SQM vs RIO vs SLI Stock Comparison

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile, Rio Tinto and Standard Lithium Prices as of Oct 27, 2026 Peers: Industry group
RIO Rio Tinto Plc
$85.74 -9.3% 1M +20.9% 1Y
Market cap
$139.16B
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
—
Div. yield
5.42%
Iron Ore Basic Materials
4 wins
SLI Standard Lithium Ltd.
$1.52 -17.8% 1M -61.2% 1Y
Market cap
$364.35M
P/E
–
Revenue (TTM)
$6.02M
Div. yield
–
Lithium Basic Materials
1 win

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Rio Tinto leads on 4 of the 12 questions below (Rio Tinto 4, Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile 4, Standard Lithium 1). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionSQMRIOSLILeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $17.23B $139.16B $364.35M RIO
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 12.4x — -6.6x –
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 8.5x 10.9x — SQM
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +59.0% — +575.1% SLI
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 20.6% — -791.4% SQM
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital 22.8% — — –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA 0.2x — — –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 4.01% 5.42% — RIO
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months +36.0% +20.9% -61.2% SQM
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years +2.3%/yr +5.9%/yr -34.2%/yr RIO
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 47.3% 30.7% 67.5% RIO
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 69/100 — 59/100 SQM

Percentile Scorecard

SQMRIOSLI

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

AxisSQMRIOSLI
Valuation 81 #32 of 162 – 34 #107 of 162
Growth 62 #56 of 147 – 67 #49 of 147
Profitability 81 #24 of 122 – 17 #102 of 122
Financial Health 32 #112 of 164 22 #128 of 164 80 #34 of 164
Shareholder Returns 90 #12 of 107 98 #3 of 107 96 #5 of 107
Overall 69 – 59
  • SQM ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • RIO ranked among 176 companies in Metals and Mining
  • SLI 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

PeriodSQMRIOSLISPY
1 month -9.7%-9.3%-17.8% -0.2%
3 months -9.8%-6.4%-24.8% +3.9%
6 months -32.5%-12.9%-59.2% +8.2%
Year to date -12.3%+7.1%-66.0% +12.9%
1 year +36.0%+20.9%-61.2% +12.3%
3 years +18.1%+34.5%-44.5% +87.4%
3 years, per year +5.7%+10.4%-17.8% +23.3%
5 years +11.8%+32.9%-87.6% +67.9%
5 years, per year +2.3%+5.9%-34.2% +10.9%
10 years +104.0%+150.4%— +261.1%
10 years, per year +7.4%+9.6%— +13.7%

Risk

MeasureSQMRIOSLISPY
Volatility, 1Y 47.3%30.7%67.5% 12.7%
Downside volatility, 1Y 43.9%32.1%72.7% 12.7%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.981.282.18 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y 0.760.68-0.91 0.97
Max drawdown, 5Y -73.5%-39.0%-91.5% -25.4%
From 52-week high -36.7%-23.5%-73.1% -1.2%
52-week high $95.31$112.04$5.65 $779.14
52-week low $44.36$67.89$1.38 $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.

MultipleSQMRIOSLI
P/E now vs peer median 12.4xmedian 13.3x —median 13.3x -6.6xmedian 13.3x
P/S now vs peer median 2.6xmedian 3.2x —median 3.2x 60.5xmedian 3.2x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 5.1xmedian 7.3x —median 7.3x —median 7.3x
P/FCF now vs peer median —median 14.7x —median 14.7x -24.9xmedian 14.7x
P/B now vs peer median 2.0xmedian 2.2x 2.1xmedian 2.2x 1.0xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -0.79median 0.31 —median 0.31 —median 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 monthsSQMRIOSLI
Revenue $6.73B – $6.02M
Gross profit $2.83B – –
Operating income $3.11B – -$22.81M
Net income $1.39B – -$47.66M
Free cash flow – – -$14.63M
EPS (diluted) $4.86 – $-0.23
Cash & equivalents $3.38B $8.87B $137.30M
Total debt $19.72B $16.90B –
Shares (diluted) 285.64M 1.63B 206.37M
Enterprise value $6.26B $99.67B -$305.65M

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
MetricSQMRIOSLI
P/E 12.4x – -6.6x
P/FCF – – -24.9x
P/Operating cash flow – – -24.9x
P/S 2.6x – 60.5x
P/B 2.0x 2.1x 1.0x
P/Tangible book 2.0x 2.3x 1.0x
EV/EBITDA 5.1x – –
EV/EBIT 5.8x – -7.7x
EV/Revenue 2.7x – 29.1x
EV/FCF – – -12.0x
EV/Operating cash flow – – -12.0x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -0.79 – –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricSQMRIOSLI
Revenue growth (1Y) 59.0% – 575.1%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) -4.8% – –
Gross profit growth (1Y) 150.2% – –
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) -9.3% – –
Operating income growth (1Y) 134.4% – -363.9%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) -17.5% – –
Net income growth (1Y) 190.5% – 69.6%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -7.2% – –
EPS growth (1Y) 190.5% – 72.6%
EPS CAGR (3Y) -15.7% – –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) – – 12.4%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – –
Free cash flow growth (1Y) – – 32.6%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) – – –

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricSQMRIOSLI
Gross margin 42.1% – –
EBITDA margin 52.7% – –
Operating margin 46.2% – -378.8%
Pretax margin 36.6% – -867.8%
Net margin 20.6% – -791.4%
FCF margin – – -242.9%
Operating cash flow margin – – -242.6%
Return on equity 16.4% – -13.0%
Return on assets 8.6% – -12.1%
Return on invested capital 22.8% – –
Return on capital employed 23.4% – -5.9%
Asset turnover 0.4x – 0.0x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) – – 0.3x
Stock comp / revenue – – 104.0%

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricSQMRIOSLI
Debt / assets 31.3% – –
Debt / equity 0.6x 0.3x –
Net debt / EBITDA 0.2x – –
Debt / FCF – – –
Liabilities / assets 47.9% – 7.1%
Equity / assets 52.1% – 92.9%
Interest coverage 15.3x – -950.4x
Current ratio 2.6x 1.4x 17.9x
Quick ratio 1.8x 1.0x 23.6x
Cash ratio 1.5x 0.6x 23.3x
Altman Z-score – – 7.68

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricSQMRIOSLI
Dividend yield 4.0% 5.4% –
Net buyback yield – – 3.8%
Shareholder yield 4.0% 5.4% 3.8%
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.

ConsensusSQMRIOSLI
Forward P/E 8.5xFY2026 10.9xFY2026 –
EPS, next fiscal year $7.12FY2026 $7.84FY2026 –
EPS growth, next FY +245.6%FY2026 +17.2%FY2026 –
EPS growth, the year after -2.5% +9.1% –
Revenue, next fiscal year $8.37BFY2026 $67.58BFY2026 –
Revenue growth, next FY +82.7%FY2026 +17.2%FY2026 –
Revenue growth, the year after +2.9% -8.0% –

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersSQMRIOSLI
Held by institutions 13.4% 7.9% 31.0%
Institutions holding 316 968 137
Change in shares held, QoQ -3.0% -1.1% +2.1%
Institutions buying 166 504 60
Institutions selling 100 283 33
Buyers to sellers 1.66 1.78 1.82

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.

SQMRIOSLI
SQM 1.00 0.46 0.52
RIO 0.46 1.00 0.50
SLI 0.52 0.50 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, SQM, RIO and SLI?

Rio Tinto (RIO) is the largest by market capitalisation: Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) $17.23B, Rio Tinto (RIO) $139.16B, Standard Lithium (SLI) $364.35M.

Which company is growing faster?

Standard Lithium (SLI) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +59.0%, Standard Lithium (SLI) +575.1%.

Which company is more profitable?

Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) has the highest net margin (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 20.6%, Standard Lithium (SLI) -791.4%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) returned the most: Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +36.0%, Rio Tinto (RIO) +20.9%, Standard Lithium (SLI) -61.2%. Over five years, Rio Tinto (RIO) compounded fastest (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) +2.3%/yr, Rio Tinto (RIO) +5.9%/yr, Standard Lithium (SLI) -34.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Rio Tinto (RIO) has the highest dividend yield: Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 4.01%, Rio Tinto (RIO) 5.42%. Standard Lithium (SLI) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Rio Tinto (RIO) has been the steadiest (Chemical & Mining Co Of Chile (SQM) 47.3%, Rio Tinto (RIO) 30.7%, Standard Lithium (SLI) 67.5%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, SQM, RIO and SLI?

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.