Cleantech Shows Strength: A Look at Nordex, Pure One, and Linde

Nordex: Homework done

High revenue is great, but if margins disappoint, investors take flight! For many years, Nordex fell into this category. While the industry was growing, competition remained fierce. But Nordex now appears to have turned the corner for good. The figures for the first quarter of 2026, presented at the end of April, underscore the operational turnaround. Group revenue jumped by 10.6% to around EUR 1.59 billion. Earnings saw a veritable explosion: EBITDA rose 64.3% to EUR 130.7 million. With an EBITDA margin of 8.2%, the company is now in a very solid position. Net profit stood at EUR 53.6 million, a massive increase from the meagre EUR 7.9 million in the same period last year.

One downside was the 14% decline in order intake in the Projects segment. However, the pricing environment remained stable. The main drivers of orders were Germany, Turkey, and Sweden. The total order backlog is robust at EUR 17 billion, corresponding to nearly two years of revenue. Management has confirmed its guidance for the full year 2026: Revenue is expected to land between EUR 8.2 and 9 billion, with the EBITDA margin ranging from 8% to 11%. Margins are expected to rise further in the medium term. In addition to volume growth in Europe and North America, the highly profitable service business (19% margin in Q1) is set to play a more significant role. A turnaround in distributions is also expected. From 2027 onwards, Nordex may initiate either dividend payments or share buybacks.

Despite the turnaround in 2025 and the confirmation in this first quarter, analysts have not yet fully warmed up to the stock. The stock has roughly quadrupled since the beginning of last year. Market observers repeatedly emphasize the cyclical nature of the business. Yet the net cash position of EUR 1.5 billion speaks volumes. Price targets range from skeptics such as RBC (EUR 35) to optimists such as Berenberg (EUR 50) and Goldman Sachs (EUR 49.60). One thing is clear: the stock is no longer particularly cheap in the short term. However, the market is currently signalling a great deal of stability. On a sell-off day like last Friday, Nordex lost only about 1%.

Pure One: The Pure Hydrogen Play

The hype surrounding hydrogen stocks may seem new to investors who have been active in the stock market for only a few years. But the first companies went public as early as the 1990s. A good 30 years later, these companies are now on the verge of a breakthrough. Pure One is one of the pioneers in Australia, though with global ambitions. The company currently has a market capitalization of around AUD 25 million and, according to analysts, offers tremendous upside potential. If management successfully implements its plans, the stock should be trading in entirely different territory in a few years.

Pure One's largest and most promising business segment is Zero-Emission Mobility (HDrive International). This is the core of its operational business and the biggest revenue driver. Through its majority stake in HDrive International, Pure One operates as a provider of heavy-duty commercial vehicles. Unlike its competitors, Pure One is extremely frugal with shareholders' capital. The company develops the vehicles from the ground up and has them assembled by Wisdom Motor in China—a sort of Foxconn for trucks and buses. The fuel cell, in turn, is sourced from North America.

Orders should now start coming in. For instance, the first garbage trucks have been delivered to JJ's Waste & Recycling. The potential is huge, as this Australian utility alone operates a fleet of over 2,000 vehicles. With Solo Resource Recovery, the company has another major Australian partner on board, though the vehicles are currently still in the testing phase. Testing is also underway with major corporations such as PepsiCo and Barwon Water. The product range also includes various buses, refrigerated trucks, and forklifts. Pure One is now expanding its sales network with partners in its home market, as well as in North America and Southeast Asia. In Australia, the company is also working on expanding a decentralized network of refuelling stations. Last but not least, the company is working to address long charging times. To this end, Pure One is focusing on battery swapping to avoid hours of downtime at charging stations.

Analysts at Trim Capital see significant potential in the stock and have set a price target of AUD 0.557. That is roughly nine times the current price. The research firm expects revenue to skyrocket to nearly AUD 39 million starting in fiscal year 2027, at which point the company will also turn a pre-tax profit for the first time. They are banking primarily on the business model's supply chain efficiencies and on greater global acceptance of electric commercial vehicles (BEVs) and hydrogen trucks in the heavy-duty transport sector. However, the high oil price is also currently providing a tailwind, making the products more competitive. For Trim Capital, though, the key growth driver is the transition from test fleets to binding large-scale orders for hydrogen-powered garbage trucks and heavy-duty trucks. Financially, Pure One can also rely on various stock packages it holds. This should keep shareholder dilution in check.

Linde: Not a Cyclical, But a Margin Giant

Investors and analysts often categorize industrial stocks as cyclical. As soon as the economic engine stutters, these stocks often get dumped from portfolios. But there are welcome exceptions: companies that have built a moat over years and decades that competitors find difficult to overcome. This also applies to Linde, once a flagship German industrial group that was ultimately relocated to the US under management decisions. Today, the stock is primarily traded in New York.

The company possesses one of the deepest and most stable economic moats in the entire global industry. This is essentially based on four main pillars. First, Linde often builds its gas plants directly on or adjacent to the factory grounds of its major customers—that is, in chemical parks, steel mills, or semiconductor factories. The gases are then delivered directly via pipeline, which keeps costs low for Linde. For the customer, switching suppliers would entail significant expenses and operational risks. Companies that build entire pipelines to deliver their product usually have extremely long-term supply contracts, typically ranging from 15 to 20 years. These contracts usually include a so-called take-or-pay clause, meaning the customer must purchase a fixed minimum quantity of gas, even if the factory has less demand. This power, combined with little global competition, gives Linde extreme pricing power. Furthermore, gases often represent only a minor cost factor for customers. When prices are raised, they are generally accepted.

In this way, Linde has established quasi-monopolies in individual industrial regions worldwide. The figures for the first quarter of 2026 show just how strong Linde's market power has become. Revenue rose by 8% year-over-year to USD 8.78 billion. Adjusted operating profit climbed by 8% to USD 2.63 billion. This brought the adjusted operating margin to the magic 30% mark. Linde is thus able to generate nearly one-third of every dollar in revenue as operating profit. Hardly any other company in the world can achieve this.

CEO Sanjiv Lamba raised the full-year forecast slightly. Adjusted EPS is now expected to be between USD 17.60 and USD 17.90. This brings the stock's P/E ratio to an acceptable 24. Since the start of the war in late February, the share has largely traded sideways, with a slight upward trend. Long-term investors should view setbacks like the one in September 2025 as a buying opportunity.

Linde has built up pricing and market power over decades and can therefore generate high margins. Long-term investors can use setbacks as an entry point. Pure One could become the growth champion of the coming years. According to analysts, those who get in early can hope for a tenfold increase in the share price. Nordex is a veteran in the wind business that has successfully made a comeback in terms of profits. The stock is not cheap, but it remains very stable even in the current challenging environment.