Linde vs Smurfit Westrock
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The short version
- Linde is the larger business, with $34.0B of revenue in fiscal 2025 against $31.2B for Smurfit Westrock.
- Smurfit Westrock grew revenue faster (47.7%, against 3.0%).
- Linde kept more of each dollar of sales as operating profit (26.3% operating margin, against 5.5%).
- Linde turned more of its sales into free cash flow (15.0% FCF margin, against 3.9%).
- Linde earned a higher return on the capital invested in it (11.7%, against 4.1%).
- Investors pay more for each dollar of Smurfit Westrock’s earnings: a P/E of 44.1x against 32.8x for Linde.
| Latest fiscal year | LIN · FY25 | SW · FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| Market cap | $236.4B | $22.0B |
| Revenue | $34.0B | $31.2B |
| Free cash flow | $5.1B | $1.2B |
| Net income | $6.9B | $699M |
| Growth | ||
| Revenue growth | 3.0% | 47.7% |
| 5-year growth | 4.5% | — |
| Share count change | −2.1% | 35.2% |
| Profitability | ||
| Gross margin | — | 19.4% |
| Operating margin | 26.3% | 5.5% |
| Net margin | 20.3% | 2.2% |
| FCF margin | 15.0% | 3.9% |
| Return on capital | 11.7% | 4.1% |
| Return on equity | 18.1% | 3.9% |
| Balance sheet | ||
| Net debt | $22.1B | $12.9B |
| Net debt / EBITDA | 1.8x | 3.0x |
| Dividends and buybacks | $7.4B | $900M |
| Valuation & quality | ||
| P/E | 32.8x | 44.1x |
| Piotroski F-score | 6 | 5 |
Revenue
FY16
LIN $10.5B
SW —
FY17
LIN $11.4B
SW —
FY18
LIN $14.8B
SW —
FY19
LIN $28.2B
SW —
FY20
LIN $27.2B
SW —
FY21
LIN $30.8B
SW —
FY22
LIN $33.4B
SW $13.5B
FY23
LIN $32.9B
SW $12.1B
FY24
LIN $33.0B
SW $21.1B
FY25
LIN $34.0B
SW $31.2B
LIN
SW
Operating margin
FY16
LIN 21.3%
SW —
FY17
LIN 21.5%
SW —
FY18
LIN 35.4%
SW —
FY19
LIN 10.4%
SW —
FY20
LIN 12.2%
SW —
FY21
LIN 16.2%
SW —
FY22
LIN 16.1%
SW 11.5%
FY23
LIN 24.4%
SW 11.4%
FY24
LIN 26.2%
SW 4.8%
FY25
LIN 26.3%
SW 5.5%
LIN
SW
Free cash flow
FY16
LIN $1.3B
SW —
FY17
LIN $1.7B
SW —
FY18
LIN $1.8B
SW —
FY19
LIN $2.4B
SW —
FY20
LIN $4.0B
SW —
FY21
LIN $6.6B
SW —
FY22
LIN $5.7B
SW $503M
FY23
LIN $5.5B
SW $630M
FY24
LIN $4.9B
SW $17.0M
FY25
LIN $5.1B
SW $1.2B
LIN
SW
Return on capital
FY16
LIN —
SW —
FY17
LIN —
SW —
FY18
LIN 10.6%
SW —
FY19
LIN 3.3%
SW —
FY20
LIN 4.0%
SW —
FY21
LIN 6.3%
SW —
FY22
LIN 7.2%
SW —
FY23
LIN 11.3%
SW —
FY24
LIN 11.8%
SW 2.9%
FY25
LIN 11.7%
SW 4.1%
LIN
SW
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.