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Johnson Matthey vs Linde: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Linde holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across profitability and stability. Johnson Matthey still leads on growth and valuation, which keeps the comparison from looking entirely one-sided. The market setup broadly confirms the structural lead — Linde holds the more constructive position. That puts structure and market broadly in agreement — Linde's lead looks more confirmed than conflicted.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Peer scores are normalised within each company's primary universe (JMAT.L: STOXX 600, LIN: Nasdaq 100).

Updated 2026-07-05

This is not just a one-metric split: both profitability and stability materially support the lead. The overall score gap is 12 points in favour of Linde plc.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Specialty Chemicals

This comparison is based on industry proximity, not on functional trajectory similarity. JMAT.L and LIN share the same industry classification.

For a similarity-based comparison, see how Johnson Matthey and Linde each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
JMAT.L
Johnson Matthey Plc
59
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: STOXX 600
vs
LIN
Linde plc
71
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Nasdaq 100

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

The largest gaps do not all point in the same direction.

Dimension spread: JMAT.L vs LIN Profitability 19 79 Stability 49 86 Valuation 86 56 Growth 88 63 JMAT.L LIN
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +60
#2 Stability +37
#3 Valuation +30
#4 Growth +25
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for JMAT.L and LIN Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer JMAT.LLIN Relative valuation Structural strength

Linde plc is cheaper, but Johnson Matthey Plc is still stronger.

Valuation position uses Forward P/E and peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where JMAT.L and LIN each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY JMAT.L Neutral · above norm 0th 50th 100th 32 pct gap LIN Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 67th 99th
Today JMAT.L sits in the upper-middle of its own 5-year history (67th percentile), while LIN sits higher in its own history (99th). Within each stock's own 5-year context, JMAT.L is at a historically more favourable entry position than LIN. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger — peer-relative analysis is a separate question addressed above.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
On profitability, Linde plc ranks near the top of the group; Johnson Matthey Plc sits in the weaker half.
Stability
On stability, the same pattern holds: both are strong, but Linde plc still leads clearly.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
JMAT.L
19
LIN
79
Gap+60in favour of LIN

The profitability lead is mainly driven by a 26-point operating margin advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Absolute pricing still looks more supportive for Johnson Matthey, with a forward P/E that is 17.3 turns lower there.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both profitability and stability — though growth still provides a counterweight.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the JMAT.L vs LIN comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Other comparisons with conflicting dimension signals

Explore how JMAT.L and LIN each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.