Dear Fellow Shareholders,

2025 was marked by heightened geopolitical tensions and ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty. Against that backdrop, the Linde team once again showed that disciplined execution and a resilient operating model can deliver strong results, even in challenging conditions.

We achieved record earnings per share of $16.46, generated $10.4 billion in operating cash flow and expanded our operating margin to 29.8%. Our 24.2% return on capital remains best-in-class and is a clear reflection of the strength of our integrated business model, exceptional network density and disciplined approach to capital allocation. With a strong balance sheet, we returned $7.4 billion to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, while reinvesting $5.3 billion into the business to support future growth.

Strong financial performance matters, but it is not the only measure of success.

Safety remains our highest priority. In 2025, our employees delivered best-in-class results, achieving a lost workday case rate more than nine times better than the U.S. OSHA industrial average. We continue to strengthen an inclusive culture across more than 80 countries, with women now representing nearly 30% of the global workforce. Beyond operations, nearly 400,000 people benefited from approximately 900 employee-led community projects, and our Global Giving program supported over 2,000 organizations worldwide.

We also made meaningful progress in reducing our environmental footprint. In 2025, we increased active low-carbon power sourcing by 26%, with 50% of our global electricity consumption now coming from low-carbon sources. This contributed to a reduction of nearly two million metric tons of CO2, supporting our goal to reduce absolute emissions 35% by 2035. In addition, we diverted more than 200 million pounds of waste from landfills and conserved over 1 billion gallons of water.

Looking ahead, we remain focused on executing our growth strategy in markets where Linde has clear and sustained competitive advantages. Reliable and efficient operations remain mission-critical for the industries we serve, and our gas and engineering solutions help our customers achieve both. At the same time, powerful secular growth trends-from electronics and commercial space to clean energy-continue to create attractive opportunities for Linde.

Demand from semiconductor manufacturers and the expansion of Al-related digital infrastructure remain strong. We continue to invest alongside many of the world's most advanced electronics fabs as they execute their growth plans. The U.S. space sector is another compelling example. In 2025, we supported a record number of launches and have recently invested nearly $1 billion to meet growing demand from contracted space-launch customers, while building an ecosystem that supports even more launches in the years ahead.

Today, Linde is executing more than $7 billion in projects secured under long-term sale-of-gas contracts, with two-thirds supporting high-quality clean energy customer investments. During 2025, we also signed several new projects, including a $400 million investment in Louisiana to supply oxygen and nitrogen to the Blue Point low-carbon ammonia project. Supported by our world-class engineering capabilities and portfolio of proprietary technologies, we continue to unlock attractive opportunities that reinforce confidence in Linde's long-term growth outlook.

At the heart of Linde's performance is our operating model-and above all, our people. Local accountability and disciplined execution, supported by an unparalleled global network, allow us to serve customers reliably while maintaining a relentless focus on pricing, productivity and cost and capital allocation discipline.

That is how value is created at Linde—not through any single year, but through consistent, disciplined execution across decades and economic cycles.

Even as geopolitical and economic volatility persists, I am confident that our proven operating model, disciplined capital allocation and high-quality project backlog position Linde to continue compounding EPS growth to create sustained long-term value for shareholders.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.

Sincerely,
Sanjiv Lamba
Chief Executive Officer