APD vs LIN Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
APD is making an aggressive, higher-risk bet on becoming a clean hydrogen leader through massive capital projects, while LIN pursues a more disciplined, diversified global growth strategy with strict capital return hurdles. Both are best-in-class industrial gas operators with different growth philosophies.
APD vs LIN contrasts an industrial gas major making a bold, capital-intensive bet on clean hydrogen against the world's largest, more conservatively managed industrial gas company.
LIN holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. LIN has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+5.49% vs +4.60%), though APD has the better forward P/E setup (20.44x vs 24.40x for LIN). LIN leads on both revenue growth (9.30%) and operating margin (28.12%), suggesting a stronger fundamental setup on both dimensions. Analyst consensus implies similar upside for both: +16.23% for APD and +14.36% for LIN.
- →Want concentrated exposure to the clean hydrogen growth theme
- →Are comfortable with large, multi-year capital project execution risk
- →Value a strong and growing dividend
- →Prefer the largest, most diversified global industrial gas franchise
- →Value disciplined capital allocation and consistent execution
- →Want lower-risk, steady compounding over aggressive growth bets
| Metric | APD | LIN |
|---|---|---|
| AI score | 49.9 | 51.3 |
| AI rank | #489 | #396 |
| Latest close | $294.71 | $484.64 |
| 1M return | -6.20% | -11.34% |
| 6M return | +8.75% | +5.32% |
| 1Y return | +4.60% | +5.49% |
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | APD | LIN |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $10.25K (+2.5%) started 2025-08-04 | $10.37K (+3.7%) started 2025-08-04 |
| 5Y ago | $12.35K (+23.5%) started 2021-08-05 | $17.63K (+76.3%) started 2021-08-05 |
| 10Y ago | $33.4K (+234.0%) started 2016-08-05 | $56.91K (+469.1%) started 2016-08-05 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | APD | LIN |
|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $65.67B | $221.18B |
| Trailing P/E | 31.35 | 30.86 |
| Forward P/E | 20.44 | 24.40 |
| Price/Sales | N/A | N/A |
| EV/Revenue | 6.80 | 6.92 |
| Analyst target | $342.74 | $547.08 |
| Target upside | +16.23% | +14.36% |
| Metric | APD | LIN |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 4.60% | 9.30% |
| Earnings growth | 9.70% | 11.30% |
| EPS growth | +9.70% | +11.30% |
| FCF margin | -29.85% | +11.74% |
| Operating margin | 25.54% | 28.12% |
| Profit margin | -0.38% | 20.43% |
| ROIC proxy | 0.02% | 18.40% |
| Return on equity | 0.02% | 18.40% |
| Dividend yield | 2.46% | 1.34% |
| Beta | 0.74 | 0.72 |
| Debt/equity | 110.09 | 68.95 |
| Current ratio | 1.08 | 0.88 |
| Quick ratio | 0.75 | 0.68 |
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | APD | LIN |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growth | +2.51% | +3.69% |
| CAGR | +2.52% | +3.69% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.06 | 0.05 | |
| Max drawdown | 22.90% | 19.48% | |
| Max daily drop | 9.45% | 5.95% | |
| Max wkly drop | 10.13% | 7.34% | |
| 5Y | Growth | +12.04% | +67.34% |
| CAGR | +2.30% | +10.85% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.05 | 0.38 | |
| Max drawdown | 31.77% | 22.82% | |
| Max daily drop | 15.55% | 6.26% | |
| Max wkly drop | 16.51% | 11.95% | |
| 10Y | Growth | +163.98% | +383.27% |
| CAGR | +10.20% | +17.07% | |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.33 | 0.61 | |
| Max drawdown | 31.77% | 32.59% | |
| Max daily drop | 15.55% | 10.28% | |
| Max wkly drop | 19.77% | 19.59% |
| Category | APD | LIN |
|---|---|---|
| Company | Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. | Linde plc |
| Sector | Basic Materials | Basic Materials |
| Industry | N/A | N/A |
| Core business | Air Products is one of the world's largest industrial gas companies, supplying oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, and other gases to energy, chemicals, and manufacturing customers. It is increasingly investing in clean hydrogen mega-projects. | Linde is the world's largest industrial gas company by revenue, formed through the merger of Linde AG and Praxair, supplying gases globally across healthcare, manufacturing, energy, and electronics end markets. |
| Investor focus | Investors track large-scale clean hydrogen project execution, contract structure (take-or-pay agreements), and capital spending intensity tied to its growth pipeline. | Investors track Linde's disciplined return-on-capital framework, global diversification, and steady project backlog conversion into contracted cash flows. |
- →Long-term take-or-pay contracts provide stable, predictable cash flows
- →Aggressive investment in clean hydrogen positions it for energy-transition demand
- →Strong dividend growth track record
- →Largest global scale in industrial gases with diversified end markets
- →Disciplined capital allocation with strict return-on-capital hurdles
- →Consistent execution and steady earnings growth track record
- →Very large capital commitments to hydrogen mega-projects carry execution risk
- →Project delays or cost overruns could pressure returns on invested capital
- →High capital intensity limits near-term free cash flow
- →Slower, more conservative growth approach than peers chasing hydrogen mega-projects
- →Global economic sensitivity given broad industrial customer base
- →Integration of legacy Linde and Praxair operations remains ongoing
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