We recently compiled a list of the 11 Best Materials Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) stands against the other material stocks.
Materials stocks are those companies that produce chemicals, construction materials, and paper products. Businesses involved in the exploration and processing of commodities are also included in this sector.
Materials demand is cyclical, rendering sector players extremely vulnerable to economic fluctuations. The demand for basic materials tends to drop when economic conditions deteriorate, which lowers prices and impacts the profitability of material producers. However, the materials sector can be impacted by a variety of factors, including the economic cycle. Supply chain challenges, legislation, and inflation are just a few of the many factors that could impact demand, prices, and industry profitability in the materials industry.
After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, a new challenge arose in the industry. The region provides essential metals for steel production and exports minerals for fertilizer, such as potash; therefore, the war caused disruptions in the worldwide supply chain for resources. Most basic materials’ costs increased due to supply constraints, which had a significant impact on both the industry and the overall economy.
Looking forward, a cautiously positive view for the materials sector in 2025 has been strengthened by long-term structural demand and improved macroeconomic conditions. Persistent economic concerns in the United States and a noticeable slowdown in China, two important markets for industrial materials, burdened the sector in 2024. However, according to Fidelity, the situation seems more favorable for growth in 2025 as China implements economic stimulus measures and central banks in major economies currently lean toward monetary easing. Some subsectors stand to benefit from both a short-term cyclical recovery and advantageous long-term supply-demand imbalances, especially those related to copper and other crucial inputs for infrastructure and electrification. Furthermore, the sector’s rate-sensitive industries, such as chemicals, may gain from lower interest rates, while more robust, high-quality firms may provide defensive strength. The sector is positioned for a potentially better performance in 2025 due to a combination of financial assistance, a possible recovery in Chinese demand, and strategic exposure to growth-linked materials.
Currently, according to a strategist for equity derivatives at Barclays, Stefano Pascale, options traders are undervaluing the risks associated with materials stocks because the sector’s predicted volatility is close to historic lows, making downside protection cheap. Steel and paper companies are among the materials stocks that are susceptible to tariffs because of their dependence on international supply chains, and additional tariffs are anticipated to be announced soon by President Trump.
Despite this, Pascale commented:
“The volatility market is giving you an exceptionally good opportunity here of cheap materials puts. Even if you didn’t have a trade war, this would be, historically speaking, a very attractive trade.”
Materials underperformed in 2018 due to Trump’s tariffs, and similar drops may be seen this year, with the Dow down 7%. According to statistics provided by Bloomberg Intelligence, sell-side analysts have lowered their expectations for the material sector, anticipating earnings to climb 5.9% this year, down from an estimate of 16% in January. However, traders must consider liquidity risks, as the bid-ask spread for materials options is $0.20, as opposed to $0.04 for broader market options.
Methodology
We sifted through the Materials ETFs and online rankings to form an initial list of the 25 materials stocks. From the resultant dataset, we chose 11 stocks with the highest number of hedge fund investors, using Insider Monkey’s database of 1009 hedge funds in Q4 2024 to gauge hedge fund sentiment for stocks.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
A line of workers in a refinery wearing protective suits and masks, overseeing the production process of specialty gases.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 60
An American international company, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) is focused on performance materials, industrial gases, and associated equipment and services.
The company is a major player in the infrastructure for hydrogen fuel and one of the biggest suppliers of merchant hydrogen worldwide. Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) can create 7 million kg of fuel per day with more than 100 hydrogen plants. By concentrating on gasification, carbon capture, and clean hydrogen, the company intends to be at the forefront of tackling global energy and environmental concerns. The firm is now engaged in a number of large-scale hydrogen projects that should be finished in the upcoming years. Developing the largest blue hydrogen facility in the world is one of its main initiatives, which will cost $4.5 billion in Louisiana. The facility is expected to capture and store more than 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year once it is operational. The stock grew by nearly 10% in the past year, making it one of the best materials stocks.
Aristotle Value Equity Strategy stated the following regarding Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Founded in 1940 and with headquarters in Pennsylvania, Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD) and Chemicals is a leading global supplier of industrial gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, helium, hydrogen and others. These essential gases serve critical roles across a wide range of industries, such as refining, chemicals, metals, electronics, manufacturing, healthcare, and food manufacturing and packaging. Air Products is the leading global supplier of hydrogen, with a robust distribution network across North America.
Roughly 50% of the company’s revenue is generated through onsite delivery. This method usually entails 15- to 20-year contracts where Air Products builds a facility at the customer’s site or nearby (or delivers the gases through pipeline systems).
These long-term contracts tend to include pass-through and take-or-pay provisions, which provide stability and predictability of cash flows. The company’s merchant gases (roughly 35% of revenue) are delivered in bulk by tanker in either liquid or gas form, usually under five-year contracts, providing a steady but more variable revenue stream. Smaller quantities can also be delivered to customers, usually packaged in cylinders. (This business represents less than 15% of revenue.) …” (Click here to read the full text)
The company’s revenue in fiscal Q1 2025 was $2.9 billion, which was 2% less than the year before. The main causes of this decline were a 1% negative currency impact and a 2% decline in sales volume, which were somewhat countered by a 1% price rise. The sale of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)’s LNG business in September 2024 and decreased contributions from merchant and on-site activities in Europe were the main causes of the volume fall. However, a one-time, sizable helium sale to an existing merchant customer in the Americas helped to offset these difficulties to some extent. The impact on revenues from the LNG divestiture alone was about 2%.
Overall, APD ranks 6th on our list of the best materials stocks to buy according to hedge funds. While we acknowledge the potential of APD as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than APD but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stock To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
