AMADY vs GDS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Last updated October 2026

Short answer

AMADY is the larger of the two ($25.45B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (14.26x forward earnings, beta 0.66). GDS is the smaller challenger ($4.62B), actually pricier on forward earnings (3,674.41x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.

AMADY vs GDS: the tie-breaker metrics

Same yardstick, side by side (as of October 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Metric	AMADY	GDS	What it tells you
Market cap	$25.45B	$4.62B	Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove.
Forward P/E	14.26	3,674.41	Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up.
Trailing P/E	17.16	10.73	Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price.
Beta	0.66	0.42	Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through.
Price vs 52-week range	23% of range	1% of range	Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why.
Price / book	4.96	1.03	How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price.

Reading it: AMADY is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

Before you buy: how AMADY and GDS affect your concentration

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. AMADY and GDS share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined AMADY and GDS exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

What does Amadeus IT Group (AMADY) do?

Amadeus IT Group is a Spanish technology company that builds the software travel runs on. Its Air Distribution business operates one of the three big global distribution systems (GDS), the marketplace where travel agencies and online travel sites search and book airline seats, and Amadeus earns a fee per booking. Its Air IT Solutions business sells the passenger service systems that airlines use to run reservations, inventory, departure control and check-in, charging per passenger boarded. A third segment, Hospitality and Other Solutions, covers hotel software, payments, airport systems and biometrics, and it has grown fastest. For 2025 Amadeus reported revenue of ~€6.5 billion and adjusted EBIT of ~€1.9 billion, and for the first half of 2026 revenue of ~€3.33 billion (up ~5% at constant currency) with adjusted EBIT of ~€1.01 billion.

Full AMADY guide

What does GDS Holdings (GDS) do?

GDS Holdings is China's largest carrier-neutral, third-party data center operator, developing, owning, and operating high-power colocation facilities that it leases to large Chinese cloud service providers, internet platforms, financial institutions, and increasingly AI compute customers. It runs more than 100 data centers concentrated in and around China's top-tier economic hubs (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen) plus growing capacity in lower-cost interior regions, and it makes money primarily from long-term service revenue tied to committed power capacity (measured in megawatts) and floor space. The company is listed as an ADR on the Nasdaq under GDS and also trades in Hong Kong (9698.HK).

Full GDS guide

AMADY vs GDS: how do they differ?

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

AMADY drivers: Airline IT as a recurring, per-passenger engine; Hospitality, payments and biometrics as the growth leg.
GDS drivers: China AI and cloud infrastructure demand; DayOne international spinoff and IPO.

Which fits which kind of investor

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The biggest debated risk is structural: AI booking agents and airline direct distribution could reduce GDS volumes or fees over time, and analysts such as Citi cut targets sharply in 2026 on that concern. For GDS, gDS carries heavy debt (roughly US$6.6 billion gross, net debt near US$4.7 billion), which makes it sensitive to interest rates, refinancing conditions, and any slowdown in bookings.

AMADY or GDS: which should you pick?

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick AMADY if you believe its drivers more; GDS if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the AMADY and GDS guides.

AMADY vs GDS: the full fundamentals

AMADY. Amadeus shares in Madrid were trading in the low-to-mid €50s in autumn 2026, down roughly 13% for the year and well below a 52-week high near €74, which left the ADR on a trailing P/E around the high teens versus the mid-20s it commanded through much of 2024 and 2025. Net debt was ~€2.6 billion at June 30, 2026 (~1.0x EBITDA), and the company has run a €500 million share buyback alongside a dividend policy paying out roughly half of profit. Analyst consensus targets clustered near ~€65-69, though several brokers trimmed targets during 2026 on AI and traffic concerns.

GDS. At $23.30 the ADR trades near 1.0x book and about 7.5x EV/EBITDA, far below where it stood when the market cap was $8 billion or more earlier in 2026. Trailing P/E near 11x flatters the picture because recent quarters included large one-off gains; analysts expect losses in the second half of 2026. The DayOne stake, leverage and November 18 Q3 results are the swing factors.

Headline figures (approximate, October 2026): AMADY shows revenue (fy 2025) ~€6.5 billion (up ~8.5% at constant currency), revenue (h1 2026) ~€3.33 billion (up ~5.1% at constant currency), adjusted ebit (fy 2025) ~€1.9 billion (~29% margin), free cash flow (fy 2025) ~€1.3 billion; GDS shows net revenue (ttm) ~RMB12.3B, net revenue (q2 2026) ~RMB3.09B, ~+6.5% YoY, net income (q2 2026) ~RMB835M, vs a prior-year loss, 2026 revenue guidance (raised) ~RMB12.7B to RMB13.0B.

The bottom line: AMADY vs GDS

AMADY and GDS are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined AMADY and GDS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.

Wondering how AMADY or GDS fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.

Investing in Amadeus IT Group with AI

Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how AMADY fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.

Does AMADY fit me?

FAQ

What is the difference between AMADY and GDS?

Amadeus IT Group is a Spanish technology company that builds the software travel runs on. GDS Holdings is China's largest carrier-neutral, third-party data center operator, developing, owning, and operating high-power colocation facilities that it leases to large Chinese cloud service providers, internet platforms, financial institutions, and increasingly AI compute customers. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.

Is AMADY or GDS the better stock?

Neither is universally better. AMADY is the larger incumbent; GDS is the smaller challenger and looks pricier on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.

Which is cheaper, AMADY or GDS?

On forward P/E (as of October 2026), AMADY trades at 14.26x and GDS at 3,674.41x, so AMADY is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.

Should you own both AMADY and GDS?

Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.

What are the risks of AMADY vs GDS?

AMADY: The biggest debated risk is structural: AI booking agents and airline direct distribution could reduce GDS volumes or fees over time, and analysts such as Citi cut targets sharply in 2026 on that concern. The business is also cyclical with air traffic, as the 2026 outlook cut tied to Middle East disruption showed, and management warned the revised outlook may not hold if conditions worsen. Competition from Sabre and Travelport in distribution and from Navitaire and in-house systems in airline IT is persistent, and the pending IDEMIA deal adds integration and regulatory risk, along with a ~€18 million Spanish GDPR fine in 2026 that highlights data-privacy exposure. For US holders, AMADY is an unsponsored OTC ADR, so liquidity and bid-ask spreads are thinner than the Madrid line, the dollar return moves with the euro, dividends are subject to Spanish withholding tax (reclaimable in part) and ADR fees, and unsponsored programs carry less direct company involvement than a listed sponsored ADR. GDS: GDS carries heavy debt (roughly US$6.6 billion gross, net debt near US$4.7 billion), which makes it sensitive to interest rates, refinancing conditions, and any slowdown in bookings. It is a China-exposed ADR, so it faces Chinese regulatory, economic, and data-policy risk plus the ongoing possibility of US-China listing tensions and delisting scrutiny. Building data centers is extremely capital intensive and can pressure free cash flow, and much of the growth story depends on power availability and continued AI-driven demand that could prove cyclical. The DayOne valuation and IPO timing are uncertain, and the reported valuation could shift with market conditions. The stock is volatile, and reported earnings swing widely on one-off items: quarterly EPS has run from a loss of RMB2.47 to a profit of RMB8.65 per share over the past year, while analysts expect losses in Q3 and Q4 2026 and close to breakeven in 2027. The roughly 29% fall in the month to October 16, 2026, with no single disclosed cause in the available reports, shows how sharp sentiment swings can be. Yahoo shows free cash flow of about negative RMB4.6 billion over the past twelve months; that is the cost of the build-out.

Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell AMADY or GDS; figures are approximate and dated (as of October 2026). Verify current data before investing.