Global Industrial Gas Leader's Executive Sells Billions in Shares After Exercising Stock Options

Linde plc (LIN) Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President Guillermo Bichara exercised approximately 27,000 stock options on February 17. To cover the exercise price and tax withholding, he surrendered a large number of shares to the company and sold about 9,500 shares on the open market at around $480 per share, securing several million U.S. dollars (equivalent to tens of billions of Korean won). Separately, on March 9, performance‐based shares and RSUs granted in 2023, as well as RSUs vesting in 2026, were sequentially converted into shares, resulting in a net increase in shares after tax withholding. On the same day, he also received roughly 1,800 new RSUs vesting through 2029 and about 15,000 new stock options, bringing his direct and indirect holdings to approximately 30,000 shares. The filing notes that some shares were used for option exercise payments and tax withholding, indicating a routine equity settlement as part of his compensation package.

Meanwhile, in its February 5 announcement of full‐year 2025 results, Linde reported revenues of $34.0 billion and adjusted earnings per share of $16.46, and provided adjusted EPS guidance of $17.40–$17.90 for 2026. (assets.linde.com) On February 24, the company increased its quarterly dividend by 7% to $1.60 per share, and on March 11, it announced plans to build a new air separation plant in Oshkosh, Wisconsin—targeting start‐up by 2028—to expand its North American industrial gas production capacity. (linde.com)

Linde, legally headquartered in Woking, UK, and Ireland, is a global industrial gases and engineering company supplying gases and related technologies across diverse industries—including chemicals, energy, food and beverage, electronics, healthcare, and manufacturing—and reported $34.0 billion in revenues in 2025. (linde.com)