ALB vs SLI vs IONR Stock Comparison

Albemarle, Standard Lithium and Ioneer Prices as of Oct 29, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALB Albemarle Corp
$93.29 -13.3% 1M -4.6% 1Y
Market cap
$10.65B
P/E
38.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.91B
Div. yield
0.02%
Lithium Basic Materials
6 wins
SLI Standard Lithium Ltd.
$1.46 -18.4% 1M -61.6% 1Y
Market cap
$294.08M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02M
Div. yield
–
Lithium Basic Materials
1 win
IONR ioneer Ltd
$2.82 -10.5% 1M -41.5% 1Y
Market cap
$164.15M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Lithium Basic Materials

Head to Head

7 decided of 12

Albemarle leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Albemarle 6, Standard Lithium 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALBSLIIONRLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $10.65B $294.08M $164.15M ALB
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 38.2x -6.2x — –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.7x — — –
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.3% +575.1% — SLI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.7% -791.4% — ALB
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -4.6% -61.6% -41.5% ALB
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -17.9%/yr -33.7%/yr — ALB
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 54.2% 67.5% 79.3% ALB
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 62/100 60/100 — ALB

Percentile Scorecard

ALBSLIIONR

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisALBSLIIONR
Valuation 93 #12 of 163 35 #106 of 163 –
Growth 55 #67 of 148 67 #49 of 148 –
Profitability 68 #40 of 123 19 #100 of 123 –
Financial Health 40 #99 of 164 80 #33 of 164 98 #4 of 164
Shareholder Returns 53 #51 of 108 96 #5 of 108 –
Overall 62 60 –
  • ALB ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • SLI ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • IONR ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodALBSLIIONRSPY
1 month -13.3%-18.4%-10.5% +0.7%
3 months -20.7%-28.4%-15.3% +3.7%
6 months -52.6%-62.2%-26.4% +7.1%
Year to date -34.0%-67.3%-41.3% +12.8%
1 year -4.6%-61.6%-41.5% +11.9%
3 years -26.8%-45.9%-26.8% +85.2%
3 years, per year -9.9%-18.5%-9.9% +22.8%
5 years -62.8%-87.2%— +67.6%
5 years, per year -17.9%-33.7%— +10.9%
10 years +12.5%—— +262.0%
10 years, per year +1.2%—— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureALBSLIIONRSPY
Volatility, 1Y 54.2%67.5%79.3% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 52.5%72.8%76.8% 12.6%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.382.191.45 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.09-0.91-0.52 0.94
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.4%-91.5%-87.8% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.7%-74.2%-55.9% -1.2%
52-week high $215.62$5.65$6.39 $779.14
52-week low $88.45$1.38$2.55 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleALBSLIIONR
P/E now vs peer median 39.5xmedian 13.2x -6.3xmedian 13.2x —median 13.2x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 3.1x 58.1xmedian 3.1x —median 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.2x —median 7.2x —median 7.2x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 15.2x -23.9xmedian 15.2x —median 15.2x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 2.2x 0.9xmedian 2.2x 0.7xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.65median 0.30 —median 0.30 —median 0.30

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsALBSLIIONR
Revenue $5.91B $6.02M –
Gross profit $1.41B – –
Operating income – -$22.81M –
Net income $253.32M -$47.66M –
Free cash flow $1.34B -$14.63M –
EPS (diluted) $2.04 $-0.23 –
Cash & equivalents $1.63B $137.30M $58.84M
Total debt $1.88B – –
Shares (diluted) 136.21M 206.37M 60.35M
Enterprise value $4.38B -$375.92M $29.75M

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricALBSLIIONR
P/E 39.5x -6.3x –
P/FCF 8.2x -23.9x –
P/Operating cash flow 6.1x -24.0x –
P/S 1.9x 58.1x –
P/B 1.0x 0.9x 0.7x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 1.0x 0.7x
EV/EBITDA – – –
EV/EBIT – -7.1x –
EV/Revenue 1.9x 26.7x –
EV/FCF 8.4x -11.0x –
EV/Operating cash flow 6.3x -11.0x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.65 – –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALBSLIIONR
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.3% 575.1% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -15.1% – –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 263.2% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -28.7% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) – -363.9% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 127.9% 69.6% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -60.3% – –
EPS growth (1Y) 121.9% 72.6% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.5% – –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 136.6% 12.4% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.1% – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 816.8% 32.6% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.5% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALBSLIIONR
Gross margin 23.8% – –
EBITDA margin – – –
Operating margin – -378.8% –
Pretax margin – -867.8% –
Net margin 4.7% -791.4% –
FCF margin 22.7% -242.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 30.5% -242.6% –
Return on equity 2.7% -13.0% –
Return on assets 1.8% -12.1% –
Return on invested capital – – –
Return on capital employed – -5.9% –
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.0x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 7.1x 0.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 104.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALBSLIIONR
Debt / assets 11.8% – –
Debt / equity 0.2x – –
Net debt / EBITDA – – –
Debt / FCF 1.4x – –
Liabilities / assets 33.8% 7.1% 0.9%
Equity / assets 66.2% 92.9% 99.1%
Interest coverage – -950.4x –
Current ratio 2.1x 17.9x 25.8x
Quick ratio 1.2x 23.6x 25.8x
Cash ratio 0.9x 23.3x 25.6x
Altman Z-score – 7.37 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALBSLIIONR
Dividend yield 1.8% – –
Net buyback yield -0.2% 3.9% –
Shareholder yield 1.6% 3.9% –
Payout ratio (earnings) 75.3% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 14.2% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) 0.4% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) 0.9% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusALBSLIIONR
Forward P/E 8.7xFY2026 – –
EPS, next fiscal year $10.78FY2026 – $0.00FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -5.2% – –
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.82BFY2026 – $717.29KFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +13.3%FY2026 – +9.8%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +8.1% – -100.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALBSLIIONR
Held by institutions 98.1% 31.0% 3.9%
Institutions holding 948 138 34
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.8% +2.1% -10.1%
Institutions buying 449 60 20
Institutions selling 359 33 5
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.82 4.00

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

ALBSLIIONR
ALB 1.00 0.50 0.27
SLI 0.50 1.00 0.25
IONR 0.27 0.25 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALB, SLI and IONR?

Albemarle (ALB) is the largest by market capitalisation: Albemarle (ALB) $10.65B, Standard Lithium (SLI) $294.08M, Ioneer (IONR) $164.15M.

Which company is growing faster?

Standard Lithium (SLI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Albemarle (ALB) +18.3%, Standard Lithium (SLI) +575.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Albemarle (ALB) has the highest net margin (Albemarle (ALB) 4.7%, Standard Lithium (SLI) -791.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Albemarle (ALB) returned the most: Albemarle (ALB) -4.6%, Standard Lithium (SLI) -61.6%, Ioneer (IONR) -41.5%. Over five years, Albemarle (ALB) compounded fastest (Albemarle (ALB) -17.9%/yr, Standard Lithium (SLI) -33.7%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Albemarle (ALB) 0.02%, Standard Lithium (SLI) 0.00%, Ioneer (IONR) 0.00%. Standard Lithium (SLI) and Ioneer (IONR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Albemarle (ALB) has been the steadiest (Albemarle (ALB) 54.2%, Standard Lithium (SLI) 67.5%, Ioneer (IONR) 79.3%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, ALB, SLI and IONR?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Albemarle (ALB) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.