Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. vs QUALCOMM, Inc. — how do they compare? Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. trades at $306.02 (market cap $68.88B), while QUALCOMM, Inc. trades at $162.72 (market cap $170.81B). The key difference: QUALCOMM, Inc. is far larger — about 2.5× Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.'s market cap, and Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. pays the higher dividend (2.34%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| APD | QCOM | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $68.88B | $170.81B |
Sector | Basic Materials | Technology |
52-Week High | $314.19 | $251.10 |
52-Week Low | $230.42 | $124.07 |
Enterprise Value | $86.06B | $177.78B |
Dividend Yield | 2.34% | 2.26% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Air Products and Chemicals (APD) trades at $308.18, up 1.56% with strong technical momentum and bullish moving averages. The company has beaten earnings estimates for three consecutive quarters, with Q3 2026 EPS of $3.47 exceeding expectations. Recent positive developments include a major semiconductor supply agreement in Taiwan and raised guidance, though profitability metrics show weakness with negative net income margin and ROE. Analyst consensus remains strongly bullish with a $346 price target representing 12% upside potential.
APD presents a growth opportunity driven by strategic contracts and consistent earnings beats, but faces fundamental challenges with negative profitability and elevated debt levels. The stock's technical strength and institutional support provide near-term momentum, though investors should weigh the disconnect between valuation multiples and current financial performance against the company's long-term growth prospects in industrial gases.
Qualcomm (QCOM) trades at $162.17, down 3.39% on the day, with mixed technical signals showing bearish moving averages but neutral oscillators. The company reported strong revenue of $44.28B in 2025 but saw net income decline to $5.54B, reflecting margin pressures. Recent news highlights Qualcomm's AI and data center expansion efforts, including the 'Dragonfly' AI platform announcement at COMPUTEX 2026, while facing increased competition from Nvidia in the PC chip market.
The outlook remains balanced with a consensus price target of $200.56 suggesting 24% upside, but near-term headwinds include smartphone market softness and margin compression. Long-term growth drivers in automotive and AI inference markets provide opportunity, though execution risks and competitive threats from chip rivals pose challenges for shareholder value.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Since its founding in 1940, Air Products has become one of the leading industrial gas suppliers globally, with operations in 50 countries and 19,000 employees. The company is the largest supplier of hydrogen and helium in the world. It has a unique portfolio serving customers in a number of industries, including chemicals, energy, healthcare, metals, and electronics. Air Products generated $10.3 billion in revenue in fiscal 2021.
Read more on APD →Qualcomm develops and licenses wireless technology and designs chips for smartphones. The company's key patents revolve around CDMA and OFDMA technologies, which are standards in wireless communications that are the backbone of all 3G and 4G networks. The firm is a leader in 5G network technology as well. Qualcomm's IP is licensed by virtually all wireless device makers. The firm is also the world's largest wireless chip vendor, supplying nearly every premier handset maker with leading-edge processors. Qualcomm also sells RF-front end modules into smartphones and chips into automotive and Internet of Things markets.
Read more on QCOM →