde’s usual productivity gains in 2027, management said they will come on top.
Linde Guides 8% To 9% EPS Growth For 2026
For the full year, management guides adjusted EPS growth of 8% to 9%, or 6% to 7% excluding currency. Management called this a more cautious view for the near term. For the fourth quarter alone, it guides growth of 5% to 7%, following 9% growth in the third quarter. The double-digit pace management links to fixing Lincare sits above this current guidance.
You are already paying for growth. Linde stock trades at 34.3 times its earnings over the last twelve months, against 22.3 for the S&P 500. The price appears to assume that growth holds up.
What Has Linde Done About Lincare So Far?
Linde booked a $425 million restructuring charge in the third quarter. Roughly half of it is severance, and most of the rest covers portfolio and asset actions at Lincare, where management is evaluating strategic alternatives. Management expects the severance part of the charge to pay back in cash in close to two years. The effect starts in the fourth quarter, with full benefits expected in the second half of next year.
Despite the recent actions, the fourth-quarter guide embeds no meaningful change to profit. The figure to check is Linde’s 2027 adjusted EPS growth guide, expected with its February 2027 report, and whether it is back in double digits.
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