SGML vs RIO vs LAR Stock Comparison

Sigma Lithium, Rio Tinto and Lithium Argentina AG 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
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
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

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.

QuestionSGMLRIOLARLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $942.82M $139.20B $743.56M 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 10.7x 18.9x 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% +18.7% -7.1% SGML
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -2.0%/yr +5.4%/yr -17.1%/yr RIO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 111.9% 30.7% 74.2% RIO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 43/100 — 66/100 LAR

Percentile Scorecard

SGMLRIOLAR

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

AxisSGMLRIOLAR
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 22 #129 of 165 74 #43 of 165
Shareholder Returns – 98 #3 of 107 72 #31 of 107
Overall 43 – 66
  • SGML ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • RIO 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

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

Risk

MeasureSGMLRIOLARSPY
Volatility, 1Y 111.9%30.7%74.2% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 98.8%32.1%72.6% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 2.151.272.59 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.270.61-0.10 1.02
Max drawdown, 5Y -89.9%-39.0%-89.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -66.8%-25.3%-64.7% -1.8%
52-week high $23.65$112.04$11.79 $779.14
52-week low $4.68$67.89$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.

MultipleSGMLRIOLAR
P/E now vs peer median -31.7xmedian 12.8x —median 12.8x -12.5xmedian 12.8x
P/S now vs peer median 6.1xmedian 3.1x —median 3.1x 3.0xmedian 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 39.1xmedian 7.0x —median 7.0x 3.5xmedian 7.0x
P/FCF now vs peer median 36.0xmedian 15.2x —median 15.2x -33.9xmedian 15.2x
P/B now vs peer median 10.6xmedian 2.1x 2.0xmedian 2.1x 0.8xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -0.77median 0.29 —median 0.29 0.22median 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 monthsSGMLRIOLAR
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 $8.87B $99.72M
Total debt $226.73M $16.90B -$925.15M
Shares (diluted) 111.31M 1.63B 162.17M
Enterprise value $909.99M $99.70B $303.14M

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
MetricSGMLRIOLAR
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 2.0x 0.8x
P/Tangible book 10.6x 2.2x 0.8x
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
MetricSGMLRIOLAR
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
MetricSGMLRIOLAR
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
MetricSGMLRIOLAR
Debt / assets 47.4% – -14.7%
Debt / equity 2.8x 0.3x -0.2x
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 1.4x -2.0x
Quick ratio 0.2x 1.0x -0.7x
Cash ratio 0.1x 0.6x -0.7x
Altman Z-score 0.47 – 1.63

Shareholder Returns

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

ConsensusSGMLRIOLAR
Forward P/E 25.4xFY2026 10.7xFY2026 18.9xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $0.31FY2026 $7.84FY2026 $0.22FY2026
EPS growth, next FY – +17.2%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after +419.4% +9.1% +27.3%
Revenue, next fiscal year $174.11MFY2026 $67.58BFY2026 $0.00FY2026
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
HoldersSGMLRIOLAR
Held by institutions 33.1% 7.9% 33.9%
Institutions holding 119 968 164
Change in shares held, QoQ +9.7% -1.1% +0.6%
Institutions buying 65 504 75
Institutions selling 40 283 48
Buyers to sellers 1.63 1.78 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.

SGMLRIOLAR
SGML 1.00 0.42 0.61
RIO 0.42 1.00 0.54
LAR 0.61 0.54 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SGML, RIO and LAR?

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

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%, Rio Tinto (RIO) +18.7%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -7.1%. Over five years, Rio Tinto (RIO) compounded fastest (Sigma Lithium (SGML) -2.0%/yr, Rio Tinto (RIO) +5.4%/yr, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -17.1%/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%, Rio Tinto (RIO) 30.7%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 74.2%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SGML, RIO 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, 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.