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Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (APD)

Basic Materials Balanced

Air Products is a global giant that supplies essential industrial gases like oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen to factories and energy projects worldwide.

$294.89

Is Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. a good stock for a UK beginner?

The honest version: Air Products is a global giant that supplies essential industrial gases like oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen to factories and energy projects worldwide.

No rating · no target price · nothing for sale here
Price+2.6%
Priced in USD - as a UK investor your £ return also moves with the pound-to-dollar exchange rate, on top of the share price itself.
52-week range-0% past year
$294.89
Low $229.11High $314.87
Where today's price sits versus its past year - context, not a signal.
If you had put $1,000 into Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
$1,026+3%

Over about 2 years to 2026-07-31. This is the share price only - reinvesting the dividends would add to it. And it's the USD return - as a UK investor your actual £ return also moves with the exchange rate. Past performance is not a guide to the future, and it could just as easily have fallen.

Market cap: The company's total value on the stock market - share price times the number of shares. Big = 'large-cap', small = 'small-cap'.
$65.67B
Avg volume: How many shares change hands on a typical day. Higher means it's easy to buy or exit without moving the price.
1.30M
Day range: The lowest and highest price the shares traded at during the latest day.
$291.38 – $301.75
52-week range: The lowest and highest the shares have traded over the past year - a sense of how wide the swings have been.
$229.11 – $314.87
Dividend yield: The yearly dividend as a percentage of the share price - roughly the income you'd earn from dividends alone.
2.5%
Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down.
0.74
How bumpy is it?Beta: How bumpy the share price is versus the whole market. Above 1 swings more than the market; below 1 is calmer. It's about the ride, not whether it goes up or down. 0.74
Calm
Wild
Steadier than most

Based on beta - how much the price swings versus the whole market. Bumpier isn't bad; it just means a rougher ride, which matters more the sooner you might need the money.

Why has it been moving?▼ -1% past week · ▼ -0% past year

Prices move on results, news and the mood of the whole market - no single headline explains a day, and a quiet week is usually just noise, not a signal.

The bull case

Hydrogen becomes a dominant fuel source, cementing the company's market lead.

The bear case

Technological shifts make their hydrogen strategy less relevant or profitable.

What does Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. do?

Think of Air Products as the invisible backbone of industry; they pipe gases into steel mills, refineries, and food processing plants. They make money through long-term contracts that act like a steady utility bill for their customers. One area to follow closely is their massive investment in 'green hydrogen' projects, which aims to turn them into a leader in the clean energy transition.

VQGMI
Factor profile

On our factor screen it looks strongest on momentum and income, and weakest on quality.

Value: How cheap the stock looks versus profits, sales and assets (higher = cheaper). 28Quality: How profitable and financially healthy the company is (higher = stronger). 21Growth: How fast revenue and earnings are growing (higher = faster). 28Momentum: How the share price has been trending recently (higher = stronger recent run). 60Income: The dividend income on offer and how sustainable it looks (higher = more/steadier). 48
Quick checks
What's strong
  • Essential business model with long-term, stable contracts
  • Strong position in the growing clean energy and hydrogen market
  • Consistent history of paying dividends to shareholders
What to watch
  • Value screens low (28/100)
  • Quality screens low (21/100)
  • Growth screens low (28/100)
  • Significant execution risk on large-scale, complex hydrogen projects
  • Regulatory changes affecting energy subsidies or environmental standards

What do Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.'s numbers mean?

P/E
31.6
This shows how much you are paying for every pound of the company's profit; a higher number suggests investors expect significant growth in the future.
Dividend yield
2.4%
This represents the annual cash payout to shareholders as a percentage of the share price, acting like a regular income stream.
Beta
0.7
This measures how much the share price tends to wobble compared to the wider market; a number below 1 suggests it is generally less jumpy than average.

How much money does Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. make?

Revenue and profit by quarter, and how much of each sale turns into profit.

RevenueNet income
$0$792.95M$1.59B$2.38B$3.17BQ2 25Q3 25Q4 25Q1 26Q2 26
Gross margin
32.1%
Net margin
-0.4%
Return on equity
0.0%

Does Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. pay a dividend?

Yes - Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. currently pays a dividend of about 2.5% a year (the yearly payout as a share of the price). A dividend is a slice of profit handed to shareholders; the yield moves as the price moves, and a company can cut or stop it.

More in Basic Materials

CF IndustriesNewmontEndeavour MiningFresnilloNucorSteel Dynamics, Inc.Freeport-McMoRan Inc.Corteva, Inc.

What are the scenarios for Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.?

An illustrative range for the year ahead, with the assumption behind each case — not a prediction or a price target.

$331$295$230today · $295▲ Bull · $317• Base · $295▼ Bear · $273in 1 yearILLUSTRATIVE · NOT A PREDICTION OR PRICE TARGET
Bull
+5% to +10%Stronger demand for industrial gases as manufacturing activity picks up.
Base
-2% to +2%Steady performance in line with current long-term contracts.
Bear
-5% to -10%A slowdown in global industrial production reducing gas consumption.

What are the pros and cons of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.?

3bull points
6bear points

How many points the write-up makes each way — a balance check, not a score or verdict.

The bull case3
  • Essential business model with long-term, stable contracts
  • Strong position in the growing clean energy and hydrogen market
  • Consistent history of paying dividends to shareholders
The catch3
  • High capital costs required for new energy infrastructure
  • Exposure to cyclical industrial sectors that can slow down
  • Valuation is relatively high compared to some traditional industrial peers
Key risks3
  • Significant execution risk on large-scale, complex hydrogen projects
  • Regulatory changes affecting energy subsidies or environmental standards
  • Rising interest rates increasing the cost of funding massive projects
What would flip the thesis

The write-up's own warning lights — if these start happening, the case above changes.

Confidence: medium · data: USD · flags: pe, earnings_growth · Charts by TradingView Lightweight Charts™
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Built from public filings & market prices, checked for an education-only tone, and never a price target. How we make these →

This plain-English summary was auto-generated on 2026-08-01 from public data and checked for an education-only, no-advice tone (the figures above carry their own, usually fresher, 'as of' date). It's information, never a recommendation.

Figures as of 2026-08-01. Prices may be delayed and numbers can go stale - always double-check before acting.