ALTO vs APD Stock Comparison

Alto Ingredients and Air Products & Chemicals Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALTO Alto Ingredients, Inc.
$3.61 -3.2% 1M +234.3% 1Y
Market cap
$276.46M
P/E
5.5x
Revenue (TTM)
$943.33M
Div. yield
–
Specialty Chemicals Basic Materials
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Alto Ingredients leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (Alto Ingredients 5, Air Products & Chemicals 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALTOAPDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $276.46M $68.08B APD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 5.5x -1,439x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 9.8x 21.9x ALTO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +1.1% +4.5% APD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 5.4% -0.4% ALTO
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 0.0% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 17.4x ALTO
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.02% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +234.3% +20.5% ALTO
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -8.8%/yr +1.1%/yr APD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 86.5% 26.3% APD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 85/100 38/100 ALTO

Percentile Scorecard

ALTOAPD

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisALTOAPD
Valuation 100 #1 of 94 18 #77 of 94
Growth 96 #5 of 92 43 #53 of 92
Profitability 66 #31 of 89 50 #45 of 89
Financial Health 79 #21 of 97 20 #78 of 97
Shareholder Returns – 59 #29 of 70
Overall 85 38
  • ALTO ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • APD ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodALTOAPDSPY
1 month -3.2%+6.9% -1.0%
3 months -22.2%+3.0% +2.9%
6 months -32.1%+1.8% +6.4%
Year to date +25.3%+24.3% +11.4%
1 year +234.3%+20.5% +13.1%
3 years -7.0%+10.8% +79.4%
3 years, per year -2.4%+3.5% +21.5%
5 years -37.0%+5.4% +67.7%
5 years, per year -8.8%+1.1% +10.9%
10 years -51.5%+128.4% +255.2%
10 years, per year -7.0%+8.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureALTOAPDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 86.5%26.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 68.1%24.5% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.280.07 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 2.710.78 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -89.1%-33.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -39.7%-2.3% -2.5%
52-week high $5.99$314.19 $779.14
52-week low $1.01$230.76 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleALTOAPD
P/E now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 21.5x -1,446xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 0.3xmedian 1.4x 5.4xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 12.4x 89.3xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median 5.6xmedian 15.5x -226.9xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 1.6x 4.1xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 0.14median 1.70 54.70median 1.70

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsALTOAPD
Revenue $943.33M $12.60B
Gross profit $64.51M $4.04B
Operating income $35.61M -$593.10M
Net income $51.99M -$19.70M
Free cash flow $49.94M -$301.40M
R&D – $90.80M
EPS (diluted) $0.66 $-0.21
Cash & equivalents $23.96M $980.50M
Total debt $60.47M $17.48B
Shares (diluted) 77.07M 222.80M
Enterprise value $176.26M $63.27B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricALTOAPD
P/E 5.4x -1,446x
P/FCF 5.6x -226.9x
P/Operating cash flow 4.3x 15.0x
P/S 0.3x 5.4x
P/B 1.1x 4.1x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 4.2x
EV/EBITDA 5.1x 89.3x
EV/EBIT 8.9x -143.1x
EV/Revenue 0.3x 6.7x
EV/FCF 6.3x -281.6x
EV/Operating cash flow 4.9x 18.6x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.14 54.70

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALTOAPD
Revenue growth (1Y) 1.1% 4.5%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -10.1% -1.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 7,720% 5.1%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 63.6% 2.7%
Operating income growth (1Y) 162.4% -138.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 37.3% -31.0%
Net income growth (1Y) 177.8% -101.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 40.6% -26.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 172.1% -103.1%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 39.5% -26.4%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 731.1% 54.8%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 63.4% 13.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 481.7% 93.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 38.9% 27.5%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALTOAPD
Gross margin 6.8% 32.1%
EBITDA margin 6.6% 7.5%
Operating margin 3.8% -4.7%
Pretax margin 5.4% -0.7%
Net margin 5.4% -0.4%
FCF margin 5.3% -2.4%
Operating cash flow margin 6.9% 36.3%
Return on equity 20.2% 0.0%
Return on assets 13.1% 0.0%
Return on invested capital – 0.0%
Return on capital employed 10.4% -1.6%
Asset turnover 2.4x 0.3x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.3x -232.0x
Stock comp / revenue 0.3% 0.4%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALTOAPD
Debt / assets 15.2% 43.2%
Debt / equity 0.2x 1.1x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.6x 17.4x
Debt / FCF 1.2x -58.0x
Liabilities / assets 34.6% 59.0%
Equity / assets 65.4% 41.0%
Interest coverage 3.8x -2.7x
Current ratio 3.2x 1.1x
Quick ratio 1.8x 0.6x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.2x
Altman Z-score 1.42 2.56

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALTOAPD
Dividend yield – 2.4%
Net buyback yield – –
Shareholder yield – 2.4%
Payout ratio (earnings) – -8,114%
Payout ratio (FCF) – -530.3%
Dividend growth (1Y) – 1.2%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – 2.9%

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusALTOAPD
Forward P/E 9.8xFY2026 21.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.37FY2026 $14.01FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +131.3%FY2026 +16.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -16.2% +5.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.00BFY2026 $12.02BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.1%FY2026 -0.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +1.1% +8.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALTOAPD
Held by institutions 46.3% 91.2%
Institutions holding 134 1,772
Change in shares held, QoQ +14.2% +2.0%
Institutions buying 97 745
Institutions selling 25 722
Buyers to sellers 3.88 1.03

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ALTOAPD
ALTO 1.00 0.16
APD 0.16 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALTO and APD?

Air Products & Chemicals (APD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) $276.46M, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) $68.08B.

Which company is growing faster?

Air Products & Chemicals (APD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) +1.1%, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) +4.5%.

Which company is more profitable?

Alto Ingredients (ALTO) has the highest net margin (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 5.4%, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) -0.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Alto Ingredients (ALTO) returned the most: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) +234.3%, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) +20.5%. Over five years, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) compounded fastest (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) -8.8%/yr, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) +1.1%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 0.00%, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) 0.02%. Alto Ingredients (ALTO) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) has been the steadiest (Alto Ingredients (ALTO) 86.5%, Air Products & Chemicals (APD) 26.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do ALTO and APD move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.16, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, ALTO and APD?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Alto Ingredients (ALTO) leads on 5. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.