AI tailwinds help Air Liquide clear the bar
Air Liquide posted third quarter sales of €7.3 billion, or $8.1 billion, marking its strongest quarter in almost four years. That beat the €7.1 billion consensus, helped by momentum in the business most exposed to artificial intelligence.
The Paris-listed group is among the three leading industrial-gas providers - alongside Linde and Air Products and Chemicals - and supplies semiconductor manufacturers with process gases and specialty materials.
Electronics growth centered in Asia
Electronics revenue rose 12% on a comparable basis, with most of the lift coming from Asia. Carrier gases - the volumes that keep chip plants running - benefited from new production units starting up and ramping, particularly in China.
The company also pointed to demand for other electronics products from South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan.
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Investing behind chips and returning cash
Air Liquide committed over €170 million in Japan to supply ultra pure gases, saying the spend is meant to "support market momentum in semiconductors and AI." It also noted that AI-focused investment in the electronics unit was almost double the full year 2025 amount after the first nine months of this year.
The company kicked off an initial €1 billion piece of the share repurchase program announced earlier this month, a move aimed at easing pressure from Elliott Investment Management, and it reaffirmed its financial guidance.
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