LIN vs. SW: Linde vs. Smurfit Westrock Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW) 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

Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW) both fall under the Materials industry group, but LIN is classified in Chemicals while SW is classified in Containers & Packaging.

Company profile comparison for Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Profile Item	LIN	SW
Name	Linde plc	Smurfit WestRock Plc
Country/Region	United Kingdom	Ireland
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Chemicals	Containers & Packaging
GICS Sub-Industry	Industrial Gases	Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials
Market Capitalization	236.54 billion USD	23.13 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	Nasdaq	NYSE
Listing Date	June 17, 1992	June 17, 2008
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

LIN

GSPC

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW), 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

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

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

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	LIN	SW
Total Return (1Y)	25.64%	29.05%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	11.48%	14.60%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	10.50%	-0.16%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

LIN

GSPC

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW), 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

Loading price history…

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

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	LIN	SW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	19.00%	42.69%
Beta (5Y)	0.67	0.89
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-22.82%	-53.49%
Avg. Volume (3M)	2.05M	4.66M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

LIN and SW 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 Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	LIN	SW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	1.12	0.58
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.65	0.94

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Linde (LIN) at 17.72% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 2.57% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

LIN

Materials industry group

17.72%

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

SW

Materials industry group

2.57%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
SW: 2.57%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): 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 Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 1.50%, which keeps about the industry-typical share.

LIN

Materials industry group

19.34%

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

SW

Materials industry group

1.50%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
SW: 1.50%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Linde (LIN) at 27.97% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 6.38% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

LIN

Materials industry group

27.97%

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

SW

Materials industry group

6.38%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
Median: 12.56%
SW: 6.38%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	LIN	SW
ROE (TTM)	17.72%	2.57%
ROA (TTM)	7.17%	2.50%
Net Margin (TTM)	19.34%	1.50%
Operating Margin (TTM)	27.97%	6.38%
Gross Margin (TTM)	47.86%	17.67%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 47.70% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Linde (LIN) at 2.97% is closer to the peer norm — faster top-line expansion for SW.

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Both Linde (LIN) at 7.27% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 62.20% land near their industries' usual EPS growth ranges, so bottom-line momentum looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	LIN	SW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	2.97%	47.70%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	0.62%	32.15%
EPS Growth (YoY)	7.27%	62.20%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	21.08%	-30.01%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 1.48 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Linde (LIN) at 0.86 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for LIN.

LIN

Materials industry group

0.86

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

SW

Materials industry group

1.48

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
SW: 1.48
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Linde (LIN) at 0.65 and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 0.78 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

LIN

Materials industry group

0.65

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

SW

Materials industry group

0.78

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
SW: 0.78
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

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

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	LIN	SW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	0.86	1.48
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.65	0.78
Net Debt / EBITDA	1.65	2.96

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 4.02% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Linde (LIN) at 1.21% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, SW the richer one.

LIN

Materials industry group

1.21%

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

SW

Materials industry group

4.02%

Max: 4.52%
SW: 4.02%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) reports payout ratio above 100% at 198.63%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Linde (LIN) reports 41.83%, ranking against industry peers normally.

LIN

Materials industry group

41.83%

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

SW

Materials industry group

198.63%

SW: 198.63%
Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Linde (LIN) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	LIN	SW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.21%	4.02%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	41.83%	198.63%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both Linde (LIN) at 34.21 and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 48.99 sit in the richer earnings-multiple quartile for P/E ratio, so investors are paying more for TTM earnings than they pay for typical peers.

LIN

Materials industry group

34.21

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

SW

Materials industry group

48.99

Max: 59.00
SW: 48.99
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

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

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 0.73 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.

LIN

Materials industry group

6.53

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

SW

Materials industry group

0.73

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
SW: 0.73
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

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

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 1.28 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Linde (LIN) at 6.00 carries an above-peer premium to book — LIN is pricier on assets.

LIN

Materials industry group

6.00

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

SW

Materials industry group

1.28

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
SW: 1.28
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

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

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Linde (LIN) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	LIN	SW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	34.21	48.99
P/S Ratio (TTM)	6.53	0.73
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	6.00	1.28
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	1.77%	4.26%