Can USA Rare Earth's Stillwater Facility Accelerate Its Next Growth Phase?

USA Rare Earth, Inc. USAR is advancing work at its Stillwater magnet manufacturing facility in Oklahoma as it prepares for commercial production. The plant will produce Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) magnets used in defense, aerospace, automotive and other high-growth industries. Once operational, Stillwater is expected to be among the first large-scale NdFeB magnet facilities in the United States, supporting efforts to strengthen the domestic rare earth supply chain.

During 2025, USAR focused on installing equipment, assembling Line 1a and gearing up for commissioning in early 2026. The company also expanded its workforce by hiring and training engineers and technicians to support operations, steps aimed at reaching commercial-scale output and securing long-term customer agreements.

To fund its expansion, USA Rare Earth strengthened its balance sheet through PIPE financing and warrant exercises, raising its cash position to more than $400 million as of November 2025. The company is investing in plant upgrades, enhanced magnet finishing capabilities and completion of Line 1b, which is expected to increase total NdFeB magnet production capacity to around 1,200 metric tons.

In November 2025, USAR further strengthened its vertical integration by acquiring Less Common Metals, ensuring access to critical metals and alloys for Stillwater. These initiatives position the company to ramp up production and expand capacity in the quarters ahead.

Snapshot of USA Rare Earth’s Peers

Among its major peers, Trilogy Metals Inc. TMQ continues to make steady progress at the Ambler mining district. Although Trilogy is not yet in production, it is taking a step ahead with Ambler Metals LLC, which is a joint venture with South32 Limited. In July 2025, Trilogy began a multi-year core re-boxing program to protect drill core for long-term future use.

USAR’s other peer, NioCorp Developments Ltd. NB, is working to move its Elk Creek Project in Nebraska closer to production. In August 2025, NioCorp completed its first drilling program at the Elk Creek Project on schedule and within budget. Building on that success, NioCorp launched a second phase of drilling in January 2026, adding up to six more drill holes to enhance resource confidence and collect additional geological data aimed at reducing risk in the mine design and supporting updates to its mineral resource, reserve estimates and feasibility study.

USAR’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of USAR have gained 81.1% in the past year compared with the industry’s growth of 47.9%.

From a valuation standpoint, USAR is trading at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of negative 77.63X against the industry’s average of 16.31X. USA Rare Earth carries a Value Score of F.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for USAR’s 2026 earnings has increased over the past 60 days.

The company currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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

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