APD vs. SW: Air Products and Chemicals vs. Smurfit Westrock Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW) both fall under the Materials industry group, but APD is classified in Chemicals while SW is classified in Containers & Packaging.

Company profile comparison for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Profile Item	APD	SW
Name	Air Products and Chemicals Inc.	Smurfit WestRock Plc
Country/Region	United States	Ireland
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Chemicals	Containers & Packaging
GICS Sub-Industry	Industrial Gases	Paper & Plastic Packaging Products & Materials
Market Capitalization	67.88 billion USD	23.13 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	March 17, 1980	June 17, 2008
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

APD

GSPC

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

Loading price history…

Trailing total returns for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

Loading price history…

Calendar-year total returns for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	APD	SW
Total Return (1Y)	23.26%	29.05%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	8.49%	14.60%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	2.43%	-0.16%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

APD

GSPC

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

Loading price history…

Distribution of monthly total returns for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	APD	SW
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	25.21%	42.69%
Beta (5Y)	0.67	0.89
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-31.77%	-53.49%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.06M	4.66M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

APD and SW are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	APD	SW
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.75	0.58
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.14	0.94

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Both Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at 3.19% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 2.57% land near their industries’ usual ROE ranges, so capital efficiency looks broadly in line with peers on both sides.

APD

Materials industry group

3.19%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
APD: 3.19%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

SW

Materials industry group

2.57%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
SW: 2.57%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at 4.10% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 1.50% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

APD

Materials industry group

4.10%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
APD: 4.10%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

SW

Materials industry group

1.50%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
SW: 1.50%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at 17.68% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 6.38% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

APD

Materials industry group

17.68%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
APD: 17.68%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

SW

Materials industry group

6.38%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
Median: 12.56%
SW: 6.38%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	APD	SW
ROE (TTM)	3.19%	2.57%
ROA (TTM)	4.80%	2.50%
Net Margin (TTM)	4.10%	1.50%
Operating Margin (TTM)	17.68%	6.38%
Gross Margin (TTM)	31.58%	17.67%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 47.70% sits in the top revenue growth quartile, while Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at -0.52% is in the bottom quartile, showing a clear gap in revenue momentum.

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 62.20% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at -110.30% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	APD	SW
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-0.52%	47.70%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-1.77%	32.15%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-110.30%	62.20%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	-30.01%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 1.48 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at 1.07 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for APD.

APD

Materials industry group

1.07

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
APD: 1.07
Min: 0.16

SW

Materials industry group

1.48

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
SW: 1.48
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 0.78 carries an industry-typical debt-to-equity mix, while Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at 1.06 uses more debt funding than most peers.

APD

Materials industry group

1.06

Max: 1.98
APD: 1.06
Q3: 0.89
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

SW

Materials industry group

0.78

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
SW: 0.78
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	APD	SW
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.07	1.48
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	1.06	0.78
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.61	2.96

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Both Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at 2.33% and Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 4.02% offer top-quartile dividend income relative to share price within their industries.

APD

Materials industry group

2.33%

Max: 4.52%
APD: 2.33%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SW

Materials industry group

4.02%

Max: 4.52%
SW: 4.02%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) reports payout ratio above 100% at 198.63%, meaning dividends exceeded current-period earnings and sustainability needs extra context. Meanwhile Air Products and Chemicals (APD) reports 75.66%, ranking against industry peers normally.

APD

Materials industry group

75.66%

Max: 83.62%
APD: 75.66%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

SW

Materials industry group

198.63%

SW: 198.63%
Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	APD	SW
Dividend Yield (TTM)	2.33%	4.02%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	75.66%	198.63%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on trailing earnings: Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 48.99 sits in the richer P/E ratio quartile, and Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at 127.55 is richer still, above its industry range.

APD

Materials industry group

127.55

APD: 127.55
Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

SW

Materials industry group

48.99

Max: 59.00
SW: 48.99
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 0.73 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at 5.23 sits in the pricier quartile — APD costs more per dollar of sales.

APD

Materials industry group

5.23

Max: 9.62
APD: 5.23
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

SW

Materials industry group

0.73

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
SW: 0.73
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Smurfit Westrock (SW) at 1.28 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Air Products and Chemicals (APD) at 4.76 carries an above-peer premium to book — APD is pricier on assets.

APD

Materials industry group

4.76

Max: 6.59
APD: 4.76
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

SW

Materials industry group

1.28

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
SW: 1.28
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

Air Products and Chemicals (APD) vs. Smurfit Westrock (SW): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Air Products and Chemicals (APD) and Smurfit Westrock (SW)
Metric	APD	SW
P/E Ratio (TTM)	127.55	48.99
P/S Ratio (TTM)	5.23	0.73
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	4.76	1.28
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-0.28%	4.26%