SQM vs LAR vs LAC Stock Comparison

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile, Lithium Argentina AG and Lithium Americas Prices as of Oct 23, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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

10 decided of 12

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile leads on 8 of the 12 questions below (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile 8, Lithium Argentina AG 2). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSQMLARLACLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $16.27B $676.05M $749.16M SQM
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 11.7x -12.5x -25.1x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.1x 17.7x — SQM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +59.0% +371.3% — LAR
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 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 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +28.3% +3.4% -67.9% SQM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +1.7%/yr -15.9%/yr — SQM
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.1% 74.6% 67.1% SQM
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 70/100 66/100 — SQM

Percentile Scorecard

SQMLARLAC

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

AxisSQMLARLAC
Valuation 81 #32 of 162 71 #48 of 162 92 #14 of 162
Growth 63 #55 of 147 74 #39 of 147 –
Profitability 82 #23 of 122 41 #73 of 122 –
Financial Health 32 #113 of 166 75 #43 of 166 46 #90 of 166
Shareholder Returns 91 #11 of 107 72 #31 of 107 –
Overall 70 66 –
  • SQM ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • LAR ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • LAC 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

PeriodSQMLARLACSPY
1 month -17.4%-26.5%-28.3% -1.0%
3 months -16.9%-27.4%-26.2% +2.9%
6 months -35.7%-54.5%-55.2% +6.4%
Year to date -17.0%-24.0%-52.3% +11.4%
1 year +28.3%+3.4%-67.9% +13.1%
3 years +10.4%-33.6%-69.1% +79.4%
3 years, per year +3.4%-12.8%-32.4% +21.5%
5 years +9.0%-57.9%— +67.7%
5 years, per year +1.7%-15.9%— +10.9%
10 years +94.6%+244.7%— +255.2%
10 years, per year +6.9%+13.2%— +13.5%

Risk

MeasureSQMLARLACSPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.1%74.6%67.1% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 44.1%72.8%66.0% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.952.622.48 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.600.05-1.01 1.03
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.5%-89.5%-82.3% -25.4%
From 52-week high -40.1%-64.0%-69.0% -2.5%
52-week high $95.31$11.79$6.72 $779.14
52-week low $44.36$3.72$2.08 $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.

MultipleSQMLARLAC
P/E now vs peer median 11.8xmedian 12.7x -12.8xmedian 12.7x -25.9xmedian 12.7x
P/S now vs peer median 2.4xmedian 3.1x 3.0xmedian 3.1x —median 3.1x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 4.8xmedian 6.9x 3.7xmedian 6.9x —median 6.9x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 15.1x -34.5xmedian 15.1x —median 15.1x
P/B now vs peer median 1.9xmedian 2.1x 0.8xmedian 2.1x 0.4xmedian 2.1x
PEG now vs peer median -0.75median 0.27 0.22median 0.27 —median 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 monthsSQMLARLAC
Revenue $6.73B $225.80M –
Gross profit $2.83B $110.90M –
Operating income $3.11B $256.12M –
Net income $1.39B -$18.74M -$73.07M
Free cash flow – -$19.96M –
R&D – $4.53M -$1.00K
EPS (diluted) $4.86 $-0.33 $-0.07
Cash & equivalents $3.38B $99.72M $822.78M
Total debt $19.72B -$925.15M $1.34B
Shares (diluted) 285.64M 162.17M 401.74M
Enterprise value $2.93B $235.63M -$1.54B

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
MetricSQMLARLAC
P/E 11.8x -12.8x -25.9x
P/FCF – -34.5x –
P/Operating cash flow – -34.5x –
P/S 2.4x 3.0x –
P/B 1.9x 0.8x 0.4x
P/Tangible book 1.9x 0.8x 0.4x
EV/EBITDA 4.8x 3.7x –
EV/EBIT 5.5x 3.7x –
EV/Revenue 2.6x 1.6x –
EV/FCF – -17.9x –
EV/Operating cash flow – -17.9x –
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.75 0.22 –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSQMLARLAC
Revenue growth (1Y) 59.0% 371.3% –
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -4.8% – –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 150.2% 32,338% –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -9.3% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 134.4% 213.4% –
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -17.5% – –
Net income growth (1Y) 190.5% 48.1% -33.9%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.2% -17.8% –
EPS growth (1Y) 190.5% 95.8% 63.7%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -15.7% -57.1% –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – 39.6% –
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 31.4% –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – 43.8% –
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – 31.2% –

Profitability

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

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSQMLARLAC
Debt / assets 31.3% -14.7% 27.9%
Debt / equity 0.6x -0.2x 0.5x
Net debt / EBITDA 0.2x -3.4x –
Debt / FCF – 8.5x –
Liabilities / assets 47.9% 27.2% 44.9%
Equity / assets 52.1% 72.8% 55.1%
Interest coverage 15.3x 161.6x –
Current ratio 2.6x -2.0x 5.5x
Quick ratio 1.8x -0.7x 3.5x
Cash ratio 1.5x -0.7x 3.5x
Altman Z-score – 1.66 –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSQMLARLAC
Dividend yield 4.2% – –
Net buyback yield – -0.2% –
Shareholder yield 4.2% -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.

ConsensusSQMLARLAC
Forward P/E 8.1xFY2026 17.7xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $7.03FY2026 $0.24FY2026 $-0.07FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +241.3%FY2026 – –
EPS growth, the year after -2.4% +33.3% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.31BFY2026 $0.00FY2026 $0.00FY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +81.4%FY2026 – –
Revenue growth, the year after +3.0% – –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSQMLARLAC
Held by institutions 13.4% 33.9% 30.8%
Institutions holding 316 164 274
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.0% +0.6% -0.6%
Institutions buying 166 75 149
Institutions selling 100 48 57
Buyers to sellers 1.66 1.56 2.61

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.

SQMLARLAC
SQM 1.00 0.64 0.51
LAR 0.64 1.00 0.73
LAC 0.51 0.73 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SQM, LAR and LAC?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) is the largest by market capitalisation: Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) $16.27B, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) $676.05M, Lithium Americas (LAC) $749.16M.

Which company is growing faster?

Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: 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 (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: Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +28.3%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) +3.4%, Lithium Americas (LAC) -67.9%. Over five years, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) compounded fastest (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +1.7%/yr, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) -15.9%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) has been the steadiest (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 47.1%, Lithium Argentina AG (LAR) 74.6%, Lithium Americas (LAC) 67.1%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

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

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 8. 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.