Bernstein SocGen cuts Linde stock price target on project analysis

Linde (LIN) leads AI chip contracts with $11B backlog, 30% margins, but shares are up only 10.2% YTD. Air Products (APD), despite a $6.47 GAAP loss, has gained 20.3% YTD. Analyst Harvey Stober calls Linde a key AI supplier at a 'mundane' valuation. Linde's Q2 revenue rose 9.35% YoY, with 29.5% operating margin.

D1 Capital Partners, led by Daniel Sundheim, acquired shares of Linde plc (LIN) and Builders FirstSource (BLDR) in Q2. LIN is a global industrial gas company, while BLDR is a building materials firm down 38% YTD. BLDR's valuation is in line with sector medians, but risks include prolonged housing downturn and high mortgage rates.

CF Industries, JERA, and Mitsui launched a $3.7B low-carbon ammonia plant in Louisiana, with a 1.4M metric ton capacity. Operational by 2029, it will use ATR technology and capture 98% of CO2. CF Industries leads with 40% investment, while Linde and a 1PointFive-Enbridge JV also contribute. The plant aims to support agricultural and energy needs, creating jobs and boosting U.S. export capacity.

Blue Point One, a joint venture between CF Industries, JERA, and Mitsui, started construction on a $3.7B low-carbon ammonia plant in Louisiana. The plant, expected to be the world's largest with 1.4MMt annual capacity, will begin production in 2029. CF Industries is investing an additional $550M in shared infrastructure, while Linde will invest over $400M in an air-separation unit. The project aims to capture 98% of CO2 emissions, making it one of the first to use autothermal reforming technolog

Linde (LIN) said it won a long-term supply agreement for ultra-high-purity industrial gases to a major semiconductor manufacturer, with a $1 billion Phoenix, Arizona investment and two SPECTRA air separation units. Linde’s Taiwan JV plans about $800 million for related expansion. Linde reported Q2 sales of $9.29 billion and adjusted EPS $4.50. Air Products (APD) also won a Taiwan semiconductor-related infrastructure deal.

Linde said it will invest $1 billion to expand on-site ultra-high-purity industrial gas production at a Phoenix, Arizona complex under a long-term supply agreement with an unnamed semiconductor manufacturer. The gases (nitrogen, oxygen, argon) will support two new fabrication plants. Linde LienHwa will invest about $800 million in Taiwan for industrial gas and hydrogen facilities for the same customer.