With a market cap of $6.8 billion, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Albemarle Corporation (ALB) is a global leader in specialty chemicals, offering innovative solutions across a variety of industries, including energy storage, automotive, construction, and electronics. It operates through three main segments: Energy Storage, Specialties, and Ketjen, providing advanced products like lithium compounds, bromine-based chemicals, and clean fuel technologies.
Albemarle is expected to release its fiscal Q1 2025 earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, Apr. 30. Ahead of this event, analysts project ALB to report a loss of $0.62 per share, a significant decline from EPS of $0.26 in the year-ago quarter. It has missed Wall Street’s bottom-line estimates in the last four quarterly reports.
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For fiscal 2025, analysts forecast the specialty chemicals company to report a loss of $1.46 per share, up 37.6% from a loss of $2.34 per share in fiscal 2024. Moreover, EPS is anticipated to grow 218.5% year-over-year to $1.73 in fiscal 2026.
ALB has declined 49.6% over the past 52 weeks, significantly underperforming the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 8.6% gain and the Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLB) nearly 7% drop over the same time frame.
On Feb. 12, Albemarle reported a weaker-than-expected Q4 2024, with an adjusted loss of $1.09 per share and revenue of $1.2 billion. Despite this, its shares rose 3.5% the following day, driven by investor optimism around the company’s aggressive cost-cutting initiatives, including a plan to reduce 2025 capital expenditures to $700 million - $800 million, about half of 2024’s budget. Moreover, Albemarle posted a GAAP profit of $33.6 million, a significant rebound from the previous year’s $617.7 million loss, which helped reassure investors despite the challenges posed by low lithium prices.
Analysts' consensus view on Albemarle stock is cautiously optimistic, with a "Moderate Buy" rating overall. Among 25 analysts covering the stock, eight suggest a "Strong Buy," one gives a "Moderate Buy," 14 recommend a "Hold," and two give a "Strong Sell." As of writing, ALB is trading below the average analyst price target of $90.40.
On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
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