Investing.com - Air Liquide SA (EPA:AIRP) on Thursday reported third quarter revenue of €7.26 billion, beating analyst estimates of €7.16 billion, driven by strong performance in its Electronics and Industrial Merchant segments. Gas & Services comparable growth reached 3.6%, surpassing the consensus estimate of 3.1%.
The company's shares rose 2.8% in Paris trading by 09:36 GMT, making them one of the top performers on the CAC 40.
Electronics led the quarter with 12% comparable growth, fueled by sustained semiconductor demand for artificial intelligence applications. Industrial Merchant grew 5.3% on a comparable basis, or 7.2% excluding helium, with pricing contributing 5.3%. The company also announced it will execute the first €1 billion tranche of its share buyback program by the end of December 2026, ahead of its original timeline.
"Our third quarter is a perfect illustration, delivering robust performance driven by the momentum of our sales and investments in growth markets," said François Jackow, Chief Executive Officer. "As a reflection of our deep conviction in our strategic roadmap and our commitment to accelerating performance, we are announcing today the launch of the first €1 billion tranche of our share buyback program, to be completed by the end of December."
Geographically, Asia-Pacific posted 7% comparable growth, while the Americas advanced 6.2%. EMEA declined 0.5% on a comparable basis. The company's investment backlog reached €6.2 billion, up 3% from €6 billion in the second quarter.
Air Liquide confirmed its outlook to increase operating margin by 100 basis points in both 2026 and 2027, excluding energy impact. Investment decisions totaled €1.25 billion in the third quarter, bringing year-to-date investment decisions to over €4.1 billion.
The company's total share buyback program amounts to €4 billion through the end of 2028, with the accelerated €1 billion tranche representing the first phase of this initiative.
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