GDS vs APLD Stock Comparison

GDS Holdings and Applied Digital Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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
5 wins
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
4 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

GDS Holdings leads on 5 of the 12 questions below (GDS Holdings 5, Applied Digital 4). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

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

Percentile Scorecard

GDSAPLD

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

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

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodGDSAPLDSPY
1 month -30.4%-32.1% -0.8%
3 months -27.3%-32.4% +3.5%
6 months -48.1%-47.0% +7.0%
Year to date -34.6%-27.3% +12.2%
1 year -34.7%-46.7% +13.0%
3 years +137.9%+270.7% +86.3%
3 years, per year +33.5%+54.8% +23.1%
5 years -61.7%-39.7% +68.6%
5 years, per year -17.5%-9.6% +11.0%
10 years —+20,253.9% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+70.2% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureGDSAPLDSPY
Volatility, 1Y 57.0%101.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 58.0%95.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.004.41 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.61-0.46 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -91.8%-97.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -52.0%-64.1% -1.8%
52-week high $47.52$49.65 $779.14
52-week low $22.14$17.83 $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.

MultipleGDSAPLD
P/E now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 29.6x -11.1xmedian 29.6x
P/S now vs peer median 2.7xmedian 4.2x 6.2xmedian 4.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 11.1xmedian 24.2x -46.9xmedian 24.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 4.9xmedian 15.1x -1.2xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.1xmedian 3.9x 3.3xmedian 3.9x
PEG now vs peer median 0.12median 0.38 0.24median 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 monthsGDSAPLD
Revenue $1.75B $853.85M
Gross profit $436.56M $273.30M
Operating income $82.93M -$303.82M
Net income $542.46M -$351.47M
Free cash flow $952.99M -$4.46B
R&D $4.66M –
EPS (diluted) $2.57 $-1.61
Cash & equivalents $2.20B $2.95B
Total debt $15.20B $6.38B
Shares (diluted) 205.57M 291.56M
Enterprise value -$3.94B -$2.50B

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

Growth

14 metrics
MetricGDSAPLD
Revenue growth (1Y) 15.8% 286.2%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 8.1% 115.9%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 27.6% 653.6%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 14.4% 134.2%
Operating income growth (1Y) -57.2% -254.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -5.5% -87.5%
Net income growth (1Y) -14.6% -44.2%
Net income CAGR (3Y) 71.9% -88.1%
EPS growth (1Y) -26.4% -66.0%
EPS CAGR (3Y) 65.7% -46.3%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 15.3% 294.3%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 20.0% 72.3%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 3.3% -346.5%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -11.1% -272.4%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricGDSAPLD
Gross margin 24.9% 32.0%
EBITDA margin 33.5% -21.8%
Operating margin 4.7% -35.6%
Pretax margin 14.8% -40.2%
Net margin 30.1% -54.9%
FCF margin 54.3% -521.8%
Operating cash flow margin 29.3% 27.5%
Return on equity 12.5% -21.1%
Return on assets 4.4% -3.2%
Return on invested capital 1.0% -4.1%
Return on capital employed 0.8% -3.3%
Asset turnover 0.1x 0.1x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 0.9x -0.7x
Stock comp / revenue 2.5% 31.8%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricGDSAPLD
Debt / assets 31.9% 54.5%
Debt / equity 0.9x 4.0x
Net debt / EBITDA 3.1x -18.4x
Debt / FCF 4.2x -1.4x
Liabilities / assets 64.8% 86.3%
Equity / assets 35.2% 13.7%
Interest coverage 0.4x -3.1x
Current ratio 1.8x 2.6x
Quick ratio 1.4x 1.9x
Cash ratio 1.1x 1.9x
Altman Z-score 0.62 0.46

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricGDSAPLD
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.

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

Institutional Ownership

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

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.

GDSAPLD
GDS 1.00 0.42
APLD 0.42 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, GDS and APLD?

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

Which company is growing faster?

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

Which company is more profitable?

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

Which stock has performed better?

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

Which stock is riskier?

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

Do GDS and APLD move together?

Their daily returns over the past year have a correlation of 0.42, a moderate positive relationship. Holding both diversifies more than two closely linked stocks would.

Which is the better stock, GDS and APLD?

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.