Energy · Profile from Energy Research Companion
Air Products
The Allentown, Pennsylvania industrial-gas company that invented the business of building an oxygen or hydrogen plant on a customer's site and selling the gas under a 15–20-year take-or-pay contract. Founded in 1940 by Leonard Pool, Air Products became the world's largest merchant hydrogen supplier (company claim) and one of the three Western industrial-gas majors with Linde and Air Liquide. From 2018 its chief executive Seifi Ghasemi bet the company's balance sheet on gasification in Saudi Arabia (Jazan, ~$12bn JV) and then on clean hydrogen — NEOM in Saudi Arabia (~$8.4bn, ~2.2 GW of electrolysis, up to ~600 t/day of hydrogen), a ~$4.5bn blue-hydrogen complex in Louisiana and green liquid-hydrogen plants in New York and Arizona — committing ~$15bn of capital to projects that, unlike its old business, had no signed buyers. In January 2025 the activist Mantle Ridge won three board seats and Ghasemi lost his; under Eduardo Menezes, a former Linde executive, the company exited project after project, taking ~$3.7bn of pre-tax charges in fiscal 2025 and ~$2.9bn more in fiscal Q3 2026 (company). Fiscal 2025 sales were ~$12.0bn (company, 6 Nov 2025). It is the book's clearest case of a conservative contract model stretched by a policy bet.
At a glance
- Founded
- 1940 (reported), Detroit, Michigan, by Leonard Parker Pool; moved to the Allentown, Pennsylvania area in the 1940s (reported, verify dates)
- Headquarters
- Allentown, Pennsylvania (Upper Macungie Township campus)
- Ownership / structure
- Public, NYSE: APD; S&P 500; widely held; fiscal year ends 30 Sep
- Leadership (2026)
- Eduardo F. Menezes, CEO (from Feb 2025, reported; formerly an executive vice-president of Linde); board reshaped after the 23 Jan 2025 annual meeting, at which Mantle Ridge's Paul Hilal, Andrew Evans and Dennis Reilley were elected and its fourth nominee, Tracy McKibben, was not (company 8-K)
- Segment
- Industrial gases (oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, carbon monoxide, syngas, helium); on-site/pipeline ("tonnage"), merchant (liquid bulk) and packaged gases; equipment (LNG coil-wound heat exchangers and process technology)
- Scale
- Fiscal 2025 (to 30 Sep 2025): sales ~$12.0bn (−1%), adjusted operating income ~$2.9bn (−3%), adjusted EPS $12.03 (vs $12.43), GAAP loss per share $1.74 after ~$3.7bn of pre-tax business and asset-action charges; capex ~$5bn (company 8-K, 6 Nov 2025; capex from third-party table, verify vs 10-K)
- 2026 to date
- Fiscal Q3 2026 (to 30 Jun): adjusted EPS $3.47 (+12%), adjusted operating income ~$810m (+9%), GAAP loss per share $6.47 after ~$2.9bn pre-tax (~$2.2bn after-tax, $9.92/share) project-exit charges incl. the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex and Casa Grande, Arizona; fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance raised to $13.39–13.49 and capex cut to ~$3.5bn (company, 30 Jul 2026). Fiscal Q4 and full-year results due after this file's coverage date
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding and the on-site generator (1940); the Airgas hostile bid, lost in Delaware (2010–11); Pershing Square and the Ghasemi era (2013–14); Versum spin and the Evonik sale (2016–17); the Jazan gasification JV (2018–23); NEOM green hydrogen (2020–); the Louisiana Clean Energy Complex (2021–26); the Mantle Ridge proxy fight and CEO change (2025); the project exits and the hydrogen retreat (2025–26)
9 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1940
Founding and the On Site Generator
Founding / business-model bet
2010
Airgas Hostile Bid
Acquisition attempt (hostile tender offer and proxy fight) — failure
2014
Pershing Square and the Ghasemi Era
Activism / leadership change / restructuring
2016
Versum Spin and Evonik Sale
Spin-off and divestment
2018
Jazan Gasification and Power JV
Joint venture / acquisition of assets under a long-term contract
2020
NEOM Green Hydrogen
Technology bet / project FID / offtake contract
2021
Louisiana Clean Energy Complex
Project announcement, construction and cancellation — failure
2025
Mantle Ridge Proxy Fight and CEO Change
Activism / leadership change
2025
Project Exits and the Hydrogen Retreat
Restructuring / write-down / strategy pivot — failure of the prior strategy, success of the correction