Jul. 31 at 4:08 PM
$LIN — In May, management described Lincare as a contained headwind from a specific policy change, expected to last a few quarters. By July, the pruning had "simply not been enough," the Q2 drag came in ~
$40M (30% above analyst estimates), and a parallel track was opened: strategic evaluation of whether the business belongs in the portfolio, in part or in full, with an annual run-rate drag now estimated at ~
$130M.
Against that: the electronics backlog hit
$8.1B mid-year, ahead of the year-end
$8 handle called in May, with another
$800M in Taiwan JV wins sitting off the balance sheet entirely.
The margin commitment moved from a quantified full-year target (40–60 bps, "upper end or above") to a sequential, near-term promise.
Helium normalization pushed to early next year.
Woodside's nitrogen startup, expected mid-year in May, goes unconfirmed in July.
#TheGapReport
[LIN performance since the last report: -5.64% (11:54)]
