At a glance
Albemarle Corp is worth $10.69B. Revenue fell 4.4% to $5.14B in fiscal 2025, at a loss; over 5 years it has grown 10.4% a year. It pays a 1.81% dividend yield, raised every year for at least 9 years, and returned $928.5M to shareholders in dividends and buybacks over FY2021–FY2025. The stock returned −6.7% over the past year with dividends reinvested and −18.0% a year over five years, against +11.5% and +11.7% for the S&P 500. At its worst it fell 45.7% in the 2020 crash (S&P 500: 33.7%) and 30.0% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 5 months and 3 months after the lows.
The business in plain English
Albemarle, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, turns natural resources, chiefly lithium and bromine, into chemicals that other manufacturers use. Its biggest segment, Energy Storage, produced 52.7% of the company's $5.14 billion in revenue in 2025. It makes lithium carbonate, hydroxide and chloride, used in batteries for electric vehicles and electronics, grid storage, greases and specialty glass. It gets lithium through joint-venture stakes in two Australian mines, Greenbushes and Wodgina, and from evaporation ponds at Chile's Salar de Atacama and in Silver Peak, Nevada.
Specialties (26.6% of revenue) makes bromine-based fire safety chemicals that help plastics in electronics, circuit boards and cables resist flames. It also makes lithium products used to make medicines. Its bromine comes from Arkansas and, through a joint venture in Jordan, from the Dead Sea. Ketjen (20.7%) makes catalysts (substances that speed up chemical reactions) that oil refiners use to strip out sulfur and turn petroleum into fuels and other products.
In October 2025, Albemarle agreed to the sale of a controlling stake in Ketjen's refining business. The deal leaves it a 49% interest plus its PCS line of chemicals for making plastics and resins. China made up 39.4% of 2025 revenue, the United States 17.3%, South Korea 15.4% and Japan 7%. As of December 31, 2025, Albemarle served about 1,900 customers in about 70 countries.
Price history
The interactive chart needs JavaScript.
ALB -6.7% over the year to Nov 2, 2026, total return with dividends reinvested.
How it makes money
By business segment
| Energy Storage | $2.71B | 52.7% |
| Specialties | $1.37B | 26.6% |
| Ketjen | $1.07B | 20.7% |
By geography
| China | $2.03B | 39.4% |
| Other foreign countries | $1.08B | 20.9% |
| United States | $890.5M | 17.3% |
| KOREA, REPUBLIC OF | $789.5M | 15.4% |
| Japan | $359.6M | 7% |
Latest results
- In Q2 FY2026 (ended Jun 30, 2026), revenue was $1.74B, up 31.1% from a year earlier, and net income was $480.0M (+1996.2%).
- For fiscal 2025, revenue was $5.14B (-4.4% year over year; +10.4% a year from FY2020 to FY2025) with a -9.9% net margin.
Financial health check
| Revenue growth a year (FY2020–FY2025) | +10.4% good |
|---|---|
| Operating margin | -7.1% weak |
| Free cash flow margin | 13.5% good |
| Return on equity (FY2025) | -5.4% weak |
| Return on assets (FY2025) | -3.1% weak |
| Net cash (cash minus debt) | $864.1M good |
| Fiscal year | Revenue | Net income | Free cash flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2020 | $3.13B | $375.8M | $-51.6M |
| FY2021 | $3.33B | $123.7M | $-609.4M |
| FY2022 | $7.32B | $2.69B | $646.2M |
| FY2023 | $9.62B | $1.57B | $-828.0M |
| FY2024 | $5.38B | $-1.18B | $-992.7M |
| FY2025 | $5.14B | $-510.6M | $692.5M |
Valuation snapshot
| Market value | $10.69B |
|---|---|
| P/E ratio | — |
| Dividend yield | 1.81% |
Rank among 1514 US companies
Market value at each year end
Albemarle’s market value went from $9.68B at the end of 2016 to $10.69B on Nov 2, 2026, up 10%; since the end of 2025 it is down 36%.
Show as a table
| Year end | Market value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 2, 2026 | $10.69B | -35.8% |
| 2025 | $16.65B | +64.5% |
| 2024 | $10.12B | -40.3% |
| 2023 | $16.96B | -33.3% |
| 2022 | $25.41B | -7.1% |
| 2021 | $27.35B | +74.1% |
| 2020 | $15.70B | +102.8% |
| 2019 | $7.74B | -5.4% |
| 2018 | $8.19B | -42.1% |
| 2017 | $14.13B | +46.0% |
| 2016 | $9.68B |
Price behavior
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALB price data to Nov 2, 2026 | -35.4% | -6.7% | -8.7% | -18.0% | +2.3% |
Show as a table
| Year | Price data |
|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | -35.4% |
| 2025 | +67.7% |
| 2024 | -39.5% |
| 2023 | -32.8% |
| 2022 | -6.6% |
| 2021 | +59.8% |
| 2020 | +105.6% |
| 2019 | -3.3% |
| 2018 | -38.9% |
| 2017 | +50.2% |
| 2016 | +56.3% |
| 2015 | -4.7% |
| 2014 | -3.5% |
| 2013 | +3.6% |
| 2012 | +22.3% |
| 2011 | -6.5% |
| 2010 | +55.3% |
| 2009 | +66.3% |
| 2008 | -45.1% |
| 2007 | +16.2% |
| 2006 | +90.2% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Lost 63.2% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 66.3%, back to its old high 13.8 months after the low |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Lost 42.7% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 45.7%, back to its old high 5.3 months after the low |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Gained 6.8% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 30%, back to its old high 2.6 months after the low |
Insider activity
Form 4 filings from 2025-10-31 to 2026-10-31 (25 read): 0 open-market purchases and 6 sales ($5.0M).
| Date | Insider | Type | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 15, 2026 | J Kent Masters Chairman & CEO, Director | sell | $2.2M |
| Mar 10, 2026 | J Kent Masters Chairman & CEO, Director | sell | $923K |
| Mar 10, 2026 | J Kent Masters Chairman & CEO, Director | sell | $919K |
| May 15, 2026 | J Kent Masters Chairman & CEO, Director | sell | $701K |
| Mar 10, 2026 | J Kent Masters Chairman & CEO, Director | sell | $171K |
Who owns it
Large shareholders (13G filings)
| Capital World Investors | 9.5% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| BlackRock, Inc. | 8.1% | Mar 31, 2025 |
| Vanguard Capital Management | 7.37% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Vanguard Portfolio Management | 5.38% | Mar 31, 2026 |
| Franklin Templeton, Inc. | 5% | Sep 30, 2026 |
| STATE STREET CORPORATION | 4.8% | Sep 30, 2025 |
| Franklin Resources, Inc. | 3.1% | Dec 31, 2025 |
| Capital Research Global Investors | 1.8% | Sep 30, 2025 |
ETFs with the most weight in ALB
| LITP Sprott Lithium Miners ETF | 8.78% |
| REMX VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF | 7.35% |
| ILIT iShares Lithium Miners and Producers ETF | 7.24% |
| LIT Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF | 6.5% |
| ACES ALPS Clean Energy ETF | 4.28% |
| SETM Sprott Critical Materials ETF | 3.7% |
| QCLN First Trust NASDAQ Clean Edge Green Energy Index Fund | 3.48% |
| RSPM Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials ETF | 3.11% |
What could go wrong
- Lithium prices drive the results. Lithium demand and prices drive revenue and profits. Energy Storage made 52.7% of 2025 revenue, and total revenue swung from $9.6 billion in 2023 to $5.4 billion in 2024.
- Heavy reliance on China. China accounted for 39.4% of 2025 revenue, and Albemarle has large operations there. New rules or political and social events in China could hurt its sales and operating results.
- Limits on brine pumping in Chile. Some of Albemarle's lithium comes from brine (salty water) evaporated in ponds at Chile's Salar de Atacama. Limits on how much brine it can pump, including an early warning plan there, could cut output.
- Rivals are piling into lithium. Miners, carmakers and traders are expanding aggressively in lithium. Rivals include Chile's SQM, Tianqi, Ganfeng, Rio Tinto, Pilbara Minerals, Tesla and many Chinese firms. Competition can squeeze prices and margins.
- Batteries that don't need lithium. If battery makers adopt technologies that don't use lithium, demand for the products behind Albemarle's largest segment could weaken.
- Costly projects, uneven cash flow. New mines and plants can cost more than planned, run late or fail to pay off. Free cash flow (cash left after capital spending) was negative in 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Recent events
- Major agreement signed; Major agreement ended; New debt or financial obligation; Bylaws or fiscal year changed
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change; Investor presentation or announcement
- Executive or board change
- Executive or board change; Shareholder vote results
- Quarterly results released
- Executive or board change
- Major agreement signed
For income and retirement investors
Albemarle has raised its regular dividend for at least 9 straight years through 2025, but slowly: from $1.54 a share in 2020 to $1.62 in 2025, about 1% a year. The yield was a modest 1.69% as of October 28, 2026. Losses in 2024 and 2025 meant profits did not cover the payout. In 2025 dividends took 27.5% of free cash flow (cash left after capital spending), while in 2024 free cash flow was negative. Albemarle repurchased no shares from 2021 through 2025, and the share count rose 0.9% over the five years to July 2026.
The stock has fallen hard in downturns. It dropped 66% in the 2008 financial crisis and 46% in the 2020 COVID crash, regaining its prior highs by April 2010 and September 2020. In the 2022 bear market it fell 30% at one point but ended the period up 6.8%. Any single stock carries more risk than a diversified fund.
Questions investors ask
How does Albemarle make money?
Mostly from lithium. Its Energy Storage segment makes lithium carbonate, hydroxide and chloride for batteries in electric vehicles, electronics and power grids. It brought in 52.7% of Albemarle's $5.14 billion in revenue in 2025. Specialties, which makes bromine fire safety chemicals and lithium products used in drugmaking, contributed 26.6%. Ketjen, its oil refinery catalyst business, contributed 20.7%. In October 2025, Albemarle agreed to the sale of a controlling stake in Ketjen's refining business.
Does Albemarle raise its dividend every year?
Yes, through fiscal 2025. Albemarle has raised its regular dividend per share for at least 9 years in a row, and the true streak may be longer. The increases have been small: $1.61 a share in 2024 rose to $1.62 in 2025, and the dividend grew about 1% a year from 2020. The yield was 1.69% as of October 28, 2026. Net losses in 2024 and 2025 meant earnings did not cover the dividend in those years.
Is Albemarle profitable?
Not on a full-year basis. Albemarle lost money in fiscal 2024 and 2025, but it earned a profit in the quarter ended June 30, 2026. The net loss was $1.18 billion in 2024 and $511 million in 2025, after a $2.69 billion profit in 2022. Free cash flow (cash left after capital spending) was still positive at $692 million in 2025. In the June 2026 quarter, net income was $480 million on revenue of $1.74 billion, 31.1% higher than a year earlier.
Is Albemarle stock volatile?
Yes, very. Its one-year volatility, a measure of how widely the price swings, was 55.1% as of October 28, 2026. Its one-year beta of 1.33 means it moved about a third more than the market on average. The share price fell 39.5% in 2024, rose 67.7% in 2025 and was down 30.9% for 2026 through October 28. Over five years it lost 58% in total. Over ten years it gained 34%, about 3% a year.
How much debt does Albemarle have?
About $1.88 billion as of June 30, 2026, which is less than its $2.74 billion in cash and investments. That left net cash (cash minus total debt) of about $864 million. Shareholders' equity was $10.3 billion against total assets of $15.9 billion. Debt still appears among the company's risk factors. It says it needs a large amount of cash to make payments on its debt, and that a credit rating cut could raise its financing costs.