Linde's Q3 2025 Earnings Report (2025.12.04)

【Lock In First, Then Research】 Series First Coverage of $LIN. A Nasdaq-100 constituent and the largest-weighted stock in the XLB index, Linde is the industry leader in industrial gases. Key takeaways from its earnings report, presentation materials, and earnings call: ・ Consumer demand (Linde classifies the electronics sector as part of the consumer market) remains resilient, primarily driven by semiconductor manufacturing—especially at advanced process nodes. ・ Industrial demand remains cyclically weak; Chemicals & Energy (C&E) saw a sequential decline. ・ Current order backlog stands at $10 billion. ・ Linde believes U.S. steel and metals industries will continue expanding due to tariff impacts. ・ Demand for industrial gases from commercial spaceflight is growing at double-digit rates. ・ Most of Linde’s current pipeline projects originate from the Americas and Asia. Having zero background in the chemical industry, the earnings call transcript appears far more engaging than the 10-Q filing. At a share price of ~$410, Linde’s P/E ratio stands at 25—reasonable for an industry leader delivering +3% revenue growth and +6% EPS growth.

The Downfall of the 'King of Stock Trading'

Follow the Moyu Xiaozu (‘Slacking-Off Squad’) WeChat Official Account (ID: moyuxiaozu) On December 7, after a suspension of over ten months, Shanghai莱士 (Shanghai RAAS), once hailed as the ‘Stock God,’ re-entered public attention with the largest acquisition deal in China’s pharmaceutical industry. According to its Q3 2018 financial report, Shanghai RAAS’s total assets amounted to only RMB 11.5 billion—making its audacious RMB 39.1 billion ‘snake swallowing elephant’ acquisition appear to be the former champion’s last-ditch effort at redemption. The company even hoped this unprecedentedly massive acquisition would prop up its near-RMB 100-billion market capitalization. Unfortunately, the capital markets are no longer what they used to be—and investors have long ceased believing its story. The severity of the stock’s collapse clearly reflects market sentiment: it hit the daily lower limit immediately upon resumption of trading and remained locked there for ten consecutive trading days before finally opening today. The targets of Shanghai RAAS’s acquisition are two: (1) 100% equity stake in Grifols Diagnostic Solutions (GDS), a Spanish leader in blood product diagnostics, costing approximately RMB 34.3 billion; and (2) 100% equity stake in Tiancheng Germany, a German blood product manufacturer, costing RMB 4.8 billion—totaling a staggering RMB 39.1 billion. With merely RMB 868 million in cash on hand, outright cash payment is impossible; and cross-border share issuance faces numerous regulatory and logistical hurdles. Hence, the market widely suspects this deal is yet another attempt to mislead investors—and reacted with immediate selling pressure. What consequences has this stock collapse triggered? The company’s top four shareholders collectively hold over 70% of its shares—nearly all pledged as collateral. Their margin call prices are mostly above RMB 10 per share, while the current price stands at RMB 7.02—well below the trigger level. Based on the pre-resumption market cap of ~RMB 100 billion, the pledged shares represented roughly RMB 70 billion in value. Even after the sharp decline, their pledged value still amounts to ~RMB 25.9 billion (out of the current ~RMB 34.9 billion market cap)! Given current regulations restricting financial institutions from forced liquidations, these losses must be absorbed internally by the lenders themselves—potentially costing individual institutions hundreds of millions of RMB on this single position. Yet if forced liquidation were permitted, such a steep decline could trigger not only massive share disposals but also a potential change in corporate control: Among Shanghai RAAS’s top ten shareholders, positions #6 and #7 are held by two asset management plans—both controlled respectively by the company’s two ultimate controlling shareholders: According to the company’s announcement dated December 12, these two asset management plans face margin call risks and plan to reduce their holdings within the next six months. ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ In fact, Shanghai RAAS has pulled this stunt many times before—leveraging capital market maneuvers to propel its share price from just over RMB 1 at the start of 2013 to over RMB 20 by 2015, a more than 20-fold increase. Its market cap soared past RMB 100 billion, earning it the moniker ‘a national blood-products carrier sailing toward the world.’ At that time, Hengrui Medicine’s market cap stood at only ~RMB 90 billion—making Shanghai RAAS the sole A-share pharmaceutical stock with a market cap exceeding RMB 100 billion. Even more astonishingly, during the second half of 2015—the height of China’s stock market crash—Shanghai RAAS not only avoided losses but actually reached new highs. Blood products constitute an extremely niche segment within the pharmaceutical industry—so how did it support Shanghai RAAS’s RMB 100-billion valuation? In our Moyu Financial Statement Assistant tool, Shanghai RAAS scores in the single digits! So—what kind of company is Shanghai RAAS, really? It boasts an exceptionally distinguished pedigree. Shanghai RAAS features a rare dual-controlling-shareholder structure: its two controlling shareholders are KeRui TianCheng and RAAS China. Zheng Yuewen controls KeRui TianCheng, while Huang Kai controls RAAS China—resulting in two ultimate controlling persons: Zheng Yuewen and Huang Kai.

Ledyard National Bank Purchases 4,967 Shares of Linde PLC

Oct 23, 2026

Ledyard National Bank acquired 4,967 shares of Linde PLC worth $2.36 million in Q3, while the industrial gas leader reported 9.3% revenue growth to $9.29 billion and maintained its quarterly dividend.

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