CX vs. LIN: CEMEX vs. Linde Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN) both fall under the Materials industry group, but CX is classified in Construction Materials while LIN is classified in Chemicals.

Linde (LIN) trades as ordinary local shares, while CEMEX (CX) trades as an ADR — compare with FX exposure, depositary-program fees, and dividend-withholding-tax differences in mind.

Company profile comparison for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN)
Profile Item	CX	LIN
Name	Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. Sponsored ADR	Linde plc
Country/Region	Mexico	United Kingdom
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Construction Materials	Chemicals
GICS Sub-Industry	Construction Materials	Industrial Gases
Market Capitalization	15.47 billion USD	236.54 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	Nasdaq
Listing Date	September 15, 1999	June 17, 1992
Security Type	ADR	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

LIN

GSPC

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN)
Metric	CX	LIN
Total Return (1Y)	7.57%	25.64%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	17.84%	11.48%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	10.81%	10.50%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

LIN

GSPC

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

CEMEX (CX) has an aggressive beta of 1.57, indicating higher sensitivity to broad-market moves, while Linde (LIN) is defensive at 0.67 and tends to be less market-sensitive — they sit on opposite ends of the beta spectrum.

Risk profile metrics for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN)
Metric	CX	LIN
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	36.82%	19.00%
Beta (5Y)	1.57	0.67
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-53.08%	-22.82%
Avg. Volume (3M)	7.01M	2.05M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

CX and LIN are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN)
Metric	CX	LIN
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.09	1.12
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	0.14	1.65

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both CEMEX (CX) at 5.17% and Linde (LIN) at 17.72% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

CX

Materials industry group

5.17%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
CX: 5.17%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

LIN

Materials industry group

17.72%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
LIN: 17.72%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Linde (LIN) at 19.34% retains a top-quartile share of revenue as profit, ahead of CEMEX (CX) at 3.60%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

CX

Materials industry group

3.60%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
CX: 3.60%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

LIN

Materials industry group

19.34%

Max: 38.66%
LIN: 19.34%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both CEMEX (CX) at 14.77% and Linde (LIN) at 27.97% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

CX

Materials industry group

14.77%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
CX: 14.77%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

LIN

Materials industry group

27.97%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
LIN: 27.97%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN)
Metric	CX	LIN
ROE (TTM)	5.17%	17.72%
ROA (TTM)	5.07%	7.17%
Net Margin (TTM)	3.60%	19.34%
Operating Margin (TTM)	14.77%	27.97%
Gross Margin (TTM)	33.48%	47.86%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Both CEMEX (CX) at 0.43% and Linde (LIN) at 2.97% land near their industries' usual revenue growth ranges, so top-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both CEMEX (CX) at 2.35% and Linde (LIN) at 7.27% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN)
Metric	CX	LIN
Revenue Growth (YoY)	0.43%	2.97%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	3.13%	0.62%
EPS Growth (YoY)	2.35%	7.27%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	4.14%	21.08%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Both CEMEX (CX) at 0.95 and Linde (LIN) at 0.86 run current ratio in the tighter-liquidity quartile of industry peers, leaving thinner cushions against current liabilities than typical competitors.

CX

Materials industry group

0.95

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
CX: 0.95
Min: 0.16

LIN

Materials industry group

0.86

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
LIN: 0.86
Min: 0.16

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both CEMEX (CX) at 0.46 and Linde (LIN) at 0.65 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

CX

Materials industry group

0.46

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
Median: 0.47
CX: 0.46
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

LIN

Materials industry group

0.65

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
LIN: 0.65
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN)
Metric	CX	LIN
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.95	0.86
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.46	0.65
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.60	1.65

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

CEMEX (CX) pays no dividend (yield 0.00%) — it may be reinvesting, using buybacks, or simply not returning cash through dividends. Meanwhile Linde (LIN) reports a yield of 1.21%, ranking against industry peers normally.

CX

Materials industry group

0.00%

Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
CX: 0.00%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LIN

Materials industry group

1.21%

Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
LIN: 1.21%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Both CEMEX (CX) at 67.86% and Linde (LIN) at 41.83% pay out an above-typical share of earnings for their industries, leaving thinner cover if profits dip.

CX

Materials industry group

67.86%

Max: 83.62%
CX: 67.86%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

LIN

Materials industry group

41.83%

Max: 83.62%
LIN: 41.83%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN)
Metric	CX	LIN
Dividend Yield (TTM)	0.00%	1.21%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	67.86%	41.83%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on trailing earnings: Linde (LIN) at 34.21 sits in the richer P/E ratio quartile, and CEMEX (CX) at 67.00 is richer still, above its industry range.

CX

Materials industry group

67.00

CX: 67.00
Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

LIN

Materials industry group

34.21

Max: 59.00
LIN: 34.21
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

CEMEX (CX) at 0.89 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Linde (LIN) at 6.53 sits in the pricier quartile — LIN costs more per dollar of sales.

CX

Materials industry group

0.89

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
CX: 0.89
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

LIN

Materials industry group

6.53

Max: 9.62
LIN: 6.53
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

CEMEX (CX) at 1.20 looks cheap against book in the lower P/B ratio quartile, while Linde (LIN) at 6.00 carries a premium in the upper quartile — a clear price-to-book gap.

CX

Materials industry group

1.20

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
CX: 1.20
Min: -0.17

LIN

Materials industry group

6.00

Max: 6.59
LIN: 6.00
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

CEMEX (CX) vs. Linde (LIN): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for CEMEX (CX) and Linde (LIN)
Metric	CX	LIN
P/E Ratio (TTM)	67.00	34.21
P/S Ratio (TTM)	0.89	6.53
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.20	6.00
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	8.86%	1.77%