Air Liquide stock trades around €169 as 2026 growth and dividend support valuation
Published on 08/14/2026 at 15:44 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Air Liquide stock (ISIN FR0000120628) is quoted close to €169 on Euronext Paris as of August 13, 2026, with recent market data showing the shares at €169.54 during European trading and a double-digit gain since the start of the year.
2026 price performance and valuation markers
Market data from a same-day quote snapshot list Air Liquide at €169.54 on August 13, 2026, implying a daily move of -0.47 percent during the session and reflecting normal volatility around the current level href='https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AI.PA/' title='Yahoo Finance quote page for AI.PA'>Yahoo Finance quote page for AI.PA. Trailing total return figures as of August 13, 2026, show a year-to-date gain of 18.88 percent for the shares, substantially ahead of the 6.58 percent return recorded by the CAC 40 index over the same period href='https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AI.PA/' title='Yahoo Finance performance data for AI.PA'>Yahoo Finance performance data for AI.PA. For investors, this performance gap underlines that Air Liquide has been a clear outperformer in its home market so far in 2026.
The same dataset places the company’s market capitalization at $109.12 billion as of August 10, 2026, giving a sense of the group’s scale among global industrial gas suppliers href='https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AI.PA/' title='Yahoo Finance key statistics for AI.PA'>Yahoo Finance key statistics for AI.PA. At the current price level, consensus valuation metrics compiled by a financial data portal point to a 2026 price-earnings ratio of 26.8 times earnings and a price-book ratio of 3.76 times equity, alongside an enterprise-value-to-sales multiple of 4.23 href='https://es.marketscreener.com/cotizacion/accion/AIR-LIQUIDE-16412981/finanzas/' title='MarketScreener Spain valuation overview for Air Liquide'>MarketScreener Spain valuation overview for Air Liquide. These ratios indicate that Air Liquide trades at a premium to many traditional heavy industrial names, consistent with its stable cash generation and exposure to higher-growth specialty markets.
Dividend and yield in the 2026 context
Alongside capital gains, Air Liquide continues to offer a cash-return component through dividends. Forward dividend data for the stock show an annualized payout of €3.36 per share associated with a yield of 1.96 percent based on the current trading range as of August 13, 2026 href='https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AI.PA/' title='Yahoo Finance dividend overview for AI.PA'>Yahoo Finance dividend overview for AI.PA. When compared with the year-to-date price increase of 18.88 percent, the yield contribution is modest but adds a recurring income stream on top of the share price appreciation recorded in 2026.
Consensus expectations compiled by a financial portal extend beyond dividends to operating profitability. For the fiscal year ending December 2026, analyst estimates indicate an EBITDA margin of 31.12 percent and an EBIT margin of 21.65 percent, up from 30.23 percent and 20.72 percent estimated for 2025 href='https://es.marketscreener.com/cotizacion/accion/AIR-LIQUIDE-16412981/finanzas/' title='MarketScreener Spain margin estimates for Air Liquide'>MarketScreener Spain margin estimates for Air Liquide. This projected margin expansion suggests that Air Liquide’s underlying profitability is expected to improve in the current year, even as the share price has already built in higher expectations.
Cash flow, capex and 2026 outlook
Analyst models compiled in the same set of estimates point to continued investment and cash generation. For the 2026 fiscal year, capital expenditures are projected at €3.827 billion, slightly below the €3.843 billion figure for 2025 but still higher than the €3.525 billion recorded in 2024, indicating ongoing spending on plant, equipment and growth projects href='https://es.marketscreener.com/cotizacion/accion/AIR-LIQUIDE-16412981/finanzas/' title='MarketScreener Spain capex estimates for Air Liquide'>MarketScreener Spain capex estimates for Air Liquide. Over the same horizon, free cash flow is expected at €2.622 billion in 2026 compared with €2.675 billion in 2025 and €2.797 billion in 2024, reflecting stable but slightly lower net cash generation as investment remains elevated.
Those estimates sit against a long-run history of efficient operations. Historical data for fiscal years 2021 through 2024 show EBITDA margins rising from 27.35 percent in 2023 to 29.18 percent in 2024 and are projected to reach 30.23 percent in 2025 href='https://es.marketscreener.com/cotizacion/accion/AIR-LIQUIDE-16412981/finanzas/' title='MarketScreener Spain historical margin series for Air Liquide'>MarketScreener Spain historical margin series for Air Liquide. On the EBIT side, margins are modeled to increase from 18.36 percent in 2023 to 19.92 percent in 2024 and 20.72 percent in 2025, before moving above 21 percent in 2026. Presenting these historical figures clearly as past data helps frame the current expectations without overstating their immediacy.
Consensus earnings trajectory
On earnings, consensus data indicate that normalized earnings per share for the second quarter of fiscal 2026 are estimated at €3.22, offering a benchmark for the upcoming reporting cycle href='https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AI.PA/' title='Yahoo Finance earnings estimate for Q2 FY26 AI.PA'>Yahoo Finance earnings estimate for Q2 FY26 AI.PA. A separate stock overview notes that Air Liquide delivered GAAP earnings per share of €5.74 and revenue of €27.06 billion in a recent fiscal year, with updated guidance for 2025 and 2026 focused on sustaining growth and profitability href='https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AIQUF' title='Seeking Alpha overview of Air Liquide fundamentals'>Seeking Alpha overview of Air Liquide fundamentals. These figures are best interpreted as historical context and guidance for the medium term rather than current reporting numbers for August 2026.
Taken together, the consensus trajectory points to incremental earnings growth through 2026 supported by margin expansion and steady free cash flow. With the shares trading at a price-earnings multiple of 26.8 times the 2026 earnings estimate and offering a dividend yield of 1.96 percent, Air Liquide’s valuation appears aligned with the expectation that the company will deliver continued earnings and cash-flow growth in its core industrial gas and related businesses href='https://es.marketscreener.com/cotizacion/accion/AIR-LIQUIDE-16412981/finanzas/' title='MarketScreener Spain earnings and valuation table for Air Liquide'>MarketScreener Spain earnings and valuation table for Air Liquide.
Representative business segment: hydrogen and industrial gases
Air Liquide’s core activity centers on supplying oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen and other industrial gases to customers in sectors such as chemicals, metals, healthcare and electronics. Within this portfolio, hydrogen stands out as a representative segment for investors seeking exposure to energy transition themes. The company has been expanding its hydrogen infrastructure and related services to support mobility and industrial decarbonization, complementing its traditional gas contracts with longer-term projects tied to lower-carbon solutions. This mix of established industrial gas supply and newer hydrogen initiatives helps explain why analysts expect EBITDA and EBIT margins to trend higher through 2026, as recurring revenue from long-term contracts intersects with growth projects in higher-value applications.
Closing view on Air Liquide stock
As of August 13, 2026, Air Liquide shares trade at €169.54 on Euronext Paris in regular European hours, with the stock posting an 18.88 percent year-to-date total return and a forward dividend yield of 1.96 percent in euro terms href='https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AI.PA/' title='Yahoo Finance summary for Air Liquide on August 13, 2026'>Yahoo Finance summary for Air Liquide on August 13, 2026. For investors, the combination of solid share price performance, a steady dividend and consensus expectations for margin expansion through fiscal 2026 forms the current backdrop against which Air Liquide stock is being evaluated.
Read more
Further detail on Air Liquide’s strategy, sustainability initiatives and financial performance can be found on the company’s own investor pages and in recent presentations linked from market-data portals that track the stock.
Fact box
Company: Air Liquide S.A.
ISIN: FR0000120628
Ticker: AI
Exchange: Euronext Paris
Price (as of August 13, 2026, 2:24 p.m. CET): €169.54
Market cap: $109.12 billion (as of August 10, 2026)
Sector / Industry: Materials - Industrial gases
Index membership: CAC 40
