Albemarle Corp

ALB

Plastic Materials, Synth Resins & Nonvulcan Elastomers

Mkt Cap

$15.01B

PE

46.06

Debt

$3.53B

Cash

$2.056B

EV

$16.48B

FCF

-$1.611B

Market Cap

$15.01B

P/E Ratio

46.06

Debt

$3.53B

Cash

$2.056B

EV

$16.48B

FCF

-$1.611B

Charts data: {"Earnings":[{"time":"2014-12-30","value":133316000},{"time":"2015-12-30","value":334906000},{"time":"2016-12-30","value":643675000},{"time":"2017-12-30","value":54850000},{"time":"2018-12-30","value":693562000},{"time":"2019-12-30","value":533228000},{"time":"2020-12-30","value":375764000},{"time":"2021-12-30","value":123672000},{"time":"2022-12-30","value":2689816000},{"time":"2023-12-30","value":1573476000}],"Sales":[{"time":"2014-12-30","value":2445548000},{"time":"2015-12-30","value":3651335000},{"time":"2016-12-30","value":2677203000},{"time":"2017-12-30","value":3071976000},{"time":"2018-12-30","value":3374950000},{"time":"2019-12-30","value":3589427000},{"time":"2020-12-30","value":3128909000},{"time":"2021-12-30","value":3327957000},{"time":"2022-12-30","value":7320104000},{"time":"2023-12-30","value":9617203000}],"Net Margins":[{"time":"2014-12-30","value":0.05451375315471216},{"time":"2015-12-30","value":0.09172152103271818},{"time":"2016-12-30","value":0.24042816327338645},{"time":"2017-12-30","value":0.01785495720018646},{"time":"2018-12-30","value":0.20550289633920502},{"time":"2019-12-30","value":0.1485551872206901},{"time":"2020-12-30","value":0.12009425649643374},{"time":"2021-12-30","value":0.03716153784438921},{"time":"2022-12-30","value":0.3674559814997164},{"time":"2023-12-30","value":0.16361056327915716}],"Assets":[{"time":"2014-12-30","value":5223103000},{"time":"2015-12-30","value":9615014000},{"time":"2016-12-30","value":8161207000},{"time":"2017-12-30","value":7750772000},{"time":"2018-12-30","value":7581674000},{"time":"2019-12-30","value":9860863000},{"time":"2020-12-30","value":10450946000},{"time":"2021-12-30","value":10974118000},{"time":"2022-12-30","value":15456522000},{"time":"2023-12-30","value":18270652000}],"Stockholders Equity":[{"time":"2014-12-30","value":1488635000},{"time":"2015-12-30","value":3401313000},{"time":"2016-12-30","value":3942604000},{"time":"2017-12-30","value":3817696000},{"time":"2018-12-30","value":3759108000},{"time":"2019-12-30","value":4093580000},{"time":"2020-12-30","value":4468594000},{"time":"2021-12-30","value":5805607000},{"time":"2022-12-30","value":8190847000},{"time":"2023-12-30","value":9665099000}],"ROE":[{"time":"2014-12-30","value":0.08955586829545187},{"time":"2015-12-30","value":0.09846374032616229},{"time":"2016-12-30","value":0.16326138765141007},{"time":"2017-12-30","value":0.0143673042589038},{"time":"2018-12-30","value":0.18450174881913475},{"time":"2019-12-30","value":0.13025957719160247},{"time":"2020-12-30","value":0.08408998445596087},{"time":"2021-12-30","value":0.021302165303300757},{"time":"2022-12-30","value":0.3283929000260901},{"time":"2023-12-30","value":0.16279978094378547}],"ROA":[{"time":"2014-12-30","value":0.10322886605912232},{"time":"2015-12-30","value":0.05105650392188717},{"time":"2016-12-30","value":0.07112244549121227},{"time":"2017-12-30","value":0.07583102689641755},{"time":"2018-12-30","value":0.12022938469789125},{"time":"2019-12-30","value":0.06755220105988695},{"time":"2020-12-30","value":0.048398680846690814},{"time":"2021-12-30","value":0.07275609757431076},{"time":"2022-12-30","value":0.16539406471908752},{"time":"2023-12-30","value":0.019857528893878554}]}

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Lithium, Bromine, and Catalysts. The Lithium segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, lithium chloride, and lithium specialties and reagents, such as butyllithium and lithium aluminum hydride for use in lithium batteries for consumer electronics and electric vehicles, high performance greases, thermoplastic elastomers for car tires, rubber soles, plastic bottles, catalysts for chemical reactions, organic synthesis processes in the areas of steroid chemistry and vitamins, life sciences, pharmaceutical industry, and other markets. It also provides cesium products for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries; zirconium, barium, and titanium products for pyrotechnical applications that include airbag initiators; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services. The Bromine segment offers bromine and bromine-based products used in fire safety solutions; specialty chemicals, including elemental bromine, alkyl and inorganic bromides, brominated powdered activated carbon, and other bromine fine chemicals for use in chemical synthesis, oil and gas well drilling and completion fluids, mercury control, water purification, beef and poultry processing, and other industrial applications; and other specialty chemicals, such as tertiary amines for surfactants, biocides, disinfectants, and sanitizers. The Catalysts segment provides hydroprocessing, isomerization, and akylation catalysts; fluidized catalytic cracking catalysts and additives; and organometallics and curatives. The company serves the energy storage, petroleum refining, consumer electronics, construction, automotive, lubricants, pharmaceuticals, and crop protection markets. Albemarle Corporation was founded in 1887 and is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Sector

10-Q
9/30/23
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10-K
12/31/22
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10-K
12/31/18
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9/30/18
10-Q
6/30/18
10-Q
3/31/18
10-K
12/31/17

Chart P/E ratio

In the chart Earnings are multiplied by this value.

Earnings Growth 21%

Earnings Stability 26%

Competitiveness and MOAT

High margins render the company resilient under dire circumstances, hence able to drive competitors out or acquire them. ROE and ROA measure the average flow generated by each invested dollar. Their marginal value is a forecast of future growth, and it is considered by Buffett and Munger the most important single indicator.

The Net Margin is too low to guarantee profitability in case of higher costs or higher interest rates. Furthermore lower margins cause higher earnings’ volatility.

Over time the ROA has been decreasing indicating a lower marginal ROA with respect to the calculated one, this could impede growth.

Years	12-2015	12-2016	12-2017	12-2018	12-2019	12-2020	12-2021	12-2022	12-2023	TTM
Net Margin	9.2%	24%	1.8%	21%	15%	12%	3.7%	37%	16%	3.9%
ROA	5.1%	7.1%	7.6%	12%	6.8%	4.8%	7.3%	17%	2%	-5%
ROE	9.8%	16%	1.4%	18%	13%	8.4%	2.1%	33%	16%	2.8%

What is the average Net Margin?

The average Net Margin over the past 5 years is +17.37%.

What is the trend of Net Margin?

The trend of Net Margin over the past 5 years is +1.04%.

What is the average Return on Assets (ROA)?

The average ROA over the past 5 years is +8.24%.

What is the trend of Return on Assets (ROA)?

The trend of ROA over the past 5 years is -0.53%.

What is the average Return on Equity (ROE)?

The average ROE over the past 5 years is +15.19%.

What is the trend of Return on Equity (ROE)?

The trend of ROE over the past 5 years is +1.21%.

Safety & Stabiliy

Being debt the number one cause of investment losses and company death, the ratio Debt/FCF is of utmost importance to guarantee safety. On the other hand the Graham’s stability measures the drawdown of earnings, hence indicating the reliability of the flow generated by the company.

Under the assumption that FCF does not diminish and debt does not increase, the current years to repay the debt are acceptable.

The Graham’s stability indicate a relevant drawdown, consider checking when it has occured and why.

Years	12-2015	12-2016	12-2017	12-2018	12-2019	12-2020	12-2021	12-2022	12-2023	TTM
Debt FCF	34.05	4.88	-164.63	-13.08	-24.45	-84.88	-4.57	4.98	-5.82	-2.19
Debt Equity	1.33	0.66	0.59	0.54	0.79	0.98	0.48	0.39	0.50	0.30
MIN
Graham Stability	-	-	15%	100%	100%	88%	23%	100%	100%	15%

What is the Debt/FCF?

The Debt/FCF trailing twelve month is -2.19.

What is the trend of Debt/FCF?

The trend of Debt/FCF over the past 5 years is 5.86.

What is the Graham’s Stability?

Graham’s Stability measure stands at 0.15.

Growth

Growth can be dangerous when forecasting, simply projecting the current growth is in general wrong. A company passes through multiple phases, from being young and unprofitable, to the first periods of profitability and high growth, until it arrives at a period of regime with limited growth. Identifying in which phase the company is in may help forecasting.

Earnings growth has been increasing in past years.

Years	12-2016	12-2018	12-2020	12-2022	Trend
Revenue	20%	23%	45%	31%	5.5%
Net Income	14%	18%	61%	-42%	67%
Stockholders Equity	14%	21%	29%	18%	-4.8%
FCF	-	-	-	-	370%

What is the 5 year Revenue CAGR?

The Revenue CAGR over the past 5 years is +23.3%.

What is the trend of Revenue growth?

The trend of Revenue growth rate over the past 5 years is +5.48%.

What is the 5 year Earnings CAGR?

The Earnings CAGR over the past 5 years is +17.8%.

What is the trend of Earnings growth?

The trend of Earnings growth rate over the past 5 years is +67.2%.

What is the 5 year Equity CAGR?

The Equity CAGR over the past 5 years is +20.79%.

What is the trend of Equity growth?

The trend of Equity growth rate over the past 5 years is -4.83%.

What is the 5 year FCF CAGR?

The FCF CAGR over the past 5 years is +39.89%.

What is the trend of FCF growth?

The trend of FCF growth rate over the past 5 years is +368.63%.