MMarketMath

APD

StalwartQuality: Low (38/100)2 red flags

Air Products · Materials · Industrial Gases

$306.24

52w 229.11 – 314.87

20y monthly, adjusted

Mkt cap

$68.2B

P/E

P/FCF

FCF yield

-5.5%

ROE

-2.6%

Shldr yield

2.3%

div 2.3% + bb 0.0%

Historical multiple lens

At its own median P/OCF of 10.5× across 19 years, APD would trade near $153/share (25th–75th percentile: $117–$236); it trades at 20.9× today.

Assumes the historical multiple regime persists — re-ratings can be permanent.

Growth record

Compound annual growth rates from as-filed 10-K data, split-adjusted

Rev 3y

−1.8%

Rev 5y

+6.3%

Rev 10y

+4.4%

EPS 5y

EPS 10y

FCF 5y

FCF 10y

Fundamentals

Fiscal 2007–2025, from SEC filings

Revenue

2007: $9.1B
2008: $10.4B
2009: $8.3B
2010: $8.6B
2011: $9.7B
2012: $9.6B
2013: $10.2B
2014: $10.4B
2015: $7.8B
2016: $7.5B
2017: $8.2B
2018: $8.9B
2019: $8.9B
2020: $8.9B
2021: $10.3B
2022: $12.7B
2023: $12.6B
2024: $12.1B
2025: $12.0B
$0$5.0B$10.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Net income

2007: $1.0B
2008: $909.7M
2009: $631.3M
2010: $1.0B
2011: $1.2B
2012: $1.2B
2013: $994.2M
2014: $991.7M
2015: $1.3B
2016: $631.1M
2017: $3.0B
2018: $1.5B
2019: $1.8B
2020: $1.9B
2021: $2.1B
2022: $2.3B
2023: $2.3B
2024: $3.8B
2025: −$394.5M
$0$2.0B
07
11
15
19
23

Free cash flow

2007: $486.7M
2008: $573.7M
2009: $150.3M
2010: $533.7M
2011: $443.9M
2012: $244.1M
2013: $28.9M
2014: $827.4M
2015: $884.6M
2016: $1.4B
2017: $1.5B
2018: $978.8M
2019: $980.2M
2020: $755.7M
2021: $871.0M
2022: $244.1M
2023: −$1.4B
2024: −$3.1B
2025: −$3.8B
−$2.0B$0
07
11
15
19
23

Diluted shares (lower is better)

2007: 223.2M
2008: 219.2M
2009: 213.5M
2010: 217.1M
2011: 217.6M
2012: 214.7M
2013: 212.3M
2014: 215.2M
2015: 217.3M
2016: 218.3M
2017: 219.8M
2018: 220.8M
2019: 221.6M
2020: 222.3M
2021: 222.5M
2022: 222.5M
2023: 222.7M
2024: 222.8M
2025: 222.7M
0100.0M200.0M
07
11
15
19
23

Margins

-25%0%25%07101316192225
Net marginFCF marginGross margin

Capital returned (dividends + buybacks)

2007: $887.2M
2008: $1.1B
2009: $373.3M
2010: $398.7M
2011: $1.1B
2012: $568.0M
2013: $1.0B
2014: $627.7M
2015: $677.5M
2016: $721.2M
2017: $787.9M
2018: $897.8M
2019: $994.0M
2020: $1.1B
2021: $1.3B
2022: $1.4B
2023: $1.5B
2024: $1.6B
2025: $1.6B
$0$500.0M$1.0B$1.5B
07
11
15
19
23

Cash vs long-term debt

$0$10.0B07101316192225
CashLT debt

Quarterly

Discrete quarters from 10-Q filings; Q4 derived as fiscal year minus Q1–Q3. OCF is unwound from the year-to-date figures 10-Qs report. Compare to the same quarter a year ago — most businesses are seasonal.

Revenue by quarter

Q3'23: $3.0B
Q4'23: $3.2B
Q1'24: $3.0B
Q2'24: $2.9B
Q3'24: $3.0B
Q4'24: $3.2B
Q1'25: $2.9B
Q2'25: $2.9B
Q3'25: $3.0B
Q4'25: $3.2B
Q1'26: $3.1B
Q2'26: $3.2B
Q3'26: $3.2B
$0$1.0B$2.0B$3.0B
23
24
25
25
26

Net income by quarter

Q3'23: $595.6M
Q4'23: $692.6M
Q1'24: $609.3M
Q2'24: $572.4M
Q3'24: $696.6M
Q4'24: $1.9B
Q1'25: $617.4M
Q2'25: −$1.7B
Q3'25: $713.8M
Q4'25: $4.9M
Q1'26: $678.2M
Q2'26: $710.4M
Q3'26: −$1.4B
−$1.0B$0$1.0B
23
24
25
25
26
QuarterRevenueYoYNet incomeYoYEPSOCF
Q3'26$3.2B+4.6%−$1.4B−301.8%-6.47$1.3B
Q2'26$3.2B+8.8%$710.4M3.19$1.1B
Q1'26$3.1B+5.8%$678.2M+9.8%3.04$900.7M
Q4'25 *$3.2B−0.6%$4.9M−99.7%0.03$1.3B
Q3'25$3.0B+1.2%$713.8M+2.5%3.20$855.8M
Q2'25$2.9B−0.5%−$1.7B−402.3%-7.77$328.1M
Q1'25$2.9B−2.2%$617.4M+1.3%2.77$811.7M
Q4'24 *$3.2B−0.1%$1.9B+181.5%8.75$957.0M
Q3'24$3.0B−1.6%$696.6M+17.0%3.13$1.3B
Q2'24$2.9B−8.4%$572.4M+30.2%2.57$801.7M
Q1'24$3.0B−5.6%$609.3M+6.5%2.73$626.6M
Q4'23 *$3.2B−10.6%$692.6M+18.8%3.12$1.0B
Q3'23$3.0B−4.9%$595.6M+2.3%2.67$845.4M

Track record

Compound annual growth by period. For debt and share count, negative is the good direction.

Series3y5y10y15y
Revenue−1.8%+6.3%+4.4%+2.3%
Operating cash flow+0.9%−0.0%+4.8%+5.2%
Free cash flow−37.1%−30.3%0.0%−4.5%
EPS (diluted)+22.1%+16.7%+14.1%+12.4%
Equity+4.6%+4.5%+7.6%+6.9%
LT debt+40.0%+19.9%+16.2%+11.1%
Diluted shares+0.0%+0.0%+0.2%+0.2%
Stock price+3.8%+5.2%+10.5%+12.6%

$100, 3 years ago

$112vs $176 in SPY

3.8% vs 20.7%/yr

$100, 5 years ago

$129vs $181 in SPY

5.2% vs 12.6%/yr

$100, 10 years ago

$272vs $412 in SPY

10.5% vs 15.2%/yr

$100, 15 years ago

$590vs $813 in SPY

12.6% vs 15.0%/yr

The $1 test — market value created per $1 of earnings retained (Buffett's hurdle: at least $1)

Last 5 years

$-0.12

−$344.1M created / $2.8B retained

Last 10 years

$4.45

$31.5B created / $7.1B retained

Quality & capital discipline

Cash-based returns and how management deploys capital

Cash ROIC

10.0%

OCF ÷ (equity + debt)

OCF / EV yield

3.9%

MC vs 10× OCF

2.09

≤1 = priced under 10× OCF

Debt / FCF

SBC / FCF

Owner earnings

−$3.8B

OCF − capex − SBC

OE yield

-5.7%

Share count 5y

−0.0%

per year; negative = buybacks

Capital intensity

210.5%

net PP&E ÷ revenue

Sales efficiency

$4.20

new PP&E per $1 new revenue, 5y

Growth engine (5y): reinvested 101.6% of operating cash flow at an incremental return of -0.0% — an organically fundable growth rate of about -0.0% per year (growth ≈ reinvestment rate × incremental ROIC).

Checklist

7 of 18 checks pass · 39%. Checks with structurally missing inputs are excluded.

Growth & Consistency

2/5

  • Revenue growth

    6.3% · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    pass
  • EPS growth

    · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    na
  • FCF growth

    · 5y CAGR ≥ 5%

    na
  • Revenue rises consistently

    4 of 9 · up in ≥ 7 of last 10 years

    fail
  • FCF consistently positive

    7 of 10 · positive in ≥ 8 of last 10 years

    fail
  • Profitable every year

    9 of 10 · net income > 0 in ≥ 8 of last 10

    pass
  • Cash flow keeps up with sales

    -0.0% vs 6.3% · OCF CAGR ≥ 0.9× revenue CAGR

    fail

Profitability

1/6

  • Net margin

    -3.3% · ≥ 8%

    fail
  • Operating margin

    -7.3% · ≥ 10%

    fail
  • Gross margin stable or rising

    · no drop > 2 pts over 3y

    na
  • Return on equity

    -2.6% · ≥ 12%

    fail
  • Cash ROIC

    10.0% · ≥ 12%

    fail
  • FCF margin

    -31.3% · ≥ 5%

    fail
  • Earnings back their cash

    OCF $3.3B vs NI −$394.5M · OCF ≥ net income (latest FY)

    pass

Balance Sheet

2/3

  • Debt payable from cash flow

    · LT debt ≤ 3× FCF

    na
  • Cash cushion

    11% · cash ≥ 50% of LT debt

    fail
  • Leverage

    1.18 · LT debt ≤ 1.5× equity

    pass
  • Equity positive and compounding

    $15.0B · equity > 0 and grew over ~5y

    pass
  • Interest burden

    -24% · interest ≤ 15% of operating income

    na

Capital Allocation

1/2

  • Share count flat or shrinking

    -0.0% · ≤ +0.5%/yr over ~5y

    pass
  • Stock comp restrained

    · SBC ≤ 15% of FCF

    na
  • Distributions funded by FCF

    · dividends + buybacks ≤ 100% of FCF

    na
  • Repurchases are a habit

    0 of 10 · buybacks in ≥ 5 of last 10 years

    fail

Valuation Discipline

1/2

  • FCF yield

    -5.5% · ≥ 3%

    fail
  • Earnings multiple

    · P/E ≤ 25

    na
  • Price asks less than history delivered

    · implied FCF growth ≤ historical FCF CAGR

    na
  • Shareholder yield

    2.3% · dividends + buybacks ≥ 2% of market cap

    pass

Red flags

Mechanical checks — a flag is a question to investigate, not a verdict

Negative free cash flow

Operating cash flow did not cover capital expenditures in the latest fiscal year.

Net loss

The company reported a net loss in the latest fiscal year.

Financial data

As filed in 10-Ks; per-share figures split-adjusted. $ in millions.

FYRevenueGross profitOp incomeNet incomeEPSOCFCapExFCFDividendsBuybacksSBCCashLT debtEquityShares
202512,037-877-395-1.773,2577,023-3,7661,584761,85617,66415,025223
202412,1014,4663,82817.183,6476,797-3,1501,565622,98014,14417,037223
202312,6002,4952,30010.333,2064,626-1,4211,497601,61710,04614,313223
202212,6992,3392,25610.143,1712,9272441,383482,7116,43413,144223
202110,3232,2812,0999.433,3352,4648711,257454,4696,87613,540223
20208,8562,9982,2381,8878.493,2652,5097561,104545,2537,13312,080222
20198,9192,9142,1441,7607.942,9701,990980994412,2492,90711,054222
20188,9302,7411,9661,4986.782,5471,568979898392,7912,96710,858221
20178,1882,4361,4403,00013.652,5281,0401,489788403,2743,40210,086220
20167,5042,3271,5356312.892,2599081,351721311,2934,9187,080218
20157,8242,9561,2331,2785.882,0471,1628856780401833,9497,249217
201410,4392,8041,3399924.612,1901,3638276280443374,8257,366215
201310,1802,7081,3249944.681,5531,52429566462444505,0567,042212
20129,6122,5601,2821,1675.441,7651,52124451553444544,5846,477215
20119,6742,5751,5081,2245.631,7531,309444457649454213,9285,796218
20108,6162,5231,2681,0294.741,5229895343990493743,6605,547217
20098,2562,2148466312.961,3291,1791503730604883,7164,792214
200810,4151,4969104.151,6591,085574349793611043,5155,031219
20079,1481,3761,0364.641,5001,01348731257571415,496223

Some concepts are structurally absent for certain industries (banks report no gross profit or capex). Missing ≠ zero.