Albemarle (ALB) Stock: What the Q1 Earnings Beat Means for Lithium’s Recovery

TLDR

• Albemarle reported Q1 EPS of $2.95, crushing the $1.19 Wall Street estimate
• Revenue hit $1.4 billion, up 33% year-over-year from $1.1 billion
• ALB stock jumped 11% to $213 in early Thursday trading
• Lithium prices now sit at ~$26,000 per metric ton, up from below $10,000 a year ago
• UBS reiterated a Buy rating with a $230 price target following the results

Albemarle stock jumped 11% to $213 in early Thursday trading after the lithium producer posted a Q1 earnings beat that left Wall Street estimates in the dust.

Albemarle Corporation, ALB

The company reported adjusted EPS of $2.95 against a consensus estimate of $1.19. Revenue came in at $1.4 billion, topping the expected $1.3 billion and up 33% from the same period last year.

Adjusted EBITDA came in at $664 million — 50% above the consensus estimate of $444 million. That’s a 148% jump year-over-year.

A year ago, Albemarle posted a per-share loss of 18 cents on revenue of $1.1 billion. The turnaround has been sharp.

The story behind the numbers is lithium prices. Benchmark prices now sit at around $26,000 per metric ton. Twelve months ago, they were below $10,000. Prices peaked above $85,000 per metric ton in late 2022 before a combination of oversupply and softer EV demand sent them crashing.

The recovery has been driven by growing demand from energy storage applications, which has helped rebalance supply and demand. Albemarle reported higher volumes and better pricing specifically from energy storage customers.

Margins Impress, But Q2 Expected to Dip

Energy Storage and lithium margins reached approximately 62% in the quarter, well above the consensus estimate of around 45%. Favorable spodumene timing played a part in that outperformance.

The Specialties and Catalyst/Other segments each beat estimates by around $20 million. Albemarle also maintained its full-year guidance, which now accounts for roughly $80 million in supply chain disruption costs tied to Middle East logistics.

For Q2, the company expects margins to decline sequentially due to negative spodumene timing impacts and those supply chain costs. Albemarle realized $17 per LCE in Q1 and expects that figure to rise through the year.

UBS Reiterates Buy, Full-Year Outlook Improves

UBS reiterated its Buy rating and $230 price target on ALB following the results. The bank noted the beat was broad-based across all segments.

Citi analyst Patrick Cunningham flagged that Q2 EBITDA should be higher sequentially across both Energy Storage and Specialties — a point he called encouraging for investors.

At Q1’s average lithium price, Albemarle management said it would expect full-year sales of around $5.85 billion and EBITDA of approximately $2.5 billion. Wall Street currently models $5.8 billion in sales and $2.3 billion in EBITDA for 2026.

The company’s lithium volume forecast remains unchanged at flat year-over-year, even with potential risks from reduced output at the Greenbushes mine. UBS said this could be better than feared if confirmed.

Through Wednesday’s close of $193.58, ALB had already gained about 37% in 2026 and surged 236% over the past 12 months. The stock sat above $325 in late 2022 when lithium prices were at their peak.

Albemarle posted EBITDA of $3.5 billion in 2022 and $1.1 billion in 2025. The Q1 2026 EBITDA of $664 million puts it on a notably different trajectory heading into the rest of the year.

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