Applied Digital Corporation vs Essex Property Trust, Inc. — how do they compare? Applied Digital Corporation trades at $30.63 (market cap $8.37B), while Essex Property Trust, Inc. trades at $282.11 (market cap $18.20B). The key difference: Essex Property Trust, Inc. is far larger — about 2.2× Applied Digital Corporation's market cap, and Essex Property Trust, Inc. pays a 3.66% dividend while Applied Digital Corporation pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| APLD | ESS | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $8.37B | $18.20B |
Sector | Technology | Real Estate |
52-Week High | $49.65 | $298.33 |
52-Week Low | $13.89 | $239.61 |
Enterprise Value | $11.87B | $24.80B |
Dividend Yield | — | 3.66% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Applied Digital (APLD) trades at $29.22, up 1.25% with bearish technical signals despite unanimous analyst buy ratings. The company shows explosive revenue growth with Q4 2026 revenue surging 407% to $258.7M but continues posting significant losses with negative profit margins. Recent news highlights $36 billion in contracted AI infrastructure revenue and insider selling activity.
While analyst consensus targets $72.36 (147% upside), the stock faces execution risks from massive capital expenditures, negative cash flow, and challenging profitability metrics. The AI infrastructure build-out offers substantial growth potential but requires careful monitoring of financing needs and construction timelines.
ESS trades at $288.1, up 1.05% daily, with a neutral technical signal and support near $284. The stock shows strong profitability with a 21.48% net margin and recent Q2 2026 earnings miss on EPS but beat on FFO, leading to raised full-year guidance. Revenue growth is steady, reaching $1.89B in 2025, though net income declined to $670M from $742M in 2024.
Outlook is cautiously optimistic with a consensus price target of $305.86, implying ~6% upside. Risks include high debt levels (debt-to-asset ratio of 51.92% in 2024) and regional economic exposure. Analyst sentiment is mixed with 40% buy ratings, but institutional interest grew with Amundi increasing its stake in Q1 2026.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Applied Digital provides high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure and cloud services. It designs and operates data centers tailored for AI, machine learning, and other intensive digital workloads across North America.
Read more on APLD →Essex Property Trust owns a portfolio of 253 apartment communities with over 62,000 units and is developing three additional properties with 571 units. The company focuses on owning large, high-quality properties on the West Coast in the urban and suburban submarkets of Southern California, Northern California, and Seattle.
Read more on ESS →