Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.APD

Air Products & Chemicals swallowed a staggering $3.7 billion in pre-tax restructuring charges in FY2025, triggering an $877.0 million operating loss as new leadership aggressively exited unprofitable clean energy ventures. This massive write-down highlights a blunt but necessary strategic pivot. After years of pursuing capital-intensive green hydrogen projects, the company is pivoting hard back to its highly profitable core industrial gases business with strict new return thresholds.

While total revenue grew from $10.3 billion in FY2021 to $12.0 billion by FY2025, the underlying financial engine has undergone a radical transformation. Management began streamlining operations by divesting the legacy LNG business for $1.81 billion in FY2024, which temporarily surged operating income by 79% to $4.5 billion. By FY2025, the focus shifted to cutting losses on the energy transition front. Despite the severe headline net loss that year, the core portfolio demonstrated deep resilience, with adjusted EBITDA creeping up 1% to $5.1 billion. Furthermore, the company maintained its relentless commitment to capital returns, raising its dividend for a 43rd consecutive year and returning $1.6 billion in FY2025.

Investors have largely looked past the temporary restructuring pain to focus on the cash-generating potential of the streamlined industrial gas portfolio. At the close of FY2025, the market awarded the company a $60.7 billion market capitalization, pricing shares at $272.72 even as reported earnings sank to a $-1.77 deficit per share.