Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

The analysis of annual financial data over the periods from 2005 to 2024 reveals distinct trends in sales, operating profit, and net income for the company.

Sales

Sales figures demonstrate a general upward trajectory with some fluctuations. Initial growth is steady from 2005 through 2008, peaking notably in 2008 at 10,796 million US dollars, followed by a decline in 2009 to 8,956 million. A recovery phase is observed from 2010 onwards, with consistent growth leading to a significant jump between 2018 and 2019, where sales surged from 14,900 million to 28,228 million. The values remain elevated through to 2024, stabilizing slightly above 32,800 million.

Operating Profit

Operating profit trends generally reflect the movements in sales but demonstrate more pronounced volatility. The profit consistently increased from 2005 to 2008, peaking at 1,883 million, before a decline in 2009 to 1,575 million. Following a recovery, a remarkable increase occurred in 2018 with operating profit nearly doubling to 5,247 million from 2,448 million the previous year. Despite some fluctuation afterward, operating profit maintained an elevated level, reaching 8,635 million by 2024, suggesting improved operational efficiency or margin expansion in recent years.

Net Income

Net income shows a generally positive growth trend with less volatility than operating profit, maintaining upward momentum overall. After a modest rise from 726 million in 2005 to over 1,200 million in 2008 and a slight dip in some subsequent years, there is a substantial increase starting around 2017. The net income nearly quadrupled from 1,247 million in 2017 to 4,381 million in 2018. Thereafter, net income sustains the higher level with steady growth, reaching 6,565 million by 2024. This pattern indicates strong profitability improvements and possibly enhanced cost control or other income factors in recent years.

Overall, the data indicate robust sales growth complemented by significant improvements in profitability metrics from 2018 onward. The marked increases in both operating profit and net income relative to sales suggest enhanced operational leverage and efficiency, which contribute to stronger bottom-line performance. The earlier years exhibit typical business cycle effects with dips during 2009 but recovery thereafter. The recent plateauing of sales combined with continued profit growth may reflect successful strategic initiatives or market expansions leading to increased margin capture.

The analysis of the financial data over the period from 2005 to 2024 reveals several notable trends in current assets and total assets.

Current Assets

Current assets demonstrated moderate volatility between 2005 and 2017, generally maintaining a range between approximately 2,000 and 3,300 million US dollars. The figure peaked notably in 2018, reaching a substantially higher value of 17,272 million US dollars. After this peak, current assets declined sharply in 2019 to 10,352 million US dollars and exhibited fluctuations in subsequent years. From 2020 to 2024, current assets stabilized within the range of 10,000 to 13,000 million US dollars, ending at 12,945 million US dollars in 2024.

Total Assets

Total assets showed a consistent upward trend from 2005 to 2017, increasing from 10,491 million US dollars to 20,436 million US dollars. Similar to current assets, total assets experienced a dramatic rise in 2018 to 93,386 million US dollars, followed by a decrease over the next few years. From 2019 onward, total assets trended downward, dropping to 80,147 million US dollars by 2024. Despite this decline, the asset base remained significantly higher compared to values before 2018.

Both current assets and total assets exhibit a significant anomaly in 2018, characterized by a sharp increase. This suggests an extraordinary event or transaction impacting the company's asset base during that year. Post-2018 data show a reduction from this peak but the asset levels remain elevated compared to the pre-2018 period.

Overall, the data indicates stable asset growth prior to 2018, a sudden, marked increase in 2018, followed by a partial reversal of this increase in the subsequent years, with current assets and total assets settling at higher-than-original levels. This pattern points toward a major strategic or financial development affecting the company's asset structure around 2018.

The analysis of the annual financial data reveals several key trends and fluctuations across the presented periods for liabilities, debt, and shareholders’ equity.

Current Liabilities

The current liabilities show variability over the years. Starting at 2,001 million USD in 2005, they initially fluctuated moderately until 2013, generally staying in the range of approximately 1,800 to 2,700 million USD. From 2013 onwards, a notable surge occurred in 2018, reaching a peak of 12,956 million USD, followed by a slight decrease but maintaining elevated levels above 12,000 million USD up to 2024. This pattern indicates an expansion in short-term financial obligations around the later years, impacting liquidity positions.

Total Liabilities

Total liabilities depicted a steady upward trajectory from 6,387 million USD in 2005 to a sharp increase post-2013, culminating at 36,290 million USD in 2018. Although some contraction occurred in 2019 and 2021, values remained elevated relative to earlier years. By 2024, total liabilities reached over 40,000 million USD, showing a significant expansion in the company’s overall obligations over the years, which may reflect increased financing, acquisitions, or operational scale.

Total Debt and Finance Lease Liabilities

This category grew consistently over the period analyzed. From 3,447 million USD in 2005, debt levels rose steadily with few interruptions to surpass 9,000 million USD by 2012. A marked increase occurred in 2018, reaching approximately 15,296 million USD, with some volatility thereafter but continuing an upward trend to 21,623 million USD by 2024. The trend denotes progressively higher leverage and reliance on debt financing, which may have implications for interest obligations and financial risk.

Total Shareholders’ Equity

Shareholders’ equity showed growth from 3,902 million USD in 2005 to a peak near 6,609 million USD in 2013, followed by a sharp decline thereafter. Post-2013, the equity figures dropped substantially to 5,623 million USD in 2014 and hovered in a descending trend, with a significant increase in 2018 to 51,596 million USD, which appears to be an outlier compared to prior values, potentially due to restructuring, revaluation, or a corporate action. After 2018, equity gradually decreased but remained above 38,000 million USD in 2024. The large fluctuations suggest considerable changes in capital structure, valuation adjustments, or equity issuance/buybacks during the later years.

Overall, the data reveal that the company underwent substantial financial growth, tantamount to disclosing a considerable increase in liabilities and debt in recent years. Concurrently, shareholders’ equity expanded significantly especially around 2018, indicating transformational changes in financial structure. The trends suggest increased financial leverage and larger scale operations or investments, with implications for risk management and capital strategy.

The analysis of the cash flow activities over the periods from 2005 to 2024 reveals distinct trends in the operating, investing, and financing activities.

Net cash provided by operating activities

This category shows a generally increasing trend over the analyzed periods. Starting at US$ 1,475 million in 2005, operating cash flows increased steadily, with minor fluctuations, reaching a peak at US$ 9,725 million in 2021. After a slight decline in 2022 (US$ 8,864 million), the cash provided maintained strong levels around US$ 9,300 million through 2024. This indicates improvement and stability in the company’s core cash generation ability over the years.

Net cash (used for) provided by investing activities

Investing activities display predominantly negative cash flows, reflecting capital expenditures or acquisitions. Significant outflows are present from 2005 to 2013, with values ranging between approximately -US$ 887 million to -US$ 3,237 million. Notably, in 2018 there is a reversal to a positive cash flow of US$ 5,363 million, followed by fluctuating inflows and outflows, with substantial negative values again in later years, such as approximately -US$ 4,670 million in 2023 and -US$ 4,644 million in 2024. The positive spike in 2018 suggests an unusual inflow, possibly from divestitures or liquidation of assets.

Net cash provided by (used for) financing activities

Financing activities cash flows are mostly negative, indicative of debt repayments, dividend payments, or share repurchases exceeding new financing inflows. From 2005 to 2014, outflows fluctuated between -US$ 170 million to -US$ 1,297 million, with an exception in 2013 showing a positive inflow of US$ 328 million. Between 2015 and 2019, financing cash outflows increased markedly, peaking at -US$ 8,997 million in 2018 and -US$ 8,997 million in 2018, likely coinciding with large debt repayments or capital restructuring. In subsequent years, outflows remain significant, though reduced, around -US$ 4,000 to -US$ 7,500 million, signaling continued substantial financing activity outflows.

In summary, operating cash flows have steadily improved and remain robust, reflecting efficient cash generation. Investing cash flows are generally negative, consistent with ongoing capital investments, except for a notable positive anomaly in 2018. Financing cash flows mostly show negative trends, suggesting active management of capital structure, with particular intensification around 2018 and 2019, possibly related to refinancing or debt reduction strategies.

The basic earnings per share (EPS) demonstrate a general upward trend over the observed period, despite some fluctuations. Starting from $2.24 in 2005, EPS increased steadily with minor dips, reaching a notable peak at $13.26 in 2018. Following this peak, there was a sharp decline to $4.22 in 2019, but EPS subsequently recovered, climbing to $13.71 by 2024. This pattern suggests periods of strong profitability interspersed with volatility, possibly due to market or operational factors affecting earnings.

The diluted earnings per share closely mirror the trend observed in basic EPS, indicating consistency between these two measures of earnings. The values begin at $2.20 in 2005 and follow a similar trajectory, peaking at $13.11 in 2018 before falling to $4.19 in 2019. Thereafter, diluted EPS rises again, reaching $13.62 in 2024. The alignment between basic and diluted EPS reflects limited dilution effects from convertible securities or stock options over this timeframe.

Dividend per share shows a stable and consistent increase throughout the years, reflecting a steady commitment to returning value to shareholders. Starting at $0.72 in 2005, the dividend rose annually without interruption, culminating at $5.56 in 2024. This consistent growth in dividends suggests a strong cash flow position and confidence in ongoing profitability by the management.

Basic and diluted earnings per share

Show an overall upward trend with volatility, peaking in 2018, dipping sharply in 2019, and then recovering strongly to new highs by 2024.

Dividend per share

Demonstrates uninterrupted, steady growth over the entire period, indicating consistent shareholder returns and financial stability.