Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. vs Western Digital Corp — how do they compare? Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. trades at $308.56 (market cap $68.63B), while Western Digital Corp trades at $444.22 (market cap $151.09B). The key difference: Western Digital Corp is far larger — about 2.2× Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.'s market cap, and Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. pays the higher dividend (2.35%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| APD | WDC | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $68.63B | $151.09B |
Sector | Basic Materials | Technology |
52-Week High | $314.19 | $746.23 |
52-Week Low | $230.42 | $74.66 |
Enterprise Value | $85.80B | $150.56B |
Dividend Yield | 2.35% | 0.14% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Air Products and Chemicals (APD) trades at $303.44, up 1.17% today, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages and recent earnings beats. The stock shows strong analyst support with a consensus price target of $346, though high valuation ratios like a P/E of 30.86 and EV/EBITDA of 50.36 raise concerns. Recent news highlights a major semiconductor supply deal in Taiwan and raised guidance after Q3 2026 results.
The outlook is mixed: positive momentum from contract wins and earnings performance offers upside, but negative net income margins and elevated debt levels pose risks. Investors should weigh growth catalysts against financial leverage and profitability challenges.
WDC trades at $434.3, down 3.81% over 24 hours, with a bearish technical signal as it hovers near the pivot point of $440. The company has shown strong earnings beats in recent quarters, with Q2 2026 EPS of $3.56 surpassing the $3.31 estimate, and maintains robust profitability margins, including a net income margin of 72.95% for 2025. Revenue for 2025 was $9.52B, with a significant turnaround to net income of $1.86B from prior losses, indicating operational recovery amid high cloud demand.
The outlook is mixed, with analyst consensus strongly bullish (72.13% buy ratings) and a price target of $665.15 suggesting substantial upside, but risks include high valuation multiples like a P/E of 17.89 and EV/EBITDA of 29.99, competitive pressures in HDD storage, and recent post-earnings sell-offs due to margin concerns. Investors should weigh the growth potential from AI-driven storage demand against cyclical and valuation headwinds.
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 →Western Digital is a vertically integrated supplier of data storage solutions, spanning both hard disk drives and solid-state drives. In the HDD market it forms a practical duopoly with Seagate, and it is the largest global producer of NAND flash chips for SSDs in a joint venture with competitor Kioxia.
Read more on WDC →