Item 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Linde plc shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (“FSE”) under the ticker symbol “LIN”. At December 31, 2020 there were 8,947 shareholders of record.

Purchases of Equity Securities – Certain information regarding purchases made by or on behalf of the company or any affiliated purchaser (as defined in Rule 10b-18(a)(3) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) of its ordinary shares during the three months ended December 31, 2020 is provided below:

(1)On January 22, 2019 the company’s board of directors approved the repurchase of $6.0 billion of its ordinary shares ("2019 program") which could take place from time to time on the open market (and could include the use of 10b5-1 trading plans), subject to market and business conditions. The 2019 program had a maximum repurchase amount of 15% of outstanding shares and expired on February 1, 2021 and any amounts that remained available under the 2019 program also expired.

(2)As of December 31, 2020, the company repurchased $4.7 billion of its ordinary shares pursuant to the 2019 program, leaving an additional $1.3 billion authorized under the 2019 program.

On January 25, 2021 the company's board of directors approved the repurchase of $5.0 billion of its ordinary shares ("2021 program") which could take place from time to time on the open market (and could include the use of 10b5-1 trading plans), subject to market and business conditions. The 2021 program has a maximum repurchase amount of 15% of outstanding shares, began on February 1, 2021 and expires on July 31, 2023.

Peer Performance Table – The graph below compares the most recent five-year cumulative returns of the common stock of Praxair, the company's predecessor, through October 31, 2018 and Linde's ordinary shares for periods subsequent to October 31, 2018 with those of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index ("SPX") and the S5 Materials Index ("S5MATR") which covers 22 companies, including Linde. The figures assume an initial investment of $100 on December 31, 2015 and that all dividends have been reinvested.