ALB vs SQM vs SSL Stock Comparison

Albemarle, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile and Sasol Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
ALB Albemarle Corp
$93.41 -14.9% 1M -11.6% 1Y
Market cap
$11.68B
P/E
42.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$5.91B
Div. yield
0.02%
Lithium Basic Materials
SSL Sasol Ltd
$17.42 +24.2% 1M +165.5% 1Y
Market cap
$10.83B
P/E
15.3x
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Integrated Oil and Gas Energy
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile 7, Sasol 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionALBSQMSSLLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $11.68B $17.23B $10.83B SQM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 42.0x 12.4x 15.3x SQM
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.7x 8.0x 5.3x SSL
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +18.3% +59.0% — SQM
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.7% 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 -11.6% +25.0% +165.5% SSL
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -16.6%/yr +1.2%/yr +0.4%/yr SQM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 53.9% 47.0% 54.1% SQM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 61/100 70/100 — SQM

Percentile Scorecard

ALBSQMSSL

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

AxisALBSQMSSL
Valuation 92 #14 of 162 81 #31 of 162 95 #6 of 99
Growth 53 #69 of 147 62 #56 of 147 –
Profitability 68 #40 of 122 81 #24 of 122 –
Financial Health 42 #97 of 165 32 #112 of 165 52 #50 of 102
Shareholder Returns 53 #51 of 107 92 #10 of 107 –
Overall 61 70 –
  • ALB ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • SQM ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • SSL ranked among 103 companies in Oil and Gas Upstream

Price Performance

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

Returns

PeriodALBSQMSSLSPY
1 month -14.9%-14.8%+24.2% -0.8%
3 months -19.6%-17.2%+52.3% +3.5%
6 months -53.2%-37.6%+36.9% +7.0%
Year to date -34.0%-17.2%+167.6% +12.2%
1 year -11.6%+25.0%+165.5% +13.0%
3 years -30.5%+11.5%+32.9% +86.3%
3 years, per year -11.4%+3.7%+9.9% +23.1%
5 years -59.7%+5.9%+2.0% +68.6%
5 years, per year -16.6%+1.2%+0.4% +11.0%
10 years +15.2%+94.6%-37.0% +258.0%
10 years, per year +1.4%+6.9%-4.5% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureALBSQMSSLSPY
Volatility, 1Y 53.9%47.0%54.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 52.6%43.9%55.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.360.96-0.76 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.210.533.06 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -84.4%-73.5%-89.4% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.7%-40.2%-3.3% -1.8%
52-week high $215.62$95.31$18.02 $779.14
52-week low $88.45$44.36$6.00 $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.

MultipleALBSQMSSL
P/E now vs peer median 39.6xmedian 12.8x 11.7xmedian 12.8x 15.3xmedian 13.5x
P/S now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 3.1x 2.4xmedian 3.1x 0.7xmedian 2.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.0x 4.8xmedian 7.0x —median 5.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median 8.2xmedian 15.2x —median 15.2x 3.6xmedian 11.0x
P/B now vs peer median 1.0xmedian 2.1x 1.9xmedian 2.1x 1.1xmedian 1.5x
PEG now vs peer median -0.65median 0.29 -0.75median 0.29 —median 2.27

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 monthsALBSQMSSL
Revenue $5.91B $6.73B –
Gross profit $1.41B $2.83B –
Operating income – $3.11B –
Net income $253.32M $1.39B –
Free cash flow $1.34B – –
EPS (diluted) $2.04 $4.86 –
Cash & equivalents $1.63B $3.38B $2.64B
Total debt $1.88B $19.72B $6.66B
Shares (diluted) 136.21M 285.64M 642.00M
Enterprise value $5.41B $3.89B -$233.82M

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
MetricALBSQMSSL
P/E 39.6x 11.7x 15.3x
P/FCF 8.2x – 3.6x
P/Operating cash flow 6.1x – –
P/S 1.9x 2.4x 0.7x
P/B 1.0x 1.9x 1.1x
P/Tangible book 1.1x 1.9x 1.1x
EV/EBITDA – 4.8x –
EV/EBIT – 5.5x –
EV/Revenue 1.9x 2.5x –
EV/FCF 8.4x – –
EV/Operating cash flow 6.3x – –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.65 -0.75 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricALBSQMSSL
Revenue growth (1Y) 18.3% 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) – 134.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -17.5% –
Net income growth (1Y) 127.9% 190.5% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) -60.3% -7.2% –
EPS growth (1Y) 121.9% 190.5% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -60.5% -15.7% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 136.6% – –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -12.1% – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 816.8% – –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 11.5% – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricALBSQMSSL
Gross margin 23.8% 42.1% –
EBITDA margin – 52.7% –
Operating margin – 46.2% –
Pretax margin – 36.6% –
Net margin 4.7% 20.6% –
FCF margin 22.7% – –
Operating cash flow margin 30.5% – –
Return on equity 2.7% 16.4% –
Return on assets 1.8% 8.6% –
Return on invested capital – 22.8% –
Return on capital employed – 23.4% –
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.4x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 7.1x – –
Stock comp / revenue 0.6% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricALBSQMSSL
Debt / assets 11.8% 31.3% 30.1%
Debt / equity 0.2x 0.6x 0.6x
Net debt / EBITDA – 0.2x –
Debt / FCF 1.4x – –
Liabilities / assets 33.8% 47.9% 53.3%
Equity / assets 66.2% 52.1% 46.7%
Interest coverage – 15.3x –
Current ratio 2.1x 2.6x 1.8x
Quick ratio 1.2x 1.8x 1.2x
Cash ratio 0.9x 1.5x 0.6x
Altman Z-score – – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricALBSQMSSL
Dividend yield 1.8% 4.2% –
Net buyback yield -0.2% – –
Shareholder yield 1.6% 4.2% 0.0%
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.

ConsensusALBSQMSSL
Forward P/E 8.7xFY2026 8.0xFY2026 5.3xFY2027
EPS, next fiscal year $10.78FY2026 $7.12FY2026 $3.26FY2027
EPS growth, next FY – +245.6%FY2026 +37.0%FY2027
EPS growth, the year after -5.2% -2.5% -24.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $5.82BFY2026 $8.37BFY2026 $16.51BFY2027
Revenue growth, next FY +13.3%FY2026 +82.7%FY2026 -2.3%FY2027
Revenue growth, the year after +8.1% +2.9% +7.4%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersALBSQMSSL
Held by institutions 98.1% 13.4% 4.7%
Institutions holding 947 316 174
Change in shares held, QoQ +6.8% -3.0% -7.6%
Institutions buying 449 166 111
Institutions selling 358 100 45
Buyers to sellers 1.25 1.66 2.47

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.

ALBSQMSSL
ALB 1.00 0.79 0.22
SQM 0.79 1.00 0.16
SSL 0.22 0.16 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, ALB, SQM and SSL?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Albemarle (ALB) $11.68B, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) $17.23B, Sasol (SSL) $10.83B.

Which stock is cheaper, ALB, SQM and SSL?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Albemarle (ALB) 42.0x, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 12.4x, Sasol (SSL) 15.3x). On next year's consensus earnings, Sasol (SSL) is cheapest (Albemarle (ALB) 8.7x, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 8.0x, Sasol (SSL) 5.3x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Albemarle (ALB) +18.3%, 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%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 20.6%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sasol (SSL) returned the most: Albemarle (ALB) -11.6%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +25.0%, Sasol (SSL) +165.5%. Over five years, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) compounded fastest (Albemarle (ALB) -16.6%/yr, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +1.2%/yr, Sasol (SSL) +0.4%/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%, Sasol (SSL) 0.00%. Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) and Sasol (SSL) 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) 53.9%, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 47.0%, Sasol (SSL) 54.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 7. 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.