AWI vs GDS Comparison

Armstrong World Industries Inc. designs, innovates, and manufactures ceiling and wall solutions in the Americas. The company manufactures and sources products made of numerous materials, including mineral fiber, fiberglass, metal, felt, wood, resin, wood fiber, and glass-reinforced-gypsum. It also manufactures ceiling suspension system (grid) products through a joint venture with Worthington Industries, Inc., called Worthington Armstrong Venture (WAVE). The company's reportable operating segments include Mineral Fiber, Architectural Specialties, and Unallocated Corporate. A majority of its revenue is generated from the Mineral Fiber segment, which produces suspended mineral fiber and fiberglass ceiling systems. Geographically, it derives maximum revenue from the United States.

GDS Holdings started as an IT service provider in 2001 then moved to the data center business with its first self-developed data center opening in 2010. The company now develops and operates data centers in China and also builds, operates and transfers data centers for other clients. It offers colocation and managed services and mainly targets hyperscale cloud service customers who take large areas of its data centers or even whole data centers under long-term contracts. Its data centers are located predominantly in and around the Tier 1 cities in China and it has also started an expanding into Southeast Asia via the now 38% owned DayOne. GDS listed on the Nasdaq in 2016 and completed a secondary listing in Hong Kong in 2020.