IONR vs PKX vs LAR Stock Comparison

Ioneer, Posco Holdings and Lithium Argentina AG Prices as of Oct 28, 2026 Peers: Industry group
IONR ioneer Ltd
$2.80 -10.5% 1M -40.7% 1Y
Market cap
$187.22M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Lithium Basic Materials
PKX Posco Holdings Inc.
$52.15 -10.0% 1M -7.2% 1Y
Market cap
$3.94B
P/E
4.2x
Revenue (TTM)
$37.16B
Div. yield
2.95%
Steel Basic Materials
7 wins
LAR Lithium Argentina AG
$4.55 -16.1% 1M +8.1% 1Y
Market cap
$738.95M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$225.80M
Div. yield
–
Lithium Basic Materials
2 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Posco Holdings leads on 7 of the 12 questions below (Posco Holdings 7, Lithium Argentina AG 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIONRPKXLARLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $187.22M $3.94B $738.95M PKX
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only — 4.2x -13.7x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS — 10.6x 20.7x PKX
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months — -27.8% +371.3% LAR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months — 2.5% -23.9% PKX
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — 3.0% 0.0% PKX
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -3.4x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield — 2.95% — –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -40.7% -7.2% +8.1% LAR
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years — -3.8%/yr -17.2%/yr PKX
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 79.3% 45.0% 74.4% PKX
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers — 69/100 67/100 PKX

Percentile Scorecard

IONRPKXLAR

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

AxisIONRPKXLAR
Valuation – 89 #19 of 162 71 #47 of 162
Growth – 38 #92 of 147 75 #38 of 147
Profitability – 51 #60 of 122 41 #73 of 122
Financial Health 98 #4 of 164 79 #35 of 164 74 #43 of 164
Shareholder Returns – 86 #16 of 107 74 #29 of 107
Overall – 69 67
  • IONR ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • PKX 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

PeriodIONRPKXLARSPY
1 month -10.5%-10.0%-16.1% +0.9%
3 months -13.0%+7.1%-18.0% +5.9%
6 months -28.4%-31.7%-52.7% +8.5%
Year to date -41.7%-2.0%-18.5% +13.3%
1 year -40.7%-7.2%+8.1% +12.4%
3 years -25.1%-33.1%-21.7% +88.1%
3 years, per year -9.2%-12.6%-7.8% +23.5%
5 years —-17.6%-61.0% +68.2%
5 years, per year —-3.8%-17.2% +11.0%
10 years —+2.0%+317.4% +263.4%
10 years, per year —+0.2%+15.4% +13.8%

Risk

MeasureIONRPKXLARSPY
Volatility, 1Y 79.3%45.0%74.4% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 76.8%43.3%71.9% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 1.451.422.62 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.51-0.160.11 0.98
Max drawdown, 5Y -87.8%-69.8%-89.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -56.2%-43.1%-61.4% -0.9%
52-week high $6.39$91.72$11.79 $779.14
52-week low $2.55$48.69$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.

MultipleIONRPKXLAR
P/E now vs peer median —median 13.4x 4.2xmedian 13.4x -13.7xmedian 13.4x
P/S now vs peer median —median 3.2x 0.1xmedian 3.2x 3.3xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median —median 7.3x —median 7.3x 4.2xmedian 7.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 14.8x -0.9xmedian 14.8x -37.0xmedian 14.8x
P/B now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 2.3x 0.1xmedian 2.3x 0.9xmedian 2.3x
PEG now vs peer median —median 0.31 -16.18median 0.31 0.24median 0.31

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 monthsIONRPKXLAR
Revenue – $37.16B $225.80M
Gross profit – $3.86B $110.90M
Operating income – $1.39B $256.12M
Net income – $1.47B -$18.74M
Free cash flow – -$4.45B -$19.96M
R&D – – $4.53M
EPS (diluted) – $12.52 $-0.33
Cash & equivalents $58.84M – $99.72M
Total debt – $749.60M -$169.70M
Shares (diluted) 60.35M 75.62M 162.17M
Enterprise value $52.83M $8.29B $349.59M

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
MetricIONRPKXLAR
P/E – 4.2x -13.7x
P/FCF – -0.9x -37.0x
P/Operating cash flow – – -37.0x
P/S – 0.1x 3.3x
P/B 0.7x 0.1x 0.9x
P/Tangible book 0.7x 0.1x 0.9x
EV/EBITDA – – 4.2x
EV/EBIT – 3.4x 4.2x
EV/Revenue – 0.1x 1.8x
EV/FCF – -1.1x -20.4x
EV/Operating cash flow – – -20.4x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) – -16.18 0.24

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIONRPKXLAR
Revenue growth (1Y) – -27.8% 371.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – -15.1% –
Gross profit growth (1Y) – 0.1% 32,338%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – -2.3% –
Operating income growth (1Y) – 49.9% 213.4%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – -38.2% –
Net income growth (1Y) – 297.8% 48.1%
Net income CAGR (3Y) – 7.9% -17.8%
EPS growth (1Y) – 163.2% 95.8%
EPS CAGR (3Y) – -0.3% -57.1%
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – – 39.6%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – 31.4%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 27.9% 43.8%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – -34.8% 31.2%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIONRPKXLAR
Gross margin – 10.4% 49.1%
EBITDA margin – – 43.1%
Operating margin – 3.7% 113.4%
Pretax margin – 3.5% -12.2%
Net margin – 2.5% -23.9%
FCF margin – -12.0% -8.8%
Operating cash flow margin – – -8.8%
Return on equity – 3.4% 1.6%
Return on assets – 3.1% 1.2%
Return on invested capital – 3.0% 0.0%
Return on capital employed – 4.1% 6.9%
Asset turnover – 1.1x 0.2x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – – 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue – – 6.9%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIONRPKXLAR
Debt / assets – 2.2% -14.7%
Debt / equity – 0.0x -0.2x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -3.4x
Debt / FCF – -0.2x 8.5x
Liabilities / assets 0.9% 7.7% 27.2%
Equity / assets 99.1% 92.3% 72.8%
Interest coverage – 0.5x 161.6x
Current ratio 25.8x – -2.0x
Quick ratio 25.8x – -0.7x
Cash ratio 25.6x – -0.7x
Altman Z-score – – 1.75

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIONRPKXLAR
Dividend yield – 3.0% –
Net buyback yield – – -0.2%
Shareholder yield – 3.0% -0.2%
Payout ratio (earnings) – – –
Payout ratio (FCF) – – –
Dividend growth (1Y) – – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) – – –

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.

ConsensusIONRPKXLAR
Forward P/E – 10.6xFY2026 20.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.00FY2026 $4.90FY2026 $0.22FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +245.1%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after – +14.7% +27.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $717.29KFY2026 $52.03BFY2026 $0.00FY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +9.8%FY2026 +7.4%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after -100.0% +3.5% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIONRPKXLAR
Held by institutions 3.9% 17.7% 33.9%
Institutions holding 34 181 164
Change in shares held, QoQ -10.1% +38.2% +0.6%
Institutions buying 20 131 75
Institutions selling 5 30 48
Buyers to sellers 4.00 4.37 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.

IONRPKXLAR
IONR 1.00 0.08 0.36
PKX 0.08 1.00 0.38
LAR 0.36 0.38 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IONR, PKX and LAR?

Posco Holdings (PKX) is the largest by market capitalisation: Ioneer (IONR) $187.22M, Posco Holdings (PKX) $3.94B, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) $738.95M.

Which company is growing faster?

Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Posco Holdings (PKX) -27.8%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) +371.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Posco Holdings (PKX) has the highest net margin (Posco Holdings (PKX) 2.5%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -23.9%). On return on invested capital, Posco Holdings (PKX) leads (Posco Holdings (PKX) 3.0%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 0.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) returned the most: Ioneer (IONR) -40.7%, Posco Holdings (PKX) -7.2%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) +8.1%. Over five years, Posco Holdings (PKX) compounded fastest (Posco Holdings (PKX) -3.8%/yr, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -17.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Posco Holdings (PKX) 2.95%. Ioneer (IONR) and Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Posco Holdings (PKX) has been the steadiest (Ioneer (IONR) 79.3%, Posco Holdings (PKX) 45.0%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 74.4%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IONR, PKX 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, Posco Holdings (PKX) 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.