Quality Investor

Albemarle Corporation

Rank #441StartupWatchlistCompare with other stocks

ALB-PA · NYSE · Basic Materials

Albemarle Corporation (ALB-PA) — Rank #441 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.04) · ROE -5.0% · Piotroski F-Score 5 / 9.

As-of 2026-10-30 · CIK 0000915913 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

Albemarle Corporation provides energy storage solutions worldwide.

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It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties, and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride for use in lithium batteries used in consumer electronics and electric vehicles; power grids and solar panels; high-performance greases; and specialty glass used in consumer appliances and electronics. The Specialties segment provides bromine and highly specialized lithium solutions for various industries, such as energy, mobility, connectivity, and health comprising fire safety compounds; bromine-based specialty chemical products, including elemental bromine, alkyl bromides, inorganic bromides, brominated powdered activated carbon, and various bromine fine chemicals; lithium specialties, such as butyllithium and lithium aluminum hydride; cesium products for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries; and zirconium, barium, and titanium products for pyrotechnical applications, including airbag initiators. This segment also provides organic synthesis processes in the areas of steroid chemistry and vitamins, and various life science applications, as well as intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry; technical services, including handling and use of reactive lithium products; and recycling services for lithium-containing by-products. The Ketjen segment offers clean fuels technologies, including hydroprocessing catalysts together with isomerization and alkylation catalysts; fluidized catalytic cracking catalysts and additives; and performance catalyst solutions comprising organometallics and curatives. It serves the grid storage, automotive, aerospace, conventional energy, electronics, construction, agriculture and food, pharmaceuticals, and medical device industries.

Albemarle Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Industry
Specialty Chemicals
Sector
Basic Materials
State
VA
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
December 31

Company Snapshot

P/S is the primary valuation lens for pre-profit companies.

Market Cap

—

P/E (annual)

—

P/S (annual)

—

P/B

—

P/OCF (annual)

—

Shareholder Yield

—

Employees

7,800

Industry

Specialty Chemicals

Exchange

NYSE

11/12

Flags passed

ALB-PA fails 1 critical flag

Passes 11 of 12 quality flags

  • FAIL
    Revenue declining YoY

    Revenue contracted year over year

  • PASS
    Gross margin holding
  • PASS
    Dilution within 2%
  • PASS
    FCF not negative from investment
  • PASS
    Disclosure consistent
  • PASS
    Operating margin holding
  • PASS
    Free cash flow intact
  • PASS
    Passes safety gate
  • PASS
    Balance sheet stable
  • PASS
    No competitive retreat
  • PASS
    SBC not compressing margin
  • PASS
    No valuation convergence

Strengths Revenue growth accelerating · Sequential beat (rev + EPS)

A count of the 12 warning flags that could be evaluated. Unweighted: colour follows the worst flag.

Quality Profile

Profitability

1/1 pass
GP / assets
0.04
Return on equity
-5.0%
Gross margin trend
PASS

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.51
Current ratio
2.09×
Net cash
$864.14M

Cash Flow

3/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
PASS
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.8%

Growth

1/2 pass
Revenue growth
-4.4%
Piotroski F-Score
5 / 9
Share dilution
0.1%

Burn rate (cash flow) is the primary read at this stage — TAM and product-market fit aren't metrics this dashboard tracks.

Profitability

Does it make money well?

Warning: Revenue declining YoY · GP/assets 3rd percentile of 39 SIC 28 peers

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.04

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

3rd pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Return on equity

-5.0%

Gross margin

13.0%

11th pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

-4.4%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

PASS

Operating Leverage

2022202320242025
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

-11.1%

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

10.4%

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

—

FCF CAGR (3Y)

2.3%

Cash Flow Health

Is the cash real?

No warning flags · FCF 236% above net income

Free cash flow

$692.47M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF vs net income

235.6%

(FCF − net income) ÷ |net income|. Positive: cash above earnings. Negative: below.

FCF not below net income

Fails when free cash flow is below net income (yellow flag).

PASS

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.8%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Balance Sheet Strength

Can it survive a storm?

No warning flags · net cash $864.14M, F-Score 5/9

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.51

71st pctl of 35 SIC 28 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

2.09×

45th pctl of 39 SIC 28 peers

Quick ratio

1.18×

Net cash

$864.14M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Piotroski F-Score

5 / 9

Fundamental-strength score (0-9).

Valuation

Is the price reasonable?

No warning flags

Dividend safety

Composite score

3.0 / 5

Good
Payout ratio
N/A0/5 Weak
FCF coverage
3.63×5/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
10 yr5/5 Strong
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.51 · IC N/A2/5 Fair

Capital allocation quality

Composite score

3.7 / 5

Good
Share count trend
0.1%2/5 Fair
Buyback timing
N/AN/A
Dividend growth consistency
10 yr5/5 Strong
Net debt trajectory(deleveraging)
2.3%4/5 Strong

Lifecycle Phase History

20202025
Decline
Capital Return
Hypergrowth
Startup

Price History

ALB-PA+7.1% · +2.8% CAGRSPY+54.3% · +18.7% CAGR