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Side-by-side financial comparison of APPLIED INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES INC (AIT) and CF Industries (CF). Click either name above to swap in a different company.

CF Industries is the larger business by last-quarter revenue ($1.9B vs $1.3B, roughly 1.5× APPLIED INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGIES INC). CF Industries runs the higher net margin — 26.4% vs 8.0%, a 18.5% gap on every dollar of revenue. On growth, CF Industries posted the faster year-over-year revenue change (22.8% vs 7.3%). CF Industries produced more free cash flow last quarter ($313.0M vs $95.4M). Over the past eight quarters, CF Industries's revenue compounded faster (12.8% CAGR vs 3.8%).

Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT) is a public, global company based in the U.S. and focused on the distribution of bearings, power transmission products, engineered fluid power components and systems, specialty flow control products, and other industrial supplies. AIT provides engineering, design and system integration for industrial and fluid power applications, as well as customized mechanical, fabricated rubber, fluid power, and flow control shop services.

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of agricultural fertilizers, including ammonia, urea, and ammonium nitrate products. The company is based in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and was founded in 1946 as the Central Farmers Fertilizer Company. For its first 56 years, it was a federation of regional agricultural supply cooperatives. CF then demutualized, and became a publicly traded company.

AIT vs CF — Head-to-Head

Bigger by revenue
CF
CF
1.5× larger
CF
$1.9B
$1.3B
AIT
Growing faster (revenue YoY)
CF
CF
+15.6% gap
CF
22.8%
7.3%
AIT
Higher net margin
CF
CF
18.5% more per $
CF
26.4%
8.0%
AIT
More free cash flow
CF
CF
$217.6M more FCF
CF
$313.0M
$95.4M
AIT
Faster 2-yr revenue CAGR
CF
CF
Annualised
CF
12.8%
3.8%
AIT

Income Statement — Q3 FY2026 vs Q4 FY2025

Metric
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Revenue
$1.3B
$1.9B
Net Profit
$99.8M
$495.0M
Gross Margin
30.4%
40.9%
Operating Margin
11.0%
33.0%
Net Margin
8.0%
26.4%
Revenue YoY
7.3%
22.8%
Net Profit YoY
-0.0%
26.3%
EPS (diluted)
$2.65
$2.56

Green = leading value per metric. Periods may differ when fiscal calendars don't align.

8-Quarter Revenue & Profit Trend

Side-by-side quarterly history. Quarters aligned by calendar period so offset fiscal years line up.

Revenue
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
$1.3B
Q4 25
$1.2B
$1.9B
Q3 25
$1.2B
$1.7B
Q2 25
$1.2B
$1.9B
Q1 25
$1.2B
$1.7B
Q4 24
$1.1B
$1.5B
Q3 24
$1.1B
$1.4B
Q2 24
$1.2B
$1.6B
Net Profit
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
$99.8M
Q4 25
$95.3M
$495.0M
Q3 25
$100.8M
$460.0M
Q2 25
$107.8M
$492.0M
Q1 25
$99.8M
$351.0M
Q4 24
$93.3M
$392.0M
Q3 24
$92.1M
$341.0M
Q2 24
$103.5M
$506.0M
Gross Margin
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
30.4%
Q4 25
30.4%
40.9%
Q3 25
30.1%
38.1%
Q2 25
30.6%
39.9%
Q1 25
30.5%
34.4%
Q4 24
30.6%
34.4%
Q3 24
29.6%
32.4%
Q2 24
30.7%
43.2%
Operating Margin
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
11.0%
Q4 25
10.6%
33.0%
Q3 25
10.8%
35.0%
Q2 25
11.0%
34.3%
Q1 25
11.1%
27.4%
Q4 24
11.3%
28.9%
Q3 24
10.3%
26.6%
Q2 24
12.0%
40.6%
Net Margin
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
8.0%
Q4 25
8.2%
26.4%
Q3 25
8.4%
27.7%
Q2 25
8.8%
26.0%
Q1 25
8.6%
21.1%
Q4 24
8.7%
25.7%
Q3 24
8.4%
24.9%
Q2 24
8.9%
32.2%
EPS (diluted)
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
$2.65
Q4 25
$2.51
$2.56
Q3 25
$2.63
$2.19
Q2 25
$2.80
$2.37
Q1 25
$2.57
$1.85
Q4 24
$2.39
$1.86
Q3 24
$2.36
$1.55
Q2 24
$2.64
$2.30

Balance Sheet & Financial Strength

Snapshot of each company's liquidity, leverage and book value from the latest quarter.

Metric
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Cash + ST InvestmentsLiquidity on hand
$171.6M
Total DebtLower is stronger
$365.3M
$3.2B
Stockholders' EquityBook value
$1.9B
$4.8B
Total Assets
$3.0B
$14.1B
Debt / EquityLower = less leverage
0.20×
0.66×

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Cash + ST Investments
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
$171.6M
Q4 25
$406.0M
Q3 25
$418.7M
Q2 25
$388.4M
Q1 25
$352.8M
Q4 24
$303.4M
Q3 24
$538.5M
Q2 24
$460.6M
Total Debt
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
$365.3M
Q4 25
$3.2B
Q3 25
$3.0B
Q2 25
$3.0B
Q1 25
$3.0B
Q4 24
$3.0B
Q3 24
$3.0B
Q2 24
$3.0B
Stockholders' Equity
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
$1.9B
Q4 25
$1.9B
$4.8B
Q3 25
$1.9B
$4.8B
Q2 25
$1.8B
$5.0B
Q1 25
$1.8B
$4.8B
Q4 24
$1.8B
$5.0B
Q3 24
$1.8B
$5.2B
Q2 24
$1.7B
$5.5B
Total Assets
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
$3.0B
Q4 25
$3.2B
$14.1B
Q3 25
$3.2B
$14.2B
Q2 25
$3.2B
$13.8B
Q1 25
$3.1B
$13.3B
Q4 24
$3.0B
$13.5B
Q3 24
$3.0B
$13.8B
Q2 24
$3.0B
$13.8B
Debt / Equity
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
0.20×
Q4 25
0.66×
Q3 25
0.61×
Q2 25
0.60×
Q1 25
0.62×
Q4 24
0.60×
Q3 24
0.57×
Q2 24
0.54×

Cash Flow & Capital Efficiency

How much cash each business actually produces after reinvestment. Cash flow is harder to manipulate than net income.

Metric
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Operating Cash FlowLast quarter
$319.1M
$539.0M
Free Cash FlowOCF − Capex
$95.4M
$313.0M
FCF MarginFCF / Revenue
7.6%
16.7%
Capex IntensityCapex / Revenue
1.5%
12.1%
Cash ConversionOCF / Net Profit
3.20×
1.09×
TTM Free Cash FlowTrailing 4 quarters
$438.9M
$1.8B

8-quarter trend — quarters aligned by calendar period.

Operating Cash Flow
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
$319.1M
Q4 25
$99.7M
$539.0M
Q3 25
$119.3M
$1.1B
Q2 25
$147.0M
$563.0M
Q1 25
$122.5M
$586.0M
Q4 24
$95.1M
$420.0M
Q3 24
$127.7M
$931.0M
Q2 24
$119.2M
$475.0M
Free Cash Flow
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
$95.4M
Q4 25
$93.4M
$313.0M
Q3 25
$112.0M
$717.0M
Q2 25
$138.2M
$318.0M
Q1 25
$114.9M
$454.0M
Q4 24
$89.9M
$223.0M
Q3 24
$122.2M
$792.0M
Q2 24
$111.7M
$391.0M
FCF Margin
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
7.6%
Q4 25
8.0%
16.7%
Q3 25
9.3%
43.2%
Q2 25
11.3%
16.8%
Q1 25
9.8%
27.3%
Q4 24
8.4%
14.6%
Q3 24
11.1%
57.8%
Q2 24
9.6%
24.9%
Capex Intensity
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
1.5%
Q4 25
0.5%
12.1%
Q3 25
0.6%
20.9%
Q2 25
0.7%
13.0%
Q1 25
0.6%
7.9%
Q4 24
0.5%
12.9%
Q3 24
0.5%
10.1%
Q2 24
0.6%
5.3%
Cash Conversion
AIT
AIT
CF
CF
Q1 26
3.20×
Q4 25
1.05×
1.09×
Q3 25
1.18×
2.31×
Q2 25
1.36×
1.14×
Q1 25
1.23×
1.67×
Q4 24
1.02×
1.07×
Q3 24
1.39×
2.73×
Q2 24
1.15×
0.94×

Financial Flow Comparison

Revenue → gross profit → operating profit → net profit for each company.

Revenue Breakdown by Segment

AIT
AIT

Segment breakdown not available.

CF
CF

Ammonia$591.0M32%
UAN$493.0M26%
Urea$372.0M20%
Other$244.0M13%
Other Products$147.0M8%
Ammonium Nitrate Segment$25.0M1%

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