APD vs LIN vs WLKP Stock Comparison

Air Products & Chemicals, Linde and Westlake Chemical Partners Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
LIN Linde Plc
$508.83 +8.3% 1M +13.1% 1Y
Market cap
$234.80B
P/E
32.4x
Revenue (TTM)
$35.45B
Div. yield
0.01%
Industrial Gases Basic Materials
3 wins

Head to Head

12 decided of 12

Westlake Chemical Partners leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Westlake Chemical Partners 8, Linde 3, Air Products & Chemicals 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAPDLINWLKPLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $68.08B $234.80B $744.57M LIN
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -1,439x 32.4x 12.9x WLKP
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 21.9x 30.4x 14.4x WLKP
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +4.5% +6.6% +12.1% WLKP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -0.4% 20.4% 4.7% LIN
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% 10.8% 30.1% WLKP
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 17.4x 1.8x 0.7x WLKP
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.01% 0.09% WLKP
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +20.5% +13.1% +9.4% APD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.1%/yr +10.1%/yr -3.8%/yr LIN
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 26.3% 19.2% 18.7% WLKP
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 38/100 59/100 85/100 WLKP

Percentile Scorecard

APDLINWLKP

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

AxisAPDLINWLKP
Valuation 18 #77 of 94 20 #75 of 94 98 #3 of 94
Growth 43 #53 of 92 66 #32 of 92 56 #41 of 92
Profitability 50 #45 of 89 94 #6 of 89 100 #1 of 89
Financial Health 20 #78 of 97 52 #47 of 97 84 #16 of 97
Shareholder Returns 59 #29 of 70 64 #26 of 70 87 #10 of 70
Overall 38 59 85
  • APD ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • LIN ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals
  • WLKP ranked among 99 companies in Chemicals

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAPDLINWLKPSPY
1 month +6.9%+8.3%-0.9% -1.0%
3 months +3.0%-0.7%-4.5% +2.9%
6 months +1.8%-0.3%-6.3% +6.4%
Year to date +24.3%+19.3%+11.3% +11.4%
1 year +20.5%+13.1%+9.4% +13.1%
3 years +10.8%+38.5%0.0% +79.4%
3 years, per year +3.5%+11.5%0.0% +21.5%
5 years +5.4%+62.0%-17.7% +67.7%
5 years, per year +1.1%+10.1%-3.8% +10.9%
10 years +128.4%+324.4%-6.1% +255.2%
10 years, per year +8.6%+15.6%-0.6% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureAPDLINWLKPSPY
Volatility, 1Y 26.3%19.2%18.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 24.5%19.5%17.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.070.050.22 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.780.680.50 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -33.8%-23.7%-38.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -2.3%-6.9%-10.8% -2.5%
52-week high $314.19$546.64$23.72 $779.14
52-week low $230.76$389.38$17.87 $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.

MultipleAPDLINWLKP
P/E now vs peer median -1,446xmedian 21.5x 32.5xmedian 21.5x 12.9xmedian 21.5x
P/S now vs peer median 5.4xmedian 1.4x 6.6xmedian 1.4x 0.6xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 89.3xmedian 12.4x 19.5xmedian 12.4x 2.2xmedian 12.4x
P/FCF now vs peer median -226.9xmedian 15.5x 47.1xmedian 15.5x 1.8xmedian 15.5x
P/B now vs peer median 4.1xmedian 1.6x 5.8xmedian 1.6x 1.0xmedian 1.6x
PEG now vs peer median 54.70median 1.70 3.07median 1.70 —median 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 monthsAPDLINWLKP
Revenue $12.60B $35.45B $1.23B
Gross profit $4.04B $17.14B $384.80M
Operating income -$593.10M $9.38B $355.62M
Net income -$19.70M $7.26B $334.49M
Free cash flow -$301.40M $4.98B $409.14M
R&D $90.80M $146.00M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.21 $15.59 –
Cash & equivalents $980.50M $4.90B $49.32M
Total debt $17.48B $28.01B $1.60B
Shares (diluted) 222.80M 464.52M –
Enterprise value $63.27B $216.38B $568.75M

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
MetricAPDLINWLKP
P/E -1,446x 32.5x 12.9x
P/FCF -226.9x 47.1x 1.8x
P/Operating cash flow 15.0x 22.4x 1.6x
P/S 5.4x 6.6x 0.6x
P/B 4.1x 5.8x 1.0x
P/Tangible book 4.2x 8.1x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 89.3x 19.5x 2.2x
EV/EBIT -143.1x 27.5x 3.1x
EV/Revenue 6.7x 7.3x 0.9x
EV/FCF -281.6x 51.8x 2.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 18.6x 24.6x 2.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 54.70 3.07 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAPDLINWLKP
Revenue growth (1Y) 4.5% 6.6% 12.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -1.0% 2.3% -3.0%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 5.1% 6.4% 4.8%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 2.7% 5.4% 0.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -138.7% 5.4% 4.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -31.0% 9.0% 0.0%
Net income growth (1Y) -101.2% 8.1% 4.7%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -26.2% 8.2% -0.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -103.1% 10.0% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -26.4% 10.6% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 54.8% 5.8% 48.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 13.1% 6.1% -1.1%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 93.5% -1.9% 67.7%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 27.5% -2.7% -2.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAPDLINWLKP
Gross margin 32.1% 48.3% 31.2%
EBITDA margin 7.5% 37.2% 40.0%
Operating margin -4.7% 26.5% 28.8%
Pretax margin -0.7% 26.4% 27.1%
Net margin -0.4% 20.4% 4.7%
FCF margin -2.4% 14.0% 33.1%
Operating cash flow margin 36.3% 29.6% 37.7%
Return on equity 0.0% 18.3% 42.8%
Return on assets 0.0% 8.4% 27.3%
Return on invested capital 0.0% 10.8% 30.1%
Return on capital employed -1.6% 13.2% 30.1%
Asset turnover 0.3x 0.4x 1.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -232.0x 1.4x 1.4x
Stock comp / revenue 0.4% 0.4% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAPDLINWLKP
Debt / assets 43.2% 31.7% 32.8%
Debt / equity 1.1x 0.7x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 17.4x 1.8x 0.7x
Debt / FCF -58.0x 5.6x 1.0x
Liabilities / assets 59.0% 54.0% 36.8%
Equity / assets 41.0% 46.0% 63.2%
Interest coverage -2.7x 37.4x 16.4x
Current ratio 1.1x 0.9x 3.4x
Quick ratio 0.6x 0.7x 1.9x
Cash ratio 0.2x 0.3x 1.1x
Altman Z-score 2.56 3.97 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAPDLINWLKP
Dividend yield 2.4% 1.2% 8.9%
Net buyback yield – 1.7% –
Shareholder yield 2.4% 3.0% 8.9%
Payout ratio (earnings) -8,114% 39.7% 19.9%
Payout ratio (FCF) -530.3% 57.8% 16.2%
Dividend growth (1Y) 1.2% 5.3% 0.0%
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 2.9% 6.1% 0.0%

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.

ConsensusAPDLINWLKP
Forward P/E 21.9xFY2026 30.4xFY2026 14.4xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $14.01FY2026 $16.76FY2026 $1.47FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +16.5%FY2026 +1.9%FY2026 +6.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +5.3% +14.1% +20.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $12.02BFY2026 $38.84BFY2026 $1.31BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -0.2%FY2026 +14.3%FY2026 +11.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.6% -4.2% +16.9%
APD estimates →LIN estimates →WLKP estimates →

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAPDLINWLKP
Held by institutions 91.2% 85.2% 29.1%
Institutions holding 1,772 2,321 56
Change in shares held, QoQ +2.0% +4.2% -0.2%
Institutions buying 745 1,213 26
Institutions selling 722 764 13
Buyers to sellers 1.03 1.59 2.00
APD holders →LIN holders →WLKP holders →

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.

APDLINWLKP
APD 1.00 0.52 0.13
LIN 0.52 1.00 0.21
WLKP 0.13 0.21 1.00

Add a Peer

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, APD, LIN and WLKP?

Linde (LIN) is the largest by market capitalisation: Air Products & Chemicals (APD) $68.08B, Linde (LIN) $234.80B, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) $744.57M.

Which stock is cheaper, APD, LIN and WLKP?

Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Air Products & Chemicals (APD) -1,439x, Linde (LIN) 32.4x, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) 12.9x). On next year's consensus earnings, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) is cheapest (Air Products & Chemicals (APD) 21.9x, Linde (LIN) 30.4x, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) 14.4x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Air Products & Chemicals (APD) +4.5%, Linde (LIN) +6.6%, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) +12.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Linde (LIN) has the highest net margin (Air Products & Chemicals (APD) -0.4%, Linde (LIN) 20.4%, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) 4.7%). On return on invested capital, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) leads (Air Products & Chemicals (APD) 0.0%, Linde (LIN) 10.8%, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) 30.1%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Air Products & Chemicals (APD) returned the most: Air Products & Chemicals (APD) +20.5%, Linde (LIN) +13.1%, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) +9.4%. Over five years, Linde (LIN) compounded fastest (Air Products & Chemicals (APD) +1.1%/yr, Linde (LIN) +10.1%/yr, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) -3.8%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) has the highest dividend yield: Air Products & Chemicals (APD) 0.02%, Linde (LIN) 0.01%, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) 0.09%.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) has been the steadiest (Air Products & Chemicals (APD) 26.3%, Linde (LIN) 19.2%, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) 18.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, APD, LIN and WLKP?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Westlake Chemical Partners (WLKP) leads on 8. 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.