LIN vs SHW Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
Compare Linde's high-margin, contract-driven industrial gas supply business against Sherwin-Williams' paint and coatings retail and industrial distribution model.
Use this Linde vs Sherwin-Williams comparison to evaluate the key differences across valuation, growth, profitability, and risk before making an investment decision.
LIN holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. LIN leads on both 1-year return (+24.11%) and forward P/E quality (25.01x vs 25.33x for SHW), a relatively favorable combination of momentum and valuation. LIN leads on both revenue growth (9.30%) and operating margin (28.12%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +11.79% for LIN and +13.38% for SHW.
Human Wall Street analysts' price targets, typically implying a ~12-month view — a separate signal from this site's own AI Prediction Signal further down the page, which is a 5-/30-day machine-learning forecast based on price history alone.
| Metric | LIN | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| AI scorei | 54.2 | 52.7 |
| AI ranki | #309 | #376 |
| Latest closei | $511.55 | $340.87 |
| 1M returni | +6.69% | +6.69% |
| 3M returni | +5.55% | -5.73% |
| 6M returni | +2.25% | +9.09% |
| 1Y returni | +24.11% | -1.38% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | LIN | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $12.24K (+22.4%) started 2025-11-04 | $9.94K (-0.6%) started 2025-11-04 |
| 5Y ago | $17K (+70.0%) started 2021-11-04 | $11.45K (+14.5%) started 2021-11-04 |
| 10Y ago | $60.43K (+504.3%) started 2016-11-04 | $49.6K (+396.0%) started 2016-11-04 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | LIN | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| Market capi | $225.65B | $83.72B |
| Trailing P/Ei | 31.54 | 31.84 |
| Forward P/Ei | 25.01 | 25.33 |
| Price/Salesi | N/A | 3.89 |
| EV/Revenuei | 7.06 | 4.01 |
| Analyst targeti | $547.24 | $391.00 |
| Target upsidei | +11.79% | +13.38% |
| Metric | LIN | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growthi | 9.30% | 7.50% |
| Earnings growthi | 11.30% | 14.30% |
| EPS growthi | +11.30% | +14.30% |
| FCF margini | +11.74% | +10.27% |
| Operating margini | 28.12% | 18.12% |
| Profit margini | 20.43% | 11.01% |
| ROIC proxyi | 18.40% | 65.12% |
| Return on equityi | 18.40% | 65.12% |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.31% | 0.93% |
| Payout ratioi | 41.83% | 29.35% |
| Dividend growth streaki | No increase yet | No increase yet |
| Betai | 0.73 | 1.09 |
| Debt/equityi | 68.95 | 389.96 |
| Current ratioi | 0.88 | 0.73 |
| Quick ratioi | 0.68 | 0.41 |
Over the past year, LIN and SHW have moved weakly in the same direction (correlation of 0.34), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | LIN | SHW |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +22.40% | -0.62% |
| CAGRi | +22.45% | -0.62% | |
| Volatilityi | 18.68% | 27.90% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.95 | -0.05 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 1.37 | -0.07 | |
| Max drawdowni | 16.31% | 21.36% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.42% | 8.52% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 4.71% | 9.01% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 6.63% | 10.65% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.95% | 3.52% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 6.62% | 9.02% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +61.87% | +10.67% |
| CAGRi | +10.11% | +2.05% | |
| Volatilityi | 20.91% | 27.24% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.35 | 0.05 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.51 | 0.07 | |
| Max drawdowni | 22.82% | 42.46% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.42% | 14.35% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 6.12% | 18.01% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 8.02% | 20.96% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.26% | 8.92% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 11.95% | 17.22% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +416.79% | +356.63% |
| CAGRi | +17.85% | +16.40% | |
| Volatilityi | 22.95% | 26.76% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.64 | 0.54 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.93 | 0.78 | |
| Max drawdowni | 32.59% | 42.46% | |
| Current drawdowni | 6.42% | 14.35% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.20% | 11.33% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.25% | 15.65% | |
| Max daily dropi | 10.28% | 18.68% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 19.59% | 23.01% |
| Category | LIN | SHW |
|---|---|---|
| Company | LIN | SHW |
| Sector | Basic Materials | Basic Materials |
| Industry | Specialty Chemicals | Specialty Chemicals |
| Core business | Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company worldwide. | The Sherwin-Williams Company engages in the development, manufacture, distribution, and sale of paint, coatings, and related products to professional, industrial, commercial and retail customers. |
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