ALB vs SQM vs LAR Stock Comparison

Albemarle, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile and Lithium Argentina AG 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
LAR Lithium Argentina AG
$4.24 -26.5% 1M +3.4% 1Y
Market cap
$676.05M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$225.80M
Div. yield
–
Lithium Basic Materials
2 wins

Head to Head

11 decided of 12

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile leads on 9 of the 12 questions below (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile 9, Lithium Argentina AG 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALBSQMLARLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.04B $16.27B $676.05M SQM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 39.6x 11.7x -12.5x SQM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.5x 8.1x 17.7x SQM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.3% +59.0% +371.3% LAR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.7% 20.6% -23.9% SQM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 22.8% 0.0% SQM
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — 0.2x -3.4x LAR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.02% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -3.8% +28.3% +3.4% SQM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.6%/yr +1.7%/yr -15.9%/yr SQM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 55.2% 47.1% 74.6% SQM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 63/100 70/100 66/100 SQM

Percentile Scorecard

ALBSQMLAR

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

AxisALBSQMLAR
Valuation 93 #13 of 162 81 #32 of 162 71 #48 of 162
Growth 54 #68 of 147 63 #55 of 147 74 #39 of 147
Profitability 69 #38 of 122 82 #23 of 122 41 #73 of 122
Financial Health 42 #97 of 166 32 #113 of 166 75 #43 of 166
Shareholder Returns 56 #48 of 107 91 #11 of 107 72 #31 of 107
Overall 63 70 66
  • ALB ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • SQM ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • LAR 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

PeriodALBSQMLARSPY
1 month -17.4%-17.4%-26.5% -1.0%
3 months -18.4%-16.9%-27.4% +2.9%
6 months -50.3%-35.7%-54.5% +6.4%
Year to date -33.8%-17.0%-24.0% +11.4%
1 year -3.8%+28.3%+3.4% +13.1%
3 years -32.7%+10.4%-33.6% +79.4%
3 years, per year -12.4%+3.4%-12.8% +21.5%
5 years -59.5%+9.0%-57.9% +67.7%
5 years, per year -16.6%+1.7%-15.9% +10.9%
10 years +13.9%+94.6%+244.7% +255.2%
10 years, per year +1.3%+6.9%+13.2% +13.5%

Risk

MeasureALBSQMLARSPY
Volatility, 1Y 55.2%47.1%74.6% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 54.2%44.1%72.8% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.320.952.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.070.600.05 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.4%-73.5%-89.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.6%-40.1%-64.0% -2.5%
52-week high $215.62$95.31$11.79 $779.14
52-week low $88.45$44.36$3.72 $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.

MultipleALBSQMLAR
P/E now vs peer median 39.7xmedian 12.7x 11.8xmedian 12.7x -12.8xmedian 12.7x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 3.1x 2.4xmedian 3.1x 3.0xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 6.9x 4.8xmedian 6.9x 3.7xmedian 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 15.1x —median 15.1x -34.5xmedian 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 2.1x 1.9xmedian 2.1x 0.8xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -0.66median 0.27 -0.75median 0.27 0.22median 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 monthsALBSQMLAR
Revenue $5.91B $6.73B $225.80M
Gross profit $1.41B $2.83B $110.90M
Operating income – $3.11B $256.12M
Net income $253.32M $1.39B -$18.74M
Free cash flow $1.34B – -$19.96M
R&D – – $4.53M
EPS (diluted) $2.04 $4.86 $-0.33
Cash & equivalents $1.63B $3.38B $99.72M
Total debt $1.88B $19.72B -$925.15M
Shares (diluted) 136.21M 285.64M 162.17M
Enterprise value $4.77B $2.93B $235.63M

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
MetricALBSQMLAR
P/E 39.7x 11.8x -12.8x
P/FCF 8.2x – -34.5x
P/Operating cash flow 6.1x – -34.5x
P/S 1.9x 2.4x 3.0x
P/B 1.0x 1.9x 0.8x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 1.9x 0.8x
EV/EBITDA – 4.8x 3.7x
EV/EBIT – 5.5x 3.7x
EV/Revenue 1.9x 2.6x 1.6x
EV/FCF 8.4x – -17.9x
EV/Operating cash flow 6.3x – -17.9x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.66 -0.75 0.22

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALBSQMLAR
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.3% 59.0% 371.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -15.1% -4.8% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 263.2% 150.2% 32,338%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -28.7% -9.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 134.4% 213.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -17.5% –
Net income growth (1Y) 127.9% 190.5% 48.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -60.3% -7.2% -17.8%
EPS growth (1Y) 121.9% 190.5% 95.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.5% -15.7% -57.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 136.6% – 39.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.1% – 31.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 816.8% – 43.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.5% – 31.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALBSQMLAR
Gross margin 23.8% 42.1% 49.1%
EBITDA margin – 52.7% 43.1%
Operating margin – 46.2% 113.4%
Pretax margin – 36.6% -12.2%
Net margin 4.7% 20.6% -23.9%
FCF margin 22.7% – -8.8%
Operating cash flow margin 30.5% – -8.8%
Return on equity 2.7% 16.4% 1.6%
Return on assets 1.8% 8.6% 1.2%
Return on invested capital – 22.8% 0.0%
Return on capital employed – 23.4% 6.9%
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.4x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 7.1x – 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% – 6.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALBSQMLAR
Debt / assets 11.8% 31.3% -14.7%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.6x -0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.2x -3.4x
Debt / FCF 1.4x – 8.5x
Liabilities / assets 33.8% 47.9% 27.2%
Equity / assets 66.2% 52.1% 72.8%
Interest coverage – 15.3x 161.6x
Current ratio 2.1x 2.6x -2.0x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.8x -0.7x
Cash ratio 0.9x 1.5x -0.7x
Altman Z-score – – 1.66

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusALBSQMLAR
Forward P/E 8.5xFY2026 8.1xFY2026 17.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $10.97FY2026 $7.03FY2026 $0.24FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +241.3%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -2.3% -2.4% +33.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.87BFY2026 $8.31BFY2026 $0.00FY2026
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
HoldersALBSQMLAR
Held by institutions 98.1% 13.4% 33.9%
Institutions holding 947 316 164
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.8% -3.0% +0.6%
Institutions buying 449 166 75
Institutions selling 358 100 48
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.66 1.56

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.

ALBSQMLAR
ALB 1.00 0.79 0.66
SQM 0.79 1.00 0.64
LAR 0.66 0.64 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALB, SQM and LAR?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Albemarle (ALB) $11.04B, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) $16.27B, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) $676.05M.

Which stock is cheaper, ALB, SQM and LAR?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Albemarle (ALB) 39.6x, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 11.7x, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -12.5x). 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, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 17.7x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Albemarle (ALB) +18.3%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +59.0%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) +371.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) has the highest net margin (Albemarle (ALB) 4.7%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 20.6%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -23.9%). On return on invested capital, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) leads (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 22.8%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 0.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) returned the most: Albemarle (ALB) -3.8%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +28.3%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) +3.4%. Over five years, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) compounded fastest (Albemarle (ALB) -16.6%/yr, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +1.7%/yr, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -15.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Albemarle (ALB) 0.02%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 0.00%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 0.00%. Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) and Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 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%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 47.1%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 74.6%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 9. 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.