Albemarle to Post Q3 Earnings: What's in the Cards for the Stock?

Albemarle Corporation ALB is slated to release third-quarter 2025 results after the closing bell on Nov. 5.

The company missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in three of the trailing four quarters and beat it once. In this timeframe, it delivered a negative earnings surprise of 136%, on average. It posted an earnings surprise of 71% in the last reported quarter. ALB is likely to have benefited from its cost and productivity actions in the third quarter amid headwinds from weak lithium market prices.

ALB’s shares have lost 3.2% over the past year compared with the Zacks Chemicals Diversified industry’s 28.9% decline.

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

What Do ALB’s Revenue Estimates Say?

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenues for Albemarle for the to-be-reported quarter stands at $1,291.9 million, reflecting a decline of around 4.6% from the year-ago quarter.

The consensus estimate for net sales for the Energy Storage unit for the third quarter is pegged at $678 million, reflecting a year-over-year decline of 11.7%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net sales for the Specialties unit is pinned at $349 million, suggesting a year-over-year rise of 1.5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for net sales for the Ketjen unit stands at $248 million, indicating a 10.8% year-over-year decline.

Factors to Watch for ALB Stock

ALB is expected to have gained from its cost-saving, pricing and productivity initiatives in the third quarter. Its cost and productivity actions are expected to have supported margins in the quarter. Efforts to drive operating efficiency and improve the utilization of raw materials are likely to have aided the company’s performance.

Albemarle is taking actions to cut costs, optimize its conversion network and increase efficiencies to preserve its long-term competitive position. During the second quarter, ALB made progress with the earlier-announced comprehensive review of its cost and operating structure. It has achieved a 100% run-rate against the top end of its cost and productivity improvement target of $300-$400 million for 2025.  

Soft lithium market prices are likely to have impacted the company’s performance. Lithium prices have declined amid slowing demand growth for electric vehicles, inventory glut and increased supply. The uncertain macroeconomic environment and high interest rates have weighed on demand.  Lower lithium market prices hurt the company’s sales in the second quarter. The weakness in lithium market pricing is expected to have persisted in the third quarter. Weaker prices are likely to have hurt ALB’s top line and margins.

Albemarle Corporation Price and EPS Surprise

Albemarle Corporation price-eps-surprise | Albemarle Corporation Quote

What Our Model Unveils for ALB Stock

Our proven model does not conclusively predict an earnings beat for Albemarle this season. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the chances of an earnings beat. But that’s not the case here.

Earnings ESP: Earnings ESP for ALB is -2.16%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter is currently pegged at a loss of 92 cents. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: ALB currently carries a Zacks Rank #3.

Basic Materials Stocks That Warrant a Look

Here are some companies in the basic materials space you may want to consider as our model shows they have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter:

CF Industries Holdings, Inc. CF, scheduled to release earnings on Nov. 5, has an Earnings ESP of +10.05% and carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The consensus estimate for CF’s earnings for the third quarter is currently pegged at $1.91.

Green Plains Inc. GPRE, scheduled to release earnings on Nov. 5, has an Earnings ESP of +135.72%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GPRE's earnings for the third quarter is currently pegged at 2 cents. GPRE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. 

Barrick Mining Corporation B, slated to release earnings on Nov. 10, has an Earnings ESP of +3.06% and carries a Zacks Rank #3 at present.

The consensus mark for B’s third-quarter earnings is currently pegged at 57 cents.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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