Linde PLC vs Lumen Technologies Inc — how do they compare? Linde PLC trades at $503.26 (market cap $236.74B), while Lumen Technologies Inc trades at $6.76 (market cap $6.47B). The key difference: Linde PLC is far larger — about 36.6× Lumen Technologies Inc's market cap, and Linde PLC pays a 1.25% dividend while Lumen Technologies Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| LIN | LUMN | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $236.74B | $6.47B |
Sector | Basic Materials | Media |
52-Week High | $546.64 | $11.83 |
52-Week Low | $389.38 | $3.70 |
Enterprise Value | $259.10B | $18.10B |
Dividend Yield | 1.25% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Linde (LIN) trades at $513.07, down 1.47% today, with strong fundamentals including 20.44% net income margin and consistent earnings beats. Technical indicators show a bearish trend with support at $509 and resistance at $520. The company maintains robust cash flow from operations of $10.35B and has raised dividends, reflecting financial health.
Outlook remains positive with 89% analyst buy ratings and a $564.80 price target, though valuation ratios are elevated. Risks include rising debt-to-asset ratio (31.63% in 2025) and potential macroeconomic pressures. The stock offers growth potential but requires monitoring of leverage and market conditions.
LUMN trades at $6.76, up 7.64% today, but remains in a bearish technical trend with resistance at $7. The company reported a net loss of $1.74B in 2025 despite beating EPS estimates in two of the last three quarters. Recent news highlights AI-focused initiatives, including the acquisition of Alkira and recognition in Gartner's AI vendor report, signaling strategic repositioning amid declining revenue.
The outlook is cautious with high debt ($17.49B long-term) and negative profitability metrics posing significant risks. Analyst consensus is mixed (14% Buy, 61% Hold) with a $8.25 price target, suggesting limited upside. Investors should weigh cost-cutting progress and AI contract growth against persistent cash flow challenges and competitive pressures in telecom services.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Linde is the largest industrial gas supplier in the world, with operations in over 100 countries. The firm's main products are atmospheric gases (including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon) and process gases (including hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and helium), as well as equipment used in industrial gas production. Linde serves a wide variety of end markets, including chemicals, manufacturing, healthcare, and steelmaking. Linde generated approximately $31 billion in revenue and $5 billion in GAAP operating profit in 2021.
Read more on LIN →With 450,000 route miles of fiber, including over 35,000 route miles of subsea fiber connecting Europe, Asia, and Latin America, Lumen Technologies is one of the United States' largest telecommunications carriers serving global enterprises. Its merger with Level 3 further shifted the company's operations toward businesses (over 70% of revenue) and away from its legacy consumer business. Lumen offers businesses a full menu of communications services, providing colocation and data center services, data transportation, and end-user phone and internet service. On the consumer side, Lumen provides broadband and phone service across 37 states, where it has 4.5 million broadband customers.
Read more on LUMN →