CIFR vs APLD vs GDS Stock Comparison

Cipher Digital, Applied Digital and GDS Holdings Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
CIFR Cipher Digital Inc.
$8.87 -47.0% 1M -55.6% 1Y
Market cap
$3.67B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$191.09M
Div. yield
–
Data Centers Technology
2 wins
APLD Applied Digital Corp.
$20.39 -16.9% 1M -40.6% 1Y
Market cap
$6.06B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$853.85M
Div. yield
–
Data Centers Technology
2 wins
GDS GDS Holdings Ltd
$23.86 -24.6% 1M -33.5% 1Y
Market cap
$4.92B
P/E
8.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$1.75B
Div. yield
–
Data Centers Technology
5 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

GDS Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (GDS Holdings 5, Applied Digital 2, Cipher Digital 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionCIFRAPLDGDSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $3.67B $6.06B $4.92B APLD
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -3.2x -12.7x 8.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — — 45.9x –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +20.3% +286.2% +15.8% APLD
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -585.8% -54.9% 30.1% GDS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital -9.2% -4.1% 1.0% GDS
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA -18.5x -18.4x 3.1x CIFR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — — — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -55.6% -40.6% -33.5% GDS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.4%/yr -6.2%/yr -16.7%/yr CIFR
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 109.8% 101.4% 57.1% GDS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 20/100 34/100 70/100 GDS

Percentile Scorecard

CIFRAPLDGDS

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

AxisCIFRAPLDGDS
Valuation 5 #36 of 38 27 #28 of 38 97 #2 of 38
Growth 0 #36 of 36 51 #18 of 36 57 #16 of 36
Profitability 12 #30 of 34 30 #24 of 34 73 #10 of 34
Financial Health 32 #26 of 38 43 #22 of 38 51 #19 of 38
Shareholder Returns 50 #11 of 21 20 #17 of 21 –
Overall 20 34 70
  • CIFR ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • APLD ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing
  • GDS ranked among 39 companies in Cloud Computing

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodCIFRAPLDGDSSPY
1 month -47.0%-16.9%-24.6% +0.9%
3 months -49.8%-12.2%-19.3% +5.9%
6 months -47.6%-37.6%-42.6% +8.5%
Year to date -39.9%-16.8%-31.6% +13.3%
1 year -55.6%-40.6%-33.5% +12.4%
3 years +167.2%+323.9%+148.8% +88.1%
3 years, per year +38.8%+61.9%+35.5% +23.5%
5 years +12.8%-27.5%-59.8% +68.2%
5 years, per year +2.4%-6.2%-16.7% +11.0%
10 years —+17,976.2%— +263.4%
10 years, per year —+68.2%— +13.8%

Risk

MeasureCIFRAPLDGDSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 109.8%101.4%57.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 103.5%95.4%58.2% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 4.074.442.00 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.51-0.40-0.59 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -95.8%-97.0%-91.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -69.6%-58.9%-49.8% -0.9%
52-week high $29.18$49.65$47.52 $779.14
52-week low $7.71$17.83$22.14 $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.

MultipleCIFRAPLDGDS
P/E now vs peer median -3.2xmedian 27.6x -12.7xmedian 27.6x 8.6xmedian 27.6x
P/S now vs peer median 19.2xmedian 4.8x 7.1xmedian 4.8x 2.8xmedian 4.8x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median -32.9xmedian 24.1x -51.0xmedian 24.1x 11.5xmedian 24.1x
P/FCF now vs peer median -2.5xmedian 15.0x -1.4xmedian 15.0x 5.2xmedian 15.0x
P/B now vs peer median 6.5xmedian 4.4x 3.8xmedian 4.4x 1.1xmedian 4.4x
PEG now vs peer median 0.01median 0.38 0.27median 0.38 0.13median 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 monthsCIFRAPLDGDS
Revenue $191.09M $853.85M $1.75B
Gross profit $107.35M $273.30M $436.56M
Operating income -$531.34M -$303.82M $82.93M
Net income -$1.12B -$351.47M $542.46M
Free cash flow -$1.49B -$4.46B $952.99M
R&D – – $4.66M
EPS (diluted) $-2.73 $-1.61 $2.57
Cash & equivalents $831.83M $2.95B $2.20B
Total debt $5.54B $6.38B $15.20B
Shares (diluted) 409.38M 291.56M 205.57M
Enterprise value $317.37M -$117.70M -$3.22B

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
MetricCIFRAPLDGDS
P/E -3.2x -12.7x 8.6x
P/FCF -2.5x -1.4x 5.2x
P/Operating cash flow -14.3x 25.8x 9.6x
P/S 19.2x 7.1x 2.8x
P/B 6.5x 3.8x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 7.6x 3.8x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA -32.9x -51.0x 11.5x
EV/EBIT -15.8x -31.2x 81.4x
EV/Revenue 43.9x 11.1x 3.8x
EV/FCF -5.6x -2.1x 7.1x
EV/Operating cash flow -32.7x 40.3x 13.1x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) 0.01 0.27 0.13

Growth

14 metrics
MetricCIFRAPLDGDS
Revenue growth (1Y) 20.3% 286.2% 15.8%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – 115.9% 8.1%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 12.6% 653.6% 27.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – 134.2% 14.4%
Operating income growth (1Y) -237.0% -254.9% -57.2%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -328.5% -87.5% -5.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -626.8% -44.2% -14.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -380.6% -88.1% 71.9%
EPS growth (1Y) -565.9% -66.0% -26.4%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -307.2% -46.3% 65.7%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) -84.6% 294.3% 15.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -87.7% 72.3% 20.0%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) -209.9% -346.5% 3.3%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -151.7% -272.4% -11.1%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricCIFRAPLDGDS
Gross margin 56.2% 32.0% 24.9%
EBITDA margin -133.5% -21.8% 33.5%
Operating margin -278.1% -35.6% 4.7%
Pretax margin -587.6% -40.2% 14.8%
Net margin -585.8% -54.9% 30.1%
FCF margin -780.0% -521.8% 54.3%
Operating cash flow margin -134.2% 27.5% 29.3%
Return on equity -175.4% -21.1% 12.5%
Return on assets -16.1% -3.2% 4.4%
Return on invested capital -9.2% -4.1% 1.0%
Return on capital employed -9.5% -3.3% 0.8%
Asset turnover 0.0x 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.2x -0.7x 0.9x
Stock comp / revenue 47.5% 31.8% 2.5%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricCIFRAPLDGDS
Debt / assets 73.9% 54.5% 31.9%
Debt / equity 9.9x 4.0x 0.9x
Net debt / EBITDA -18.5x -18.4x 3.1x
Debt / FCF -3.7x -1.4x 4.2x
Liabilities / assets 92.5% 86.3% 64.8%
Equity / assets 7.5% 13.7% 35.2%
Interest coverage -3.3x -3.1x 0.4x
Current ratio 3.0x 2.6x 1.8x
Quick ratio 0.6x 1.9x 1.4x
Cash ratio 0.6x 1.9x 1.1x
Altman Z-score 0.29 0.50 0.64

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricCIFRAPLDGDS
Dividend yield – – –
Net buyback yield -2.9% -15.2% –
Shareholder yield -2.9% -15.2% –
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.

ConsensusCIFRAPLDGDS
Forward P/E – – 45.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $-1.37FY2026 $-1.69FY2026 $0.52FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – +550.0%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after – – -103.8%
Revenue, next fiscal year $219.28MFY2026 $1.00BFY2026 $1.96BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY -2.1%FY2026 +64.0%FY2026 +20.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +249.0% +87.8% +1.6%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersCIFRAPLDGDS
Held by institutions 89.1% 74.5% 50.9%
Institutions holding 461 564 198
Change in shares held, QoQ +19.0% +8.6% +15.4%
Institutions buying 299 339 120
Institutions selling 121 164 61
Buyers to sellers 2.47 2.07 1.97

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.

CIFRAPLDGDS
CIFR 1.00 0.75 0.39
APLD 0.75 1.00 0.43
GDS 0.39 0.43 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, CIFR, APLD and GDS?

Applied Digital (APLD) is the largest by market capitalisation: Cipher Digital (CIFR) $3.67B, Applied Digital (APLD) $6.06B, GDS Holdings (GDS) $4.92B.

Which company is growing faster?

Applied Digital (APLD) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Cipher Digital (CIFR) +20.3%, Applied Digital (APLD) +286.2%, GDS Holdings (GDS) +15.8%.

Which company is more profitable?

GDS Holdings (GDS) has the highest net margin (Cipher Digital (CIFR) -585.8%, Applied Digital (APLD) -54.9%, GDS Holdings (GDS) 30.1%). On return on invested capital, GDS Holdings (GDS) leads (Cipher Digital (CIFR) -9.2%, Applied Digital (APLD) -4.1%, GDS Holdings (GDS) 1.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year GDS Holdings (GDS) returned the most: Cipher Digital (CIFR) -55.6%, Applied Digital (APLD) -40.6%, GDS Holdings (GDS) -33.5%. Over five years, Cipher Digital (CIFR) compounded fastest (Cipher Digital (CIFR) +2.4%/yr, Applied Digital (APLD) -6.2%/yr, GDS Holdings (GDS) -16.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, GDS Holdings (GDS) has been the steadiest (Cipher Digital (CIFR) 109.8%, Applied Digital (APLD) 101.4%, GDS Holdings (GDS) 57.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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