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Sociedad Quimica Y Minera De Chile SA ADR SQM

Morningstar Rating
$46.17 +0.16 (0.34%)
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Company Report

SQM’s Low-Cost Lithium Should Remain Profitable as EV Adoption Rises Despite Volatile Prices

Through its access to high-quality mineral deposits, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile is a large, low-cost producer of lithium, iodine, and nitrates used in specialty fertilizers. SQM’s crown jewels are its geologically advantaged lithium and caliche ore assets. SQM’s low-cost lithium deposit in the Salar de Atacama boasts the highest concentration of lithium globally and benefits from high evaporation rates in the Chilean desert. As electric vehicle penetration increases, we expect high-double-digit annual growth for global lithium demand, one of the best growth profiles among commodities.

Price vs Fair Value

SQM is trading within a range we consider fairly valued.
Price
$46.02
Fair Value
$33.00
Uncertainty
Very High
1-Star Price
$186.33
5-Star Price
$81.40
Economic Moat
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Capital Allocation
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Bulls Say, Bears Say

Bulls

SQM's crown jewel is its Salar de Atacama operation in Chile, which is the lowest-cost lithium deposit globally. Its capacity expansions at this resource should create long-term value.

Bears

Lithium prices will fall as new supply comes online faster than demand, which will weigh on profitability. SQM's plans to develop a new lithium resource will prove value-destructive in the wake of lower prices.

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Trading Information

Previous Close Price
$46.02
Day Range
$45.6946.38
52-Week Range
$38.5083.61
Bid/Ask
$46.20 / $46.34
Market Cap
$13.19 Bil
Volume/Avg
16,526 / 1.4 Mil

Key Statistics

Price/Earnings (Normalized)
6.50
Price/Sales
1.74
Dividend Yield (Trailing)
10.92%
Dividend Yield (Forward)
10.92%
Total Yield
10.92%

Company Profile

Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile is a Chilean commodities producer with significant operations in lithium (primarily used in batteries for electric vehicles and energy storage systems), specialty and standard potassium fertilizers, iodine (primarily used in X-ray contrast media), and solar salts. The company extracts these materials through its high-quality salt brine deposits and caliche ore. SQM is also developing a hard rock lithium project in Australia and is growing its lithium refining assets in China.
Sector
Basic Materials
Industry
Specialty Chemicals
Stock Style Box
Large Core
Total Number of Employees
7,521

Competitors

Valuation

Metric
SQM
LAAC
ALB
Price/Earnings (Normalized)
6.50159.595.13
Price/Book Value
2.350.981.42
Price/Sales
1.741.40
Price/Cash Flow
0.654.73
Price/Earnings
SQM
LAAC
ALB

Financial Strength

Metric
SQM
LAAC
ALB
Quick Ratio
1.688.700.77
Current Ratio
2.509.161.47
Interest Coverage
22.44−0.062.71
Quick Ratio
SQM
LAAC
ALB

Profitability

Metric
SQM
LAAC
ALB
Return on Assets (Normalized)
18.60%0.39%14.67%
Return on Equity (Normalized)
39.48%0.49%28.28%
Return on Invested Capital (Normalized)
23.58%−1.09%20.38%
Return on Assets
SQM
LAAC
ALB
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