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Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

NYSE · Basic Materials
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
APD · Specialty Chemicals
$297.55
▼ -3.52 (-1.17%)
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Insufficient data to generate a complete Graham analysis.
Overall Grade
D
Defensive
D
Enterprising
Profitability D
Gross Profit Margin 31.4%
Operating Margin 24.0%
Net Income Margin -3.3%
Fin. Health D
Years to Pay Off Debt -46.7 yrs
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt -$15.3B
Working Capital $1.6B
Valuation F
Price-to-Book 4.41x
Cash Flow C
Free Cash Flow -$3.8B
Owner Earnings $8.2B
3/7
Graham Score
Speculative
Defensive — Graham's strict criteria (P/B, P/E, dividends, stability)  ·  Enterprising — Profitability & cash flow focused, accepts higher valuations for quality
Metric Explanations
What each dimension measures and where the thresholds come from.
Gross Profit Margin
Revenue minus cost of goods sold. Graham's ≥40% threshold identifies businesses with durable pricing power. Note: software and financial companies naturally exceed this; retailers and manufacturers rarely reach it due to their cost structures.
Operating Margin
Profit after operating costs before interest and taxes. A consistent ≥15% operating margin signals a business with real competitive advantages. Capital-intensive industries (airlines, auto, commodities) rarely hit this threshold due to their structural cost base — compare within industry for context.
Net Income Margin
Bottom-line profit as a percentage of revenue. The ≥20% target reflects Buffett's preference for highly profitable businesses. Financial engineering (buybacks, tax optimisation) can inflate this temporarily — look for consistency across multiple years rather than a single strong result.
Years to Pay Off Debt
Total Debt ÷ Net Income. Lower = stronger balance sheet. Important caveat: utilities, telecoms, REITs, and infrastructure companies carry large structural debt by design — their bond-like cash flows service it comfortably at ratios that would alarm Graham. Compare within sector.
Working Capital vs Long-Term Debt
Working Capital minus Long-Term Debt. Negative results are common and expected in capital-return-focused businesses like Apple, Domino's, and McDonald's — where aggressive buybacks and dividends intentionally reduce book equity. This does not indicate financial distress in high-FCF businesses.
Working Capital
Current Assets minus Current Liabilities. Negative working capital can be a deliberate efficiency strategy in businesses that collect cash before paying suppliers (retailers, fast food franchises, subscription businesses). Assess alongside free cash flow generation for full context.
Price-to-Book
Market price vs book value per share. Rarely below 1.5x for quality businesses today. Intangible assets (brand, software, patents) don't appear on the balance sheet under accounting rules, making P/B artificially high for asset-light companies. Negative P/B indicates book equity has been reduced by buybacks — common in highly profitable capital-return businesses.
Free Cash Flow
Operating cash flow minus capital expenditures. Buffett's most important metric — cash a business actually generates for its owners after maintaining and growing its asset base. Consistently positive FCF is one of the strongest indicators of a durable, well-run business regardless of accounting profits.
Owner Earnings
Net Income + Depreciation & Amortisation − Capital Expenditures. Buffett's preferred measure of a company's true annual earning power — what could theoretically be distributed to owners without impairing the business. More reliable than reported EPS because it accounts for the capital cost of maintaining the business.
Market Cap $66.3B
Enterprise Value $87.0B
P/E (TTM) 31.39
Dividend Yield 2.38%
Exchange NYSE
Gross Profit 31.4%
Operating Margin 24.0%
Net Margin -3.3%
Sector Basic Materials
Industry Specialty Chemicals
Employees 21087
Country United States
About Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. provides atmospheric gases, process and specialty gases, equipment, and related services in the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, India, and internationally. The company produces atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, and argon; process gases, such as hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and syngas; and specialty gases for customers in various industries, including refining, chemical, metals, manufacturing, electronics, energy production, medical, food, chemical and petrochemical manufacturing, oil and gas recovery and processing, and steel and primary metals processing. It also designs and manufactures equipment for air separation, hydrocarbon recovery and purification, natural gas liquefaction, and liquid helium and liquid hydrogen transport and storage. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. was founded in 1940 and is headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Showing Key Metrics
Income Highlights
Metric 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Gross Profit % 31.4% 32.5% 29.9% 26.5% N/A
Operating Margin % 24.0% 24.4% 21.7% 19.0% N/A
Net Income % -3.3% 31.6% 18.3% 17.8% N/A
Diluted EPS -1.77 17.18 10.33 10.14 N/A
Balance Sheet Highlights
Metric 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Total Assets $41.1B $39.6B $32.0B $27.2B N/A
Total Debt $18.4B $15.0B $11.0B $8.3B N/A
Working Capital $1.6B $2.2B $1.3B $2.8B N/A
Years to Pay Debt -46.66 3.92 4.80 3.69 N/A
Cash Flow Highlights
Metric 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Free Cash Flow -$3.8B -$3.1B -$1.4B $304M N/A
Owner Earnings $8.2B $12.1B $8.3B $6.5B N/A
CapEx % of Net Income N/A 177.5% 201.1% 129.7% N/A
These metrics estimate what Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. is worth based on its fundamentals — independent of what the market currently prices it at. Graham's Fair Value and NCAV are conservative floors rooted in 1930s–60s principles. EPV assumes zero growth. None are price targets — they are reference points for judging whether the current price offers a margin of safety.
Graham's Fair Value
N/A (negative EPS)
Margin of Safety
Market Cap ÷ Company Value
1.84

P/B Ratio
4.41
Warren's Owner Earnings
$8.2B
Latest fiscal year
Graham's 7 Criteria
Defensive Investor Checklist
3/7 — Speculative Investor
Adequate Size
$12.0B
vs > $1.5B revenue
Strong Financial Condition
1.38x
vs Current Ratio > 2.0x
Earnings Stability
1 loss years (4 yrs data)
vs No negative EPS years
Dividend Record
2.38%
vs Uninterrupted dividends
Earnings Growth
+69.4% EPS growth
vs > 33% EPS growth
Moderate P/E Ratio
31.4x
vs P/E ≤ 15.0x
Moderate Price-to-Book
4.41x P/B (P/E×P/B: 138.4)
vs P/B ≤ 1.5x | P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5
Graham's 7 Criteria — Explained
What each criterion measures and why it may or may not apply to modern businesses.
✅ Adequate Size — $12.0B vs > $1.5B revenue
Graham required companies large enough to withstand economic downturns. This threshold ($1.5B) is inflation-adjusted from Graham's original $100M — virtually all S&P 500 companies pass this today.
"The minimum size of an enterprise should be not less than $100 million of annual sales."
❌ Strong Financial Condition — 1.38x vs Current Ratio > 2.0x
Current assets must be at least twice current liabilities. Note: highly profitable companies (Apple, Domino's) often run negative or low working capital deliberately — they collect cash fast and stretch payables. A failing score here is not always a warning sign.
"For industrial companies, current assets should be at least twice current liabilities."
❌ Earnings Stability — 1 loss years (4 yrs data) vs No negative EPS years
Graham required uninterrupted positive earnings. Any loss year is a red flag for defensive investors. Growth companies and cyclicals may show occasional losses during investment cycles or downturns without being fundamentally unsound.
"The company should have shown no deficit in the past ten years."
✅ Dividend Record — 2.38% vs Uninterrupted dividends
Graham valued dividends as evidence of financial discipline and shareholder alignment. Many excellent modern businesses (Alphabet, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway) pay no dividend, preferring to reinvest cash at high rates of return. Failing this criterion does not indicate a poor business — it may indicate a high-growth one.
"Some current dividend payments — for at least the past 20 years."
✅ Earnings Growth — +69.4% EPS growth vs > 33% EPS growth
EPS grew from $10.14 to $17.18 over 2 years. Graham's 33% threshold was set over a 10-year period. Measured over fewer years (as here), the bar is proportionally lower. Share buybacks can also inflate EPS growth without reflecting underlying business improvement.
"A minimum increase of at least one-third in per-share earnings over ten years."
❌ Moderate P/E Ratio — 31.4x vs P/E ≤ 15.0x
Graham's 15x P/E threshold was calibrated to 1960s market averages when interest rates were higher. Today's lower rate environment structurally supports higher multiples — the S&P 500 long-run average P/E is now closer to 20–25x. A stock trading at 20x is not automatically speculative in the modern context.
"The price-earnings ratio should be no more than 15 times average earnings."
❌ Moderate Price-to-Book — 4.41x P/B (P/E×P/B: 138.4) vs P/B ≤ 1.5x | P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5
Graham's 1.5x P/B threshold made sense when most company value was tangible. Today, intangible assets — brand, software, patents, network effects — rarely appear on the balance sheet. A high P/B in tech, pharma, or consumer brands often reflects intangible value, not overvaluation. P/FCF or EV/EBITDA are more reliable for asset-light businesses.
"The price should not be more than 1½ times book value. P/E × P/B ≤ 22.5."
Net Current Asset Value
$-80.32
Negative NCAV — liabilities exceed current assets. Common in capital-return businesses (buybacks, debt-funded dividends) and capital-intensive industries. Not automatically a warning sign.
"Buy at two-thirds of net current assets." — Graham
Earnings Power Value
$144.17
Per share, no-growth floor. Compare to current price.
Cash Flow Analysis
Metric 2025 2024 2023 2022 2021
Capital Expenditure % of Net Income N/A 177.5% 201.1% 129.7% N/A
Repurchase of Capital Stock N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Free Cash Flow -$3.8B -$3.1B -$1.4B $304M N/A
Warren's Owner Earnings $8.2B $12.1B $8.3B $6.5B N/A
Peers & Industry
No auto-detected peers for Specialty Chemicals. You can manually compare APD against any stock using the Compare tool.
"The management of a business is its most important single factor — more important than market position, patents, or financial structure."
— Benjamin Graham
Capital Allocation & Alignment
Insider Ownership
1.89%
Low — management has little skin in the game
Return on Equity (ROE)
-2.6%
Weak — poor returns on equity
Return on Assets (ROA)
-1.0%
Poor — assets are not generating adequate returns
Debt Trend YoY
+22.7% YoY
Debt is growing — management is leveraging up
Leadership Team
Eduardo Menezes
CEO & Director
Age 62
Pay: $1,296,209
Melissa Schaeffer
Executive VP & CFO
Age 44
Pay: $1,503,203
Francesco Maione
President of Americas, Helium & Rare Gases
Age 55
Pay: $2,334,098
Megan Britt
Vice President of Investor Relations
Ivo Bols
President of Europe & Africa
Age 64
Top Institutional Holders
Institution % Owned Shares
Vanguard Group Inc 10.02% 22,304,678
Blackrock Inc. 8.13% 18,099,947
Capital International Investors 5.75% 12,792,580
Capital Research Global Investors 5.35% 11,904,537
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co 5.32% 11,840,799
State Street Corporation 4.45% 9,911,504
Dodge & Cox Inc. 4.15% 9,236,610
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO 2.80% 6,237,108
Risk Analysis
Beta (Market Risk)
0.78
Low volatility — more stable than the market
Short Interest
1.7% of float
Low short interest — market is not heavily bearish
Debt-to-Equity
1.02x
Moderate leverage
Current Ratio
1.43x
Adequate liquidity
52-Week Price Range
Low: $229.11 Current: $297.55 High: $307.29
Currently at 88% of 52-week range

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD) fundamental analysis — Overall grade D based on profitability, financial health, valuation and cash flow. Graham's Fair Value: N/A (negative EPS). Gross profit margin: 31.4%. Operating margin: 24.0%. Net margin: -3.3%. Market cap: $66.3B. Sector: Basic Materials. Industry: Specialty Chemicals. Analysis powered by 360investing — free fundamental stock analysis based on Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett principles.

Disclaimer: 360investing is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. All data is sourced from public third-party providers and may be delayed, inaccurate, or incomplete. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Analysis, scores, and valuations are algorithmic and do not represent professional investment recommendations. Always conduct your own due diligence and consult a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decision. Use of this tool constitutes acceptance that 360investing and its operators bear no liability for decisions made based on information presented here.

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