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Air Products and Chemicals vs United Rentals: Which Stock Looks Stronger in 2026?

United Rentals holds the cleaner structural position, with profitability as the main driver and valuation adding further support. Air Products and Chemicals does not offset that deficit through any equally strong structural edge elsewhere. The market setup is mixed, without a decisive signal in either direction. The market is not adding a decisive signal either way — the structural read carries the weight.

The comparison is based on similar long-term financial trajectories, not sector labels. Both peer scores are relative to the S&P 500 universe, making them directly comparable.

Updated 2026-05-17

Most of the visible separation comes from profitability. The overall score gap is 22 points in favour of United Rentals, Inc..

Trajectory Similarity
0.70
Similar
Peer-set rank: #45
within Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.'s functional peer set

This pair is matched through long-term financial trajectory similarity within the selected peer universe.

A solid similarity means the pair shares a clearly comparable long-term financial profile, even if individual dimensions still differ.

The strongest overlap appears in operating margin level and recent revenue growth.

Similarity drivers
operating margin levelrecent revenue growth
What reduces the match
investment intensity
How to read the score
0.85–1.00 · Very similar0.70–0.84 · Similar0.55–0.69 · Moderately similarbelow 0.55 · Loose match
Peer-Relative Score
APD
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
35
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500
vs
URI
United Rentals, Inc.
57
Peer-Score
Signal qualitylow
Peer basis: S&P 500

Scores reflect position relative to comparable companies with similar long-term financial trajectories.

Score differences across key dimensions.

Dimension spread: APD vs URI Profitability 15 71 Stability 21 35 Valuation 51 67 Growth 53 46 APD URI
Gap Ranking
#1 Profitability +56
#2 Valuation +16
#3 Stability +14
#4 Growth +7
Price Setup

Left means cheaper relative valuation. Higher means stronger structure.

Price setup map for APD and URI Stronger + cheaper Stronger + richer Weaker + cheaper Weaker + richer APDURI Relative valuation Structural strength

United Rentals, Inc. looks stronger on relative valuation, while the broader price setup remains mixed.

Valuation position uses peer-relative PE percentile (idx_pct_pe) where available.

Entry today — historical context

Where APD and URI each sit in their own 5-year price and valuation history.

BASED ON 5-YEAR HISTORY APD Elevated · below norm 0th 50th 100th 7 pct gap URI Elevated · above norm 0th 50th 100th 92nd 98th
APD (92nd percentile) and URI (98th percentile) both sit in the upper portion of their own 5-year ranges. The historical entry context is broadly similar for both. This reflects entry timing, not which company is structurally stronger.

Describes historical entry positioning only. Descriptive — not investment advice.

Relative Position vs Comparable Companies
Profitability
United Rentals, Inc. ranks near the top of the group on profitability; Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. sits in the weaker half.
Valuation
On valuation, the edge still sits with United Rentals, Inc., even though both profiles look solid.
Profitability — Dominant Gap
APD
15
URI
71
Gap+56in favour of URI

Capital efficiency adds support, with a 13.3-point ROIC advantage.

What keeps the gap from being one-sided

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. still carries lower volatility exposure — that difference is real enough to prevent the comparison from becoming one-sided.

What this means for the comparison

Profitability is the clearest driver, and valuation also supports United Rentals, Inc.'s broader structural position.

Explore full peer positioning in AssetNext

Break down the APD vs URI comparison across all dimensions with the full interactive tool.

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Similar profitability-driven comparisons

Explore how APD and URI each compare against other companies in their peer groups.

Rule-based, descriptive analysis only. Derived from peer percentile dimensions. Not investment advice. Peer groups are determined algorithmically based on structural similarity — not by sector classification alone.

How AssetNext Peer Scores Work

AssetNext scores reflect each company's structural position within its functional peer group — not a ranking against all stocks simultaneously. Peers are identified by similarity across eight financial dimensions, including revenue growth trajectory, margin structure, capital intensity, and earnings stability. A score of 75 means the company ranks in the top quartile within its own peer group, not the entire market.

Four dimension scores drive the overall peer score: Growth (revenue trajectory and expansion dynamics), Quality (margin structure and capital efficiency), Valuation (peer-relative pricing on standard multiples), and Stability (earnings consistency and financial predictability). Each dimension is scored 0–100 relative to the peer group, then combined into an overall peer score using equal weighting.

Because scores are peer-relative, the same company can have slightly different scores in different index universes. On comparison pages, both companies are shown within their shared peer universe wherever possible — so the scores are directly comparable. The peer basis is stated on each score card.

Scores are recalculated periodically as underlying financial data is updated. All analysis is descriptive and rule-based — AssetNext describes structural realities and never issues buy, sell or hold recommendations.