APLD vs GDS vs VNET Stock Comparison

Applied Digital, GDS Holdings and Vnet Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
APLD Applied Digital Corp.
$17.83 -32.1% 1M -46.7% 1Y
Market cap
$5.69B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$853.85M
Div. yield
–
Data Centers Technology
3 wins
GDS GDS Holdings Ltd
$22.81 -30.4% 1M -34.7% 1Y
Market cap
$4.34B
P/E
8.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.75B
Div. yield
–
Data Centers Technology
3 wins
VNET VNET Group, Inc.
$3.93 -40.8% 1M -59.1% 1Y
Market cap
$1.02B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$1.55B
Div. yield
–
Data Centers Technology
3 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Applied Digital leads on 3 of the 12 questions below (Applied Digital 3, Vnet 3, GDS Holdings 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAPLDGDSVNETLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $5.69B $4.34B $1.02B APLD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -12.1x 8.2x -3.0x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 43.9x — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +286.2% +15.8% +1,237.9% VNET
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -54.9% 30.1% -22.1% GDS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -4.1% 1.0% 3.7% VNET
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -18.4x 3.1x 3.8x APLD
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -46.7% -34.7% -59.1% GDS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -9.6%/yr -17.5%/yr -24.9%/yr APLD
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 101.1% 57.0% 77.8% GDS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 36/100 69/100 69/100 VNET

Percentile Scorecard

APLDGDSVNET

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

AxisAPLDGDSVNET
Valuation 32 #26 of 38 95 #3 of 38 97 #2 of 38
Growth 51 #18 of 36 57 #16 of 36 74 #10 of 36
Profitability 30 #24 of 34 73 #10 of 34 70 #11 of 34
Financial Health 43 #22 of 38 51 #19 of 38 35 #25 of 38
Shareholder Returns 25 #16 of 21 – –
Overall 36 69 69
  • APLD ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • GDS ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • VNET ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAPLDGDSVNETSPY
1 month -32.1%-30.4%-40.8% -0.8%
3 months -32.4%-27.3%-45.2% +3.5%
6 months -47.0%-48.1%-55.5% +7.0%
Year to date -27.3%-34.6%-53.5% +12.2%
1 year -46.7%-34.7%-59.1% +13.0%
3 years +270.7%+137.9%+32.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +54.8%+33.5%+9.9% +23.1%
5 years -39.7%-61.7%-76.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year -9.6%-17.5%-24.9% +11.0%
10 years +20,253.9%—-48.6% +258.0%
10 years, per year +70.2%—-6.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureAPLDGDSVNETSPY
Volatility, 1Y 101.1%57.0%77.8% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 95.0%58.0%75.4% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.412.002.50 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.46-0.61-0.76 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -97.0%-91.8%-92.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -64.1%-52.0%-72.0% -1.8%
52-week high $49.65$47.52$14.03 $779.14
52-week low $17.83$22.14$3.71 $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.

MultipleAPLDGDSVNET
P/E now vs peer median -11.1xmedian 29.6x 8.2xmedian 29.6x -3.1xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 6.2xmedian 4.2x 2.7xmedian 4.2x 0.7xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -46.9xmedian 24.2x 11.1xmedian 24.2x 6.2xmedian 24.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median -1.2xmedian 15.1x 4.9xmedian 15.1x 0.8xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 3.3xmedian 3.9x 1.1xmedian 3.9x 1.8xmedian 3.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.24median 0.38 0.12median 0.38 0.11median 0.38

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 monthsAPLDGDSVNET
Revenue $853.85M $1.75B $1.55B
Gross profit $273.30M $436.56M $316.73M
Operating income -$303.82M $82.93M $93.26M
Net income -$351.47M $542.46M $623.86M
Free cash flow -$4.46B $952.99M $1.29B
R&D – $4.66M $43.13M
EPS (diluted) $-1.61 $2.57 $-1.27
Cash & equivalents $2.95B $2.20B $990.51M
Total debt $6.38B $15.20B $9.03B
Shares (diluted) 291.56M 205.57M 268.71M
Enterprise value -$2.50B -$3.94B -$2.70B

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
MetricAPLDGDSVNET
P/E -11.1x 8.2x -3.1x
P/FCF -1.2x 4.9x 0.8x
P/Operating cash flow 22.5x 9.2x 4.2x
P/S 6.2x 2.7x 0.7x
P/B 3.3x 1.1x 1.8x
P/Tangible book 3.3x 1.1x 1.8x
EV/EBITDA -46.9x 11.1x 6.2x
EV/EBIT -28.7x 78.8x 23.3x
EV/Revenue 10.2x 3.7x 1.8x
EV/FCF -2.0x 6.9x 2.2x
EV/Operating cash flow 37.1x 12.7x 11.3x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.24 0.12 0.11

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAPLDGDSVNET
Revenue growth (1Y) 286.2% 15.8% 1,238%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 115.9% 8.1% 14.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 653.6% 27.6% 7.5%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 134.2% 14.4% 18.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -254.9% -57.2% -1.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -87.5% -5.5% 49.3%
Net income growth (1Y) -44.2% -14.6% 135.8%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -88.1% 71.9% 110.2%
EPS growth (1Y) -66.0% -26.4% -1,591%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -46.3% 65.7% -28.2%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 294.3% 15.3% -6.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 72.3% 20.0% -5.2%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -346.5% 3.3% 67.9%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -272.4% -11.1% 26.0%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAPLDGDSVNET
Gross margin 32.0% 24.9% 20.5%
EBITDA margin -21.8% 33.5% 29.5%
Operating margin -35.6% 4.7% 6.0%
Pretax margin -40.2% 14.8% 31.4%
Net margin -54.9% 30.1% -22.1%
FCF margin -521.8% 54.3% 83.5%
Operating cash flow margin 27.5% 29.3% 16.1%
Return on equity -21.1% 12.5% 102.8%
Return on assets -3.2% 4.4% 8.7%
Return on invested capital -4.1% 1.0% 3.7%
Return on capital employed -3.3% 0.8% 2.3%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -0.7x 0.9x 0.4x
Stock comp / revenue 31.8% 2.5% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAPLDGDSVNET
Debt / assets 54.5% 31.9% 37.5%
Debt / equity 4.0x 0.9x 4.6x
Net debt / EBITDA -18.4x 3.1x 3.8x
Debt / FCF -1.4x 4.2x 2.1x
Liabilities / assets 86.3% 64.8% 91.8%
Equity / assets 13.7% 35.2% 8.2%
Interest coverage -3.1x 0.4x 1.1x
Current ratio 2.6x 1.8x 1.0x
Quick ratio 1.9x 1.4x 0.7x
Cash ratio 1.9x 1.1x 0.5x
Altman Z-score 0.46 0.62 -0.03

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAPLDGDSVNET
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -17.4% – –
Shareholder yield -17.4% – –
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusAPLDGDSVNET
Forward P/E – 43.9xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.69FY2026 $0.52FY2026 $-0.06FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +550.0%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – -103.8% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $1.00BFY2026 $1.96BFY2026 $1.66BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +64.0%FY2026 +20.4%FY2026 +16.9%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +87.8% +1.6% +35.8%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAPLDGDSVNET
Held by institutions 74.5% 50.9% 60.7%
Institutions holding 564 198 161
Change in shares held, QoQ +8.6% +15.4% +17.5%
Institutions buying 339 120 95
Institutions selling 164 61 48
Buyers to sellers 2.07 1.97 1.98

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.

APLDGDSVNET
APLD 1.00 0.42 0.49
GDS 0.42 1.00 0.71
VNET 0.49 0.71 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, APLD, GDS and VNET?

Applied Digital (APLD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Applied Digital (APLD) $5.69B, GDS Holdings (GDS) $4.34B, Vnet (VNET) $1.02B.

Which company is growing faster?

Vnet (VNET) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Applied Digital (APLD) +286.2%, GDS Holdings (GDS) +15.8%, Vnet (VNET) +1,237.9%.

Which company is more profitable?

GDS Holdings (GDS) has the highest net margin (Applied Digital (APLD) -54.9%, GDS Holdings (GDS) 30.1%, Vnet (VNET) -22.1%). On return on invested capital, Vnet (VNET) leads (Applied Digital (APLD) -4.1%, GDS Holdings (GDS) 1.0%, Vnet (VNET) 3.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year GDS Holdings (GDS) returned the most: Applied Digital (APLD) -46.7%, GDS Holdings (GDS) -34.7%, Vnet (VNET) -59.1%. Over five years, Applied Digital (APLD) compounded fastest (Applied Digital (APLD) -9.6%/yr, GDS Holdings (GDS) -17.5%/yr, Vnet (VNET) -24.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, GDS Holdings (GDS) has been the steadiest (Applied Digital (APLD) 101.1%, GDS Holdings (GDS) 57.0%, Vnet (VNET) 77.8%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, APLD, GDS and VNET?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Applied Digital (APLD) leads on 3. 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.