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Albemarle's Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates in Q3

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Key Takeaways

  • Albemarle posts adjusted Q3 loss of 19 cents per share, narrower than last year's $1.55 loss.
  • Q3 revenues slip 3.5% to $1.31B but tops estimates, helped by volume gains in key segments.
  • Full-year outlook seen near top of prior range on stronger lithium pricing and Energy Storage sales.

Albemarle Corporation (ALB - Free Report) logged adjusted losses (barring one-time items) of 19 cents per share in the third quarter of 2025. This compares to losses of $1.55 per share a year ago. The figure was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 92 cents.

Revenues fell roughly 3.5% year over year to $1,307.8 million in the quarter. The top line beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,292 million. The top line was hurt by lower prices in the Energy Storage segment, partly offset by the volume growth in the Energy Storage and Ketjen.

Adjusted EBITDA for the reported quarter was $225.6 million, up from $211.5 million in the prior-year quarter. Lower input costs and cost reduction efforts offset reduced lithium pricing.

Albemarle Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Albemarle Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Albemarle Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Albemarle Corporation Quote

ALB’s Segment Highlights

Sales from the Energy Storage unit fell around 7.6% year over year to $708.8 million. It surpassed the consensus estimate of $678 million. The decline in sales was attributed to reduced pricing. Sales volumes were up 8% due to higher spodumene sales, record production from integrated conversion facilities and inventory reductions.

The Specialties segment recorded sales of $345 million, up around 0.8% year over year. It was below the consensus estimate of $349 million. Foreign exchange benefits more than offset lower volume.

The Ketjen unit recorded revenues of $254.1 million in the reported quarter, up roughly 3.7% year over year. It beat the consensus estimate of $248 million. Higher volumes were partially offset by lower prices.

Albemarle’s Financial Position

Albemarle ended the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of roughly $1,931.8 million, up from $1,664.5 million reported in the prior-year quarter. Long-term debt was around $3,181 million, up around 2% sequentially.

Cash from operations was around $893.8 million for the first nine months of 2025, up 29% from the prior-year period.

ALB’s 2025 Outlook

Albemarle is taking actions to improve costs, productivity and efficiencies to preserve its long-term competitive position. It has raised the full-year outlook for the enterprise and Energy Storage. For the full year 2025, results are expected to be near the higher end of the earlier $9/kg forecast range because of strong performance, higher lithium prices, and higher-than-expected Energy Storage sales. The outlook for Ketjen and Specialties remains the same.

ALB expects capital expenditures for full-year 2025 to be roughly $600 million.

ALB expects depreciation and amortization expenses of $630-$670 million for 2025. Corporate costs are expected to be $10-$30 million, while Interest and financing expenses are forecast to be $180-$210 million for the full year.

ALB Stock’s Price Performance

Albemarle’s shares have lost 2.7% in the past year compared with the Zacks Chemicals Diversified industry’s 37.1% decline.

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Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

ALB’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

ALB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space are AngloGold Ashanti plc (AU - Free Report) , U.S. Gold Corp. (USAU - Free Report) and Integra Resources Corp. (ITRG - Free Report) .

AngloGold is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 11. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU’s third-quarter earnings and revenues is pegged at $1.34 per share and $2.35 billion, respectively. AU currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

U.S. Gold is expected to report fiscal second-quarter results on Dec. 15. USAU carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for USAU’s second-quarter earnings is pegged at a loss of 13 cents, indicating a 35% year-over-year growth.

Integra Resources is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 12. ITRG’s earnings estimate for the third quarter is pegged at 13 cents per share. Integra Resources carries a Zacks Rank #2 at present.

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