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L'Air Liquide vs Linde: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

Linde holds the cleaner structural position, with the lead spread across growth and profitability. L'Air Liquide does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. The market setup is broadly comparable for both — no clear directional signal from price behavior. The market is not adding a decisive signal either way — the structural read carries the weight.

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

Updated 2026-05-17

This is not just a one-metric split: both growth and profitability materially support the lead. Linde plc leads by 22 points on the overall comparison score.

INDUSTRY COMPARISON

Both operate in: Specialty Chemicals

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

For a similarity-based comparison, see how L'Air Liquide and Linde each position within their functional peer groups in AssetNext.

Peer-Relative Score
AI.PA
L'Air Liquide S.A.
46
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: STOXX 600
vs
LIN
Linde plc
68
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: Nasdaq 100

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

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: AI.PA vs LIN Profitability 40 68 Stability 73 82 Valuation 44 58 Growth 32 67 AI.PA LIN
Gap Ranking
#1 Growth +35
#2 Profitability +28
#3 Valuation +14
#4 Stability +9
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for AI.PA and LIN Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer AI.PALIN Relative valuation Structural strength

Linde plc looks stronger both structurally and on relative valuation.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where AI.PA and LIN each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY AI.PA Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 7 pct gap LIN Elevated · near norm 0th 50th 100th 92nd 99th
AI.PA (92nd percentile) and LIN (99th percentile) both sit in the upper portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

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

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Growth
Linde plc ranks near the top of the group on growth; L'Air Liquide S.A. sits in the weaker half.
Profitability
On profitability, the edge is clear — both rank well, but Linde plc sits noticeably higher.
Growth — Dominant Gap
AI.PA
32
LIN
67
Gap+35in favour of LIN

One company is still expanding while the other is contracting, which creates a very wide growth split.

What else supports the lead

Profitability gives the lead a second hard layer of support, with a 9-point operating margin advantage.

What this means for the comparison

The lead is built on both growth and profitability, making it broader than a single-dimension result.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the AI.PA vs LIN comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

Explore full breakdown →
Similar growth-and-profitability comparisons

Explore how AI.PA 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.