CRH vs Linde
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The short version
- CRH is the larger business, with $37.4B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $34.0B for Linde.
- CRH grew revenue faster (5.3%, against 3.0%).
- Linde kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (26.3% operating margin, against 14.5%).
- Linde turned more of its sales into free cash flow (15.0% FCF margin, against 7.8%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Linde’s earnings: a P/E of 32.8x against 15.0x for CRH.
| Latest fiscal year | CRH · FY25 | LIN · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $56.8B | $236.4B |
| Revenue | $37.4B | $34.0B |
| Free cash flow | $2.9B | $5.1B |
| Net income | $3.8B | $6.9B |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 5.3% | 3.0% |
| 5-year growth | 7.7% | 4.5% |
| Share count change | −1.8% | −2.1% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | 36.1% | — |
| Operating margin | 14.5% | 26.3% |
| Net margin | 10.0% | 20.3% |
| FCF margin | 7.8% | 15.0% |
| Return on capital | 11.8% | 11.7% |
| Return on equity | 16.5% | 18.1% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $14.1B | $22.1B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.9x | 1.8x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $1.2B | $7.4B |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 15.0x | 32.8x |
| Piotroski F-score | 7 | 6 |
Revenue
FY16
CRH —
LIN $10.5B
FY17
CRH —
LIN $11.4B
FY18
CRH $27.4B
LIN $14.8B
FY19
CRH $28.1B
LIN $28.2B
FY20
CRH $25.9B
LIN $27.2B
FY21
CRH $29.2B
LIN $30.8B
FY22
CRH $32.7B
LIN $33.4B
FY23
CRH $34.9B
LIN $32.9B
FY24
CRH $35.6B
LIN $33.0B
FY25
CRH $37.4B
LIN $34.0B
CRH
LIN
Operating margin
FY16
CRH —
LIN 21.3%
FY17
CRH —
LIN 21.5%
FY18
CRH 8.9%
LIN 35.4%
FY19
CRH 9.9%
LIN 10.4%
FY20
CRH 7.8%
LIN 12.2%
FY21
CRH 11.4%
LIN 16.2%
FY22
CRH 11.6%
LIN 16.1%
FY23
CRH 12.0%
LIN 24.4%
FY24
CRH 13.9%
LIN 26.2%
FY25
CRH 14.5%
LIN 26.3%
CRH
LIN
Free cash flow
FY16
CRH —
LIN $1.3B
FY17
CRH —
LIN $1.7B
FY18
CRH $922M
LIN $1.8B
FY19
CRH $2.5B
LIN $2.4B
FY20
CRH $2.9B
LIN $4.0B
FY21
CRH $2.4B
LIN $6.6B
FY22
CRH $2.3B
LIN $5.7B
FY23
CRH $3.2B
LIN $5.5B
FY24
CRH $2.4B
LIN $4.9B
FY25
CRH $2.9B
LIN $5.1B
CRH
LIN
Return on capital
FY16
CRH —
LIN —
FY17
CRH —
LIN —
FY18
CRH —
LIN 10.6%
FY19
CRH 6.5%
LIN 3.3%
FY20
CRH 5.0%
LIN 4.0%
FY21
CRH 10.3%
LIN 6.3%
FY22
CRH 11.3%
LIN 7.2%
FY23
CRH 12.1%
LIN 11.3%
FY24
CRH 12.7%
LIN 11.8%
FY25
CRH 11.8%
LIN 11.7%
CRH
LIN
Each company's latest fiscal year; fiscal years end in different months. The best value in each row is highlighted where higher (or lower) is clearly better. Not investment advice.