SGML vs LAR vs RIO Stock Comparison

Sigma Lithium, Lithium Argentina AG and Rio Tinto Prices as of Oct 26, 2026 Peers: Industry group
SGML Sigma Lithium Corp
$7.86 -18.0% 1M +30.6% 1Y
Market cap
$942.82M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$142.49M
Div. yield
–
Lithium Basic Materials
3 wins
LAR Lithium Argentina AG
$4.16 -24.8% 1M -7.1% 1Y
Market cap
$743.56M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$225.80M
Div. yield
–
Lithium Basic Materials
3 wins
RIO Rio Tinto Plc
$83.71 -11.4% 1M +18.7% 1Y
Market cap
$139.20B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
–
Iron Ore Basic Materials
4 wins

Head to Head

10 decided of 12

Rio Tinto leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Rio Tinto 4, Lithium Argentina AG 3, Sigma Lithium 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSGMLLARRIOLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $942.82M $743.56M $139.20B RIO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only -34.2x -13.8x — –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 25.4x 18.9x 10.7x RIO
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +7.3% +371.3% — LAR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months -19.3% -23.9% — SGML
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 0.0% 0.0% — SGML
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -3.4x — LAR
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +30.6% -7.1% +18.7% SGML
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.0%/yr -17.1%/yr +5.4%/yr RIO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 111.9% 74.2% 30.7% RIO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 66/100 — LAR

Percentile Scorecard

SGMLLARRIO

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

AxisSGMLLARRIO
Valuation 42 #95 of 162 71 #47 of 162 –
Growth 77 #34 of 147 74 #39 of 147 –
Profitability 47 #65 of 122 41 #73 of 122 –
Financial Health 6 #156 of 165 74 #43 of 165 22 #129 of 165
Shareholder Returns – 72 #31 of 107 98 #3 of 107
Overall 43 66 –
  • SGML ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • LAR ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • RIO 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

PeriodSGMLLARRIOSPY
1 month -18.0%-24.8%-11.4% -0.8%
3 months -21.0%-29.4%-9.0% +3.5%
6 months -62.0%-58.3%-16.2% +7.0%
Year to date -40.4%-25.4%+4.6% +12.2%
1 year +30.6%-7.1%+18.7% +13.0%
3 years -71.7%-28.4%+31.3% +86.3%
3 years, per year -34.3%-10.5%+9.5% +23.1%
5 years -9.4%-60.9%+29.9% +68.6%
5 years, per year -2.0%-17.1%+5.4% +11.0%
10 years —+255.6%+144.7% +258.0%
10 years, per year —+13.5%+9.4% +13.6%

Risk

MeasureSGMLLARRIOSPY
Volatility, 1Y 111.9%74.2%30.7% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 98.8%72.6%32.1% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.152.591.27 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.27-0.100.61 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -89.9%-89.5%-39.0% -25.4%
From 52-week high -66.8%-64.7%-25.3% -1.8%
52-week high $23.65$11.79$112.04 $779.14
52-week low $4.68$3.72$67.89 $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.

MultipleSGMLLARRIO
P/E now vs peer median -31.7xmedian 12.8x -12.5xmedian 12.8x —median 12.8x
P/S now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 3.1x 3.0xmedian 3.1x —median 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 39.1xmedian 7.0x 3.5xmedian 7.0x —median 7.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.0xmedian 15.2x -33.9xmedian 15.2x —median 15.2x
P/B now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 2.1x 0.8xmedian 2.1x 2.0xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -0.77median 0.29 0.22median 0.29 —median 0.29

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 monthsSGMLLARRIO
Revenue $142.49M $225.80M –
Gross profit $70.02M $110.90M –
Operating income $10.66M $256.12M –
Net income -$27.56M -$18.74M –
Free cash flow $24.30M -$19.96M –
R&D – $4.53M –
EPS (diluted) $-0.25 $-0.33 –
Cash & equivalents $16.66M $99.72M $8.87B
Total debt $226.73M -$925.15M $16.90B
Shares (diluted) 111.31M 162.17M 1.63B
Enterprise value $909.99M $303.14M $99.70B

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
MetricSGMLLARRIO
P/E -31.7x -12.5x –
P/FCF 36.0x -33.9x –
P/Operating cash flow 23.2x -33.9x –
P/S 6.1x 3.0x –
P/B 10.6x 0.8x 2.0x
P/Tangible book 10.6x 0.8x 2.2x
EV/EBITDA 39.1x 3.5x –
EV/EBIT 101.9x 3.6x –
EV/Revenue 7.6x 1.5x –
EV/FCF 44.7x -17.2x –
EV/Operating cash flow 28.7x -17.2x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.77 0.22 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSGMLLARRIO
Revenue growth (1Y) 7.3% 371.3% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) – – –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 130.5% 32,338% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) – – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 40.5% 213.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) – – –
Net income growth (1Y) 42.1% 48.1% –
Net income CAGR (3Y) 39.5% -17.8% –
EPS growth (1Y) 42.6% 95.8% –
EPS CAGR (3Y) 41.0% -57.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 148.2% 39.6% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) 41.2% 31.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 14,876% 43.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) 30.3% 31.2% –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSGMLLARRIO
Gross margin 49.1% 49.1% –
EBITDA margin 19.5% 43.1% –
Operating margin 7.5% 113.4% –
Pretax margin -6.9% -12.2% –
Net margin -19.3% -23.9% –
FCF margin 17.1% -8.8% –
Operating cash flow margin 26.5% -8.8% –
Return on equity -17.5% 1.6% –
Return on assets -3.4% 1.2% –
Return on invested capital 0.0% 0.0% –
Return on capital employed 7.9% 6.9% –
Asset turnover 0.4x 0.2x –
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) -1.4x 1.1x –
Stock comp / revenue 7.8% 6.9% –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSGMLLARRIO
Debt / assets 47.4% -14.7% –
Debt / equity 2.8x -0.2x 0.3x
Net debt / EBITDA 7.6x -3.4x –
Debt / FCF 9.3x 8.5x –
Liabilities / assets 82.8% 27.2% –
Equity / assets 17.2% 72.8% –
Interest coverage – 161.6x –
Current ratio 0.3x -2.0x 1.4x
Quick ratio 0.2x -0.7x 1.0x
Cash ratio 0.1x -0.7x 0.6x
Altman Z-score 0.47 1.63 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSGMLLARRIO
Dividend yield – – 5.6%
Net buyback yield – -0.2% –
Shareholder yield – -0.2% 5.6%
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.

ConsensusSGMLLARRIO
Forward P/E 25.4xFY2026 18.9xFY2026 10.7xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.31FY2026 $0.22FY2026 $7.84FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – – +17.2%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +419.4% +27.3% +9.1%
Revenue, next fiscal year $174.11MFY2026 $0.00FY2026 $67.58BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +58.3%FY2026 – +17.2%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +144.1% – -8.0%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSGMLLARRIO
Held by institutions 33.1% 33.9% 7.9%
Institutions holding 119 164 968
Change in shares held, QoQ +9.7% +0.6% -1.1%
Institutions buying 65 75 504
Institutions selling 40 48 283
Buyers to sellers 1.63 1.56 1.78

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.

SGMLLARRIO
SGML 1.00 0.61 0.42
LAR 0.61 1.00 0.54
RIO 0.42 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SGML, LAR and RIO?

Rio Tinto (RIO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Sigma Lithium (SGML) $942.82M, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) $743.56M, Rio Tinto (RIO) $139.20B.

Which company is growing faster?

Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Sigma Lithium (SGML) +7.3%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) +371.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Sigma Lithium (SGML) has the highest net margin (Sigma Lithium (SGML) -19.3%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -23.9%). On return on invested capital, Sigma Lithium (SGML) leads (Sigma Lithium (SGML) 0.0%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 0.0%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Sigma Lithium (SGML) returned the most: Sigma Lithium (SGML) +30.6%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -7.1%, Rio Tinto (RIO) +18.7%. Over five years, Rio Tinto (RIO) compounded fastest (Sigma Lithium (SGML) -2.0%/yr, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -17.1%/yr, Rio Tinto (RIO) +5.4%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Rio Tinto (RIO) has been the steadiest (Sigma Lithium (SGML) 111.9%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 74.2%, Rio Tinto (RIO) 30.7%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SGML, LAR and RIO?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Rio Tinto (RIO) leads on 4. 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.