10 Best Foreign Stocks To Buy Now

6. Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q2 2024: 63

Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) is a British industrial gas company that sells gasses and enables businesses to work with them. It is one of the biggest industrial gas suppliers in the world, which provides the firm with a wide moat in terms of customer base and key efficiencies through economies of scale. At the same time, since Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) focuses exclusively on the gas market, its stock remains vulnerable to cyclical downturns as industrial demand slows down when rates are high and economic growth is slow. This was also evident in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)’s financials for H1 2024 which saw sales remain flat at $16.2 billion. This performance was also neatly segmented across geographical segments as while North American revenue grew by 3.1% annually, EMEA sales dropped by 3.6% while Asian sales were flat. However, Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) stands to benefit from the growth in carbon capture and the push to make green ammonia.

During the Q2 2024 earnings call, Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)’s management shared its view into the clean energy market:

“Turning now to the industrial end markets; chemicals and energy grew 5% from North American activity, primarily in the U.S. Gulf Coast, hydrogen as well as Mexican energy services. We supply some of the most cost-competitive customers in the world and their higher production rates reflect their share of the global market. Looking forward, this end market will likely be the largest beneficiary of the project backlog, especially around clean energy projects. While OCI represents just one example, there are several more that comprise the $8 billion to $10 billion of near-term pipeline opportunities which we are pursuing and making good progress.”