Balance Sheet: Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Quarterly Data
The balance sheet provides creditors, investors, and analysts with information on company resources (assets) and its sources of capital (its equity and liabilities). It normally also provides information about the future earnings capacity of a company assets as well as an indication of cash flows that may come from receivables and inventories.
Liabilities represents obligations of a company arising from past events, the settlement of which is expected to result in an outflow of economic benefits from the entity.
Linde plc, consolidated balance sheet: liabilities and stockholders’ equity (quarterly data)
US$ in millions
Based on: 10-Q (reporting date: 2026-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2025-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2025-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2024-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2024-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2023-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2023-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2022-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2022-03-31), 10-K (reporting date: 2021-12-31), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-09-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-06-30), 10-Q (reporting date: 2021-03-31).
The financial position over the analyzed period is characterized by a strategic shift in capital structure, marked by a significant increase in long-term leverage and a general compression of total shareholders' equity. While total liabilities and equity remained relatively stable, fluctuating between approximately 74 billion and 86 billion US dollars, the internal composition shifted toward a higher reliance on debt financing.
- Liability Trends and Debt Profile
- Total liabilities exhibited a steady upward trajectory, rising from 37.36 billion US dollars in March 2021 to 46.22 billion US dollars by March 2026. This growth was primarily driven by long-term debt, which nearly doubled from 9.95 billion US dollars to 19.86 billion US dollars over the period. Current liabilities showed more volatility, peaking at 17.79 billion US dollars in March 2023, largely due to spikes in short-term debt, which reached a high of 5.34 billion US dollars in the same quarter before stabilizing between 4.0 billion and 4.8 billion US dollars in the final year of the data.
- Equity Dynamics and Capital Adjustments
- Total equity experienced a general decline, moving from 47.62 billion US dollars in March 2021 to 40.08 billion US dollars by March 2026. A significant structural adjustment occurred between December 2022 and March 2023, where retained earnings dropped sharply from 20.54 billion US dollars to 6.09 billion US dollars, coinciding with a drastic reduction in treasury shares from negative 14.74 billion US dollars to negative 171 million US dollars. Following this event, retained earnings showed a consistent quarterly recovery, climbing back to 17.64 billion US dollars by March 2026, while treasury shares again expanded to negative 12.10 billion US dollars, indicating a resumed program of share repurchases.
- Solvency and Financial Risk Observations
- The balance sheet reflects an increasing debt-to-equity orientation. The expansion of long-term liabilities, combined with the overall reduction in shareholders' equity, indicates an increase in financial leverage. This is further evidenced by the rise in total liabilities relative to total equity, which shifted from a position of equity strength in early 2021 to a more leveraged position by early 2026. Other long-term liabilities remained relatively stable, fluctuating within a range of 9.4 billion to 12.4 billion US dollars, confirming that the primary driver of liability growth was formal debt issuance.
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