LIN vs CRH vs NUE Stock Comparison

Linde, Crh Public and Nucor Prices as of Nov 2, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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LIN Linde Plc
$519.72 +8.4% 1M +24.2% 1Y
Market cap
$238.60B
P/E
34.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.24B
Div. yield
1.21%
Industrial Gases Basic Materials
4 wins
CRH Crh Public Ltd Co
$96.61 +17.9% 1M -18.9% 1Y
Market cap
$64.33B
P/E
18.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$38.96B
Div. yield
1.59%
Cement Basic Materials
2 wins
NUE Nucor Corp
$277.64 +15.5% 1M +85.0% 1Y
Market cap
$62.99B
P/E
22.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$36.10B
Div. yield
0.81%
Steel Basic Materials
6 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Nucor leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Nucor 6, Linde 4, Crh Public 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionLINCRHNUELeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $238.60B $64.33B $62.99B LIN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 34.2x 18.0x 22.0x CRH
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 31.1x 16.8x 13.8x NUE
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +8.2% +5.6% +17.2% NUE
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 19.3% 9.2% 8.0% LIN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 10.3% 8.8% 11.0% NUE
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.9x 0.8x NUE
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 1.21% 1.59% 0.81% CRH
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +24.2% -18.9% +85.0% NUE
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +9.6%/yr +14.3%/yr +20.3%/yr NUE
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 18.9% 33.6% 31.5% LIN
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 55/100 53/100 LIN

Percentile Scorecard

LINCRHNUE

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisLINCRHNUE
Valuation 19 #76 of 94 56 #5 of 10 68 #54 of 165
Growth 58 #39 of 92 – 52 #73 of 150
Profitability 94 #6 of 89 29 #6 of 8 65 #43 of 122
Financial Health 51 #48 of 97 50 #5 of 9 40 #100 of 166
Shareholder Returns 61 #29 of 72 86 #2 of 8 43 #62 of 107
Overall 57 55 53
  • LIN ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • CRH ranked among 10 companies in Construction Materials
  • NUE ranked among 177 companies in Metals and Mining

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodLINCRHNUESPY
1 month +8.4%+17.9%+15.5% -2.3%
3 months +8.2%-2.0%+6.2% -0.7%
6 months +5.3%-12.8%+23.0% +4.8%
Year to date +21.9%-22.6%+70.2% +10.3%
1 year +24.2%-18.9%+85.0% +10.3%
3 years +32.4%+69.8%+82.3% +73.0%
3 years, per year +9.8%+19.3%+22.2% +20.1%
5 years +58.3%+95.2%+151.8% +61.9%
5 years, per year +9.6%+14.3%+20.3% +10.1%
10 years +351.9%+200.5%+476.6% +258.6%
10 years, per year +16.3%+11.6%+19.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureLINCRHNUESPY
Volatility, 1Y 18.9%33.6%31.5% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 19.0%33.1%31.6% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.031.250.87 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 1.28-0.562.70 0.80
Max drawdown, 5Y -23.7%-42.1%-48.6% -25.4%
From 52-week high -4.9%-26.5%0.0% -3.5%
52-week high $546.64$131.38$277.64 $779.14
52-week low $389.38$79.20$142.66 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleLINCRHNUE
P/E now vs peer median 34.2xmedian 20.8x 18.0xmedian 21.2x 22.0xmedian 12.5x
P/S now vs peer median 6.6xmedian 1.4x 1.7xmedian 1.8x 1.7xmedian 2.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 20.1xmedian 12.6x 10.4xmedian 10.2x 11.9xmedian 7.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median 47.0xmedian 15.5x 25.3xmedian 35.3x 39.8xmedian 14.6x
P/B now vs peer median 5.8xmedian 1.7x 2.5xmedian 2.5x 2.7xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median 4.54median 1.78 —median 3.48 -1.29median 0.28

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsLINCRHNUE
Revenue $36.24B $38.96B $36.10B
Gross profit $17.35B $14.12B $5.59B
Operating income $9.16B $5.34B $4.17B
Net income $7.03B $3.61B $3.26B
Free cash flow $5.08B $2.54B $1.58B
R&D $147.00M – –
EPS (diluted) $15.15 $5.35 $12.62
Cash & equivalents $3.95B $5.11B $2.48B
Total debt $26.70B $19.62B $7.10B
Shares (diluted) 462.51M 668.80M 228.50M
Enterprise value $222.30B $49.88B $53.53B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricLINCRHNUE
P/E 34.2x 18.0x 22.0x
P/FCF 47.0x 25.3x 39.8x
P/Operating cash flow 22.3x 12.4x 14.2x
P/S 6.6x 1.7x 1.7x
P/B 5.8x 2.5x 2.7x
P/Tangible book 8.1x 2.7x 3.1x
EV/EBITDA 20.1x 10.4x 11.9x
EV/EBIT 28.5x 14.8x 16.2x
EV/Revenue 7.2x 2.0x 1.9x
EV/FCF 51.4x 31.0x 42.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 24.4x 15.2x 15.2x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 4.54 – -1.29

Growth

14 metrics
MetricLINCRHNUE
Revenue growth (1Y) 8.2% 5.6% 17.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 3.7% – -1.2%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 6.1% 5.9% 73.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.0% – -16.1%
Operating income growth (1Y) -0.2% 4.0% 94.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 6.0% – -18.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -0.8% 4.4% 106.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 5.1% – -18.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 0.7% 5.4% 124.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 7.5% – -17.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 5.7% -4.7% 41.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 7.3% – -19.5%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 0.1% -2.5% 511.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -0.1% – -37.3%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricLINCRHNUE
Gross margin 47.9% 36.2% 15.5%
EBITDA margin 35.8% 19.5% 15.7%
Operating margin 25.3% 13.7% 11.5%
Pretax margin 25.2% 12.7% 11.4%
Net margin 19.3% 9.2% 8.0%
FCF margin 14.0% 6.5% 4.4%
Operating cash flow margin 29.6% 13.3% 12.3%
Return on equity 17.5% 13.9% 14.2%
Return on assets 8.1% 5.9% 9.0%
Return on invested capital 10.3% 8.8% 11.0%
Return on capital employed 12.6% 11.2% 13.4%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.6x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.5x 1.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.4% 0.2%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricLINCRHNUE
Debt / assets 30.3% 32.0% 19.2%
Debt / equity 0.7x 0.8x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 1.8x 1.9x 0.8x
Debt / FCF 5.3x 7.7x 4.5x
Liabilities / assets 53.5% 57.6% 37.0%
Equity / assets 46.5% 42.4% 63.0%
Interest coverage 35.5x 6.3x 28.7x
Current ratio 0.9x 1.5x 2.5x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.0x 1.3x
Cash ratio 0.3x 0.4x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 4.08 2.73 5.62

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricLINCRHNUE
Dividend yield 1.2% 1.6% 0.8%
Net buyback yield 1.7% 1.5% 1.0%
Shareholder yield 2.9% 3.1% 1.8%
Payout ratio (earnings) 41.5% – 15.7%
Payout ratio (FCF) 57.3% – 32.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) 5.1% – -0.8%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 5.9% – -0.6%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusLINCRHNUE
Forward P/E 31.1xFY2026 16.8xFY2026 13.8xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $16.73FY2026 $5.74FY2026 $20.11FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +1.7%FY2026 +3.1%FY2026 +160.8%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +14.2% +13.9% +6.9%
Revenue, next fiscal year $38.84BFY2026 $41.93BFY2026 $39.95BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.3%FY2026 +12.0%FY2026 +22.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after -4.2% -3.2% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersLINCRHNUE
Held by institutions 85.2% 84.4% 79.2%
Institutions holding 2,324 1,031 1,543
Change in shares held, QoQ +4.2% +1.7% +2.2%
Institutions buying 1,214 556 751
Institutions selling 766 355 518
Buyers to sellers 1.58 1.57 1.45

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

LINCRHNUE
LIN 1.00 0.15 0.12
CRH 0.15 1.00 0.30
NUE 0.12 0.30 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, LIN, CRH and NUE?

Linde (LIN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Linde (LIN) $238.60B, Crh Public (CRH) $64.33B, Nucor (NUE) $62.99B.

Which stock is cheaper, LIN, CRH and NUE?

Crh Public (CRH) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Linde (LIN) 34.2x, Crh Public (CRH) 18.0x, Nucor (NUE) 22.0x). On next year's consensus earnings, Nucor (NUE) is cheapest (Linde (LIN) 31.1x, Crh Public (CRH) 16.8x, Nucor (NUE) 13.8x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Nucor (NUE) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Linde (LIN) +8.2%, Crh Public (CRH) +5.6%, Nucor (NUE) +17.2%.

Which company is more profitable?

Linde (LIN) has the highest net margin (Linde (LIN) 19.3%, Crh Public (CRH) 9.2%, Nucor (NUE) 8.0%). On return on invested capital, Nucor (NUE) leads (Linde (LIN) 10.3%, Crh Public (CRH) 8.8%, Nucor (NUE) 11.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Nucor (NUE) returned the most: Linde (LIN) +24.2%, Crh Public (CRH) -18.9%, Nucor (NUE) +85.0%. Over five years, Nucor (NUE) compounded fastest (Linde (LIN) +9.6%/yr, Crh Public (CRH) +14.3%/yr, Nucor (NUE) +20.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Crh Public (CRH) has the highest dividend yield: Linde (LIN) 1.21%, Crh Public (CRH) 1.59%, Nucor (NUE) 0.81%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Linde (LIN) has been the steadiest (Linde (LIN) 18.9%, Crh Public (CRH) 33.6%, Nucor (NUE) 31.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, LIN, CRH and NUE?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Nucor (NUE) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.