ALB vs SLI vs SQM Stock Comparison

Albemarle, Standard Lithium and Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALB Albemarle Corp
$93.66 -17.4% 1M -3.8% 1Y
Market cap
$11.04B
P/E
39.6x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.91B
Div. yield
0.02%
Lithium Basic Materials
SLI Standard Lithium Ltd.
$1.43 -32.9% 1M -65.2% 1Y
Market cap
$285.83M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02M
Div. yield
–
Lithium Basic Materials
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile 8, Standard Lithium 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALBSLISQMLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.04B $285.83M $16.27B SQM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.6x -6.0x 11.7x SQM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.5x — 8.1x SQM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.3% +575.1% +59.0% SLI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.7% -791.4% 20.6% SQM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 22.8% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — 0.2x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.8% -65.2% +28.3% SQM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.6%/yr -32.9%/yr +1.7%/yr SQM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 55.2% 67.1% 47.1% SQM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 59/100 70/100 SQM

Percentile Scorecard

ALBSLISQM

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

AxisALBSLISQM
Valuation 93 #13 of 162 33 #109 of 162 81 #32 of 162
Growth 54 #68 of 147 68 #48 of 147 63 #55 of 147
Profitability 69 #38 of 122 17 #102 of 122 82 #23 of 122
Financial Health 42 #97 of 166 79 #35 of 166 32 #113 of 166
Shareholder Returns 56 #48 of 107 96 #5 of 107 91 #11 of 107
Overall 63 59 70
  • ALB ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • SLI ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • SQM 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

PeriodALBSLISQMSPY
1 month -17.4%-32.9%-17.4% -1.0%
3 months -18.4%-32.9%-16.9% +2.9%
6 months -50.3%-62.0%-35.7% +6.4%
Year to date -33.8%-68.0%-17.0% +11.4%
1 year -3.8%-65.2%+28.3% +13.1%
3 years -32.7%-50.0%+10.4% +79.4%
3 years, per year -12.4%-20.6%+3.4% +21.5%
5 years -59.5%-86.4%+9.0% +67.7%
5 years, per year -16.6%-32.9%+1.7% +10.9%
10 years +13.9%—+94.6% +255.2%
10 years, per year +1.3%—+6.9% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureALBSLISQMSPY
Volatility, 1Y 55.2%67.1%47.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.2%73.3%44.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.322.110.95 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.07-0.970.60 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.4%-91.5%-73.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.6%-74.7%-40.1% -2.5%
52-week high $215.62$5.65$95.31 $779.14
52-week low $88.45$1.38$44.36 $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.

MultipleALBSLISQM
P/E now vs peer median 39.7xmedian 12.7x -6.2xmedian 12.7x 11.8xmedian 12.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 3.1x 56.9xmedian 3.1x 2.4xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 6.9x —median 6.9x 4.8xmedian 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 15.1x -23.4xmedian 15.1x —median 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 2.1x 0.9xmedian 2.1x 1.9xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -0.66median 0.27 —median 0.27 -0.75median 0.27

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 monthsALBSLISQM
Revenue $5.91B $6.02M $6.73B
Gross profit $1.41B – $2.83B
Operating income – -$22.81M $3.11B
Net income $253.32M -$47.66M $1.39B
Free cash flow $1.34B -$14.63M –
EPS (diluted) $2.04 $-0.23 $4.86
Cash & equivalents $1.63B $137.30M $3.38B
Total debt $1.88B – $19.72B
Shares (diluted) 136.21M 206.37M 285.64M
Enterprise value $4.77B -$384.18M $2.93B

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
MetricALBSLISQM
P/E 39.7x -6.2x 11.8x
P/FCF 8.2x -23.4x –
P/Operating cash flow 6.1x -23.5x –
P/S 1.9x 56.9x 2.4x
P/B 1.0x 0.9x 1.9x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 0.9x 1.9x
EV/EBITDA – – 4.8x
EV/EBIT – -6.7x 5.5x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 25.5x 2.6x
EV/FCF 8.4x -10.5x –
EV/Operating cash flow 6.3x -10.5x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.66 – -0.75

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALBSLISQM
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.3% 575.1% 59.0%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -15.1% – -4.8%
Gross profit growth (1Y) 263.2% – 150.2%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -28.7% – -9.3%
Operating income growth (1Y) – -363.9% 134.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – -17.5%
Net income growth (1Y) 127.9% 69.6% 190.5%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -60.3% – -7.2%
EPS growth (1Y) 121.9% 72.6% 190.5%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.5% – -15.7%
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
MetricALBSLISQM
Gross margin 23.8% – 42.1%
EBITDA margin – – 52.7%
Operating margin – -378.8% 46.2%
Pretax margin – -867.8% 36.6%
Net margin 4.7% -791.4% 20.6%
FCF margin 22.7% -242.9% –
Operating cash flow margin 30.5% -242.6% –
Return on equity 2.7% -13.0% 16.4%
Return on assets 1.8% -12.1% 8.6%
Return on invested capital – – 22.8%
Return on capital employed – -5.9% 23.4%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.0x 0.4x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 7.1x 0.3x –
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% 104.0% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALBSLISQM
Debt / assets 11.8% – 31.3%
Debt / equity 0.2x – 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – – 0.2x
Debt / FCF 1.4x – –
Liabilities / assets 33.8% 7.1% 47.9%
Equity / assets 66.2% 92.9% 52.1%
Interest coverage – -950.4x 15.3x
Current ratio 2.1x 17.9x 2.6x
Quick ratio 1.2x 23.6x 1.8x
Cash ratio 0.9x 23.3x 1.5x
Altman Z-score – 7.22 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALBSLISQM
Dividend yield 1.7% – 4.2%
Net buyback yield -0.2% 4.0% –
Shareholder yield 1.5% 4.0% 4.2%
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.

ConsensusALBSLISQM
Forward P/E 8.5xFY2026 – 8.1xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.97FY2026 – $7.03FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – +241.3%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after -2.3% – -2.4%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.87BFY2026 – $8.31BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +14.2%FY2026 – +81.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +9.5% – +3.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALBSLISQM
Held by institutions 98.1% 31.0% 13.4%
Institutions holding 947 137 316
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.8% +2.1% -3.0%
Institutions buying 449 60 166
Institutions selling 358 33 100
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.82 1.66

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.

ALBSLISQM
ALB 1.00 0.49 0.79
SLI 0.49 1.00 0.51
SQM 0.79 0.51 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALB, SLI and SQM?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Albemarle (ALB) $11.04B, Standard Lithium (SLI) $285.83M, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) $16.27B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALB, SLI and SQM?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Albemarle (ALB) 39.6x, Standard Lithium (SLI) -6.0x, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 11.7x). On next year's consensus earnings, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) is cheapest (Albemarle (ALB) 8.5x, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 8.1x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

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%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +59.0%.

Which company is more profitable?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) has the highest net margin (Albemarle (ALB) 4.7%, Standard Lithium (SLI) -791.4%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 20.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) returned the most: Albemarle (ALB) -3.8%, Standard Lithium (SLI) -65.2%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +28.3%. Over five years, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) compounded fastest (Albemarle (ALB) -16.6%/yr, Standard Lithium (SLI) -32.9%/yr, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +1.7%/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%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 0.00%. Standard Lithium (SLI) and Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) has been the steadiest (Albemarle (ALB) 55.2%, Standard Lithium (SLI) 67.1%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 47.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) leads on 8. 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.