APP vs PDD Stock Comparison

AppLovin and PDD Holdings Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
APP AppLovin Corp
$260.74 -16.1% 1M -57.9% 1Y
Market cap
$87.85B
P/E
19.9x
Revenue (TTM)
$6.83B
Div. yield
–
Digital Advertising Technology
3 wins
PDD PDD Holdings Inc.
$78.13 +0.7% 1M -41.7% 1Y
Market cap
$108.66B
P/E
8.1x
Revenue (TTM)
$64.89B
Div. yield
–
Digital Marketplaces Technology
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

PDD Holdings leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (PDD Holdings 6, AppLovin 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionAPPPDDLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $87.85B $108.66B PDD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.9x 8.1x PDD
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 15.5x 7.2x PDD
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +60.6% +13.8% APP
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 64.6% 20.7% APP
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 71.3% — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.1x — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -57.9% -41.7% PDD
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +22.4%/yr -3.3%/yr APP
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 73.9% 33.6% PDD
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 72/100 78/100 PDD

Percentile Scorecard

APPPDD

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

AxisAPPPDD
Valuation 42 #98 of 167 89 #20 of 167
Growth 99 #2 of 153 59 #63 of 153
Profitability 100 #1 of 153 85 #24 of 153
Financial Health 70 #55 of 179 80 #37 of 179
Shareholder Returns 51 #47 of 94 –
Overall 72 78
  • APP ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms
  • PDD ranked among 185 companies in Internet Platforms

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodAPPPDDSPY
1 month -16.1%+0.7% -0.8%
3 months -36.8%-7.9% +3.5%
6 months -43.4%-20.7% +7.0%
Year to date -61.3%-31.1% +12.2%
1 year -57.9%-41.7% +13.0%
3 years +619.9%-27.8% +86.3%
3 years, per year +93.2%-10.3% +23.1%
5 years +174.7%-15.3% +68.6%
5 years, per year +22.4%-3.3% +11.0%

Risk

MeasureAPPPDDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 73.9%33.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 81.7%35.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.250.86 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.78-1.24 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -91.9%-73.1% -25.4%
From 52-week high -64.5%-43.4% -1.8%
52-week high $733.60$138.13 $779.14
52-week low $260.25$73.30 $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.

MultipleAPPPDD
P/E now vs peer median 19.9xmedian 17.5x 8.1xmedian 17.5x
P/S now vs peer median 12.8xmedian 1.4x 1.7xmedian 1.4x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 16.2xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 19.3xmedian 12.1x 6.9xmedian 12.1x
P/B now vs peer median 27.6xmedian 1.7x 1.7xmedian 1.7x
PEG now vs peer median 0.04median 0.41 0.26median 0.41

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 monthsAPPPDD
Revenue $6.83B $64.89B
Gross profit $6.04B $36.55B
Operating income $5.29B $14.41B
Net income $4.41B $13.45B
Free cash flow $4.53B $16.02B
R&D $320.08M $2.64B
EPS (diluted) $13.08 $9.08
Cash & equivalents $3.05B $19.00B
Total debt $14.05B –
Shares (diluted) 337.03M 1.48B
Enterprise value $77.89B -$135.39B

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
MetricAPPPDD
P/E 19.9x 8.1x
P/FCF 19.3x 6.9x
P/Operating cash flow 19.3x 6.9x
P/S 12.8x 1.7x
P/B 27.6x 1.7x
P/Tangible book 31.1x 1.7x
EV/EBITDA 16.2x –
EV/EBIT 16.6x 3.0x
EV/Revenue 12.9x 0.7x
EV/FCF 19.4x 2.7x
EV/Operating cash flow 19.4x 2.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.04 0.26

Growth

14 metrics
MetricAPPPDD
Revenue growth (1Y) 60.6% 13.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 33.3% 40.4%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 64.6% 11.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 52.9% 29.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) 78.6% 12.7%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 188.9% 37.4%
Net income growth (1Y) 81.5% -1.4%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 503.2% 32.0%
EPS growth (1Y) 84.4% -1.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 524.6% 30.8%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 58.5% 22.0%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 74.2% 21.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 58.5% 22.0%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 74.5% 21.6%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricAPPPDD
Gross margin 88.5% 56.3%
EBITDA margin 79.4% –
Operating margin 77.4% 22.2%
Pretax margin 76.3% 28.4%
Net margin 64.6% 20.7%
FCF margin 66.3% 24.7%
Operating cash flow margin 66.3% 24.7%
Return on equity 159.6% 21.1%
Return on assets 55.2% 14.1%
Return on invested capital 71.3% –
Return on capital employed 78.5% 22.6%
Asset turnover 0.9x 0.7x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.0x 1.2x
Stock comp / revenue 4.1% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricAPPPDD
Debt / assets 42.5% –
Debt / equity 1.1x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.1x –
Debt / FCF 0.8x –
Liabilities / assets 61.7% 32.5%
Equity / assets 38.3% 67.5%
Interest coverage 25.8x –
Current ratio 4.3x 2.6x
Quick ratio 4.2x 2.1x
Cash ratio 2.4x 2.1x
Altman Z-score 14.26 4.56

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricAPPPDD
Dividend yield – –
Net buyback yield 2.8% –
Shareholder yield 2.8% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusAPPPDD
Forward P/E 15.5xFY2026 7.2xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $16.83FY2026 $10.78FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +72.6%FY2026 +4.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +25.8% +19.6%
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.60BFY2026 $72.21BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +56.9%FY2026 +17.0%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +13.9% +9.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersAPPPDD
Held by institutions 67.5% 30.3%
Institutions holding 1,457 507
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.5% +4.8%
Institutions buying 835 213
Institutions selling 478 234
Buyers to sellers 1.75 0.91

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.

APPPDD
APP 1.00 0.19
PDD 0.19 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, APP and PDD?

PDD Holdings (PDD) is the largest by market capitalisation: AppLovin (APP) $87.85B, PDD Holdings (PDD) $108.66B.

Which stock is cheaper, APP and PDD?

PDD Holdings (PDD) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (AppLovin (APP) 19.9x, PDD Holdings (PDD) 8.1x). On next year's consensus earnings, PDD Holdings (PDD) is cheapest (AppLovin (APP) 15.5x, PDD Holdings (PDD) 7.2x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

AppLovin (APP) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: AppLovin (APP) +60.6%, PDD Holdings (PDD) +13.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

AppLovin (APP) has the highest net margin (AppLovin (APP) 64.6%, PDD Holdings (PDD) 20.7%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year PDD Holdings (PDD) returned the most: AppLovin (APP) -57.9%, PDD Holdings (PDD) -41.7%. Over five years, AppLovin (APP) compounded fastest (AppLovin (APP) +22.4%/yr, PDD Holdings (PDD) -3.3%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, PDD Holdings (PDD) has been the steadiest (AppLovin (APP) 73.9%, PDD Holdings (PDD) 33.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Do APP and PDD move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.19, a weak relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, APP and PDD?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, PDD Holdings (PDD) leads on 6. 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.