Is the business good?
How good a business is ALB?
Albemarle Corporation earns −1.1% on the capital it employs against a 9.0% cost of capital, so growth costs more than it returns.
−1.1%
Return on invested capital · cost of capital 9.0% · 10 points below what the capital costs: growth destroys value
- Operating margin
- −2.8%
Operating margin · Specialty Chemicals median 9.1% · 12 months to Q1 2026
- Share count, year on year
- +0.85%
Share count, year on year · flat: no meaningful dilution
- R&D as % of revenue
- 0.85%
R&D as % of revenue
| Year | Operating margin |
|---|---|
| FY2020 | 16% |
| FY2021 | 24% |
| FY2022 | 34% |
| FY2023 | 2.6% |
| FY2024 | −33% |
| FY2025 | −7.1% |
Details›
- Gross margin12 months to Q1 2026
- 18%
- Operating margin12 months to Q1 2026
- −2.8%
- Net margin12 months to Q1 2026
- −4.2%
- Free cash flow margin
- 10%
- R&D as % of revenue
- 0.85%
- Revenue, trailing twelve months
- $5.49B
- Free cash flow, trailing twelve months
- $575M
- Net income, trailing twelve months
- −$233M
- Return on invested capitaloperating profit after tax ÷ debt + equity − cash
- −1.1%
Margins, capital and share counts from the statements as filed with the SEC; cash conversion from the cash flow statement.