Albemarle (ALB) Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Motley Fool Transcribing, The Motley Fool

Thu, August 13, 2026 astatine 9:10 AM CDT 49 min read

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DATE

Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026 astatine 8:00 a.m. ET

CALL PARTICIPANTS

• Vice President of Investor Relations and Sustainability - Meredith Bandy

• Chief Executive Officer - Kent Masters

• Chief Financial Officer - Neal Sheorey

• Chief Operations Officer - Mark Mummert

• Chief Commercial Officer - Eric Norris

Full Conference Call Transcript

Operator: Hello, and invited to Albemarle Corporation's Q2 2026 Earnings Call. I volition present manus it implicit to Meredith Bandy, Vice President of Investor Relations and Sustainability.

Meredith Bandy: Thank you, and welcome, everyone, to Albemarle's Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Our net were released aft marketplace adjacent yesterday, and you'll find the property merchandise and net presumption posted to our website nether the Investors conception astatine albemarle.com. Joining maine connected the telephone contiguous are Kent Masters, Chief Executive Officer; Neal Sheorey, Chief Financial Officer; Mark Mummert, Chief Operations Officer; and Eric Norris, Chief Commercial Officer, are besides disposable for Q&A. As a reminder, immoderate of the statements made during this call, including outlook, guidance, expected institution show and strategical initiatives whitethorn represent forward-looking statements. Please enactment the cautionary connection astir forward-looking statements contained successful our property merchandise and net presentation. That aforesaid connection applies to this call.

Please besides enactment that immoderate of our comments contiguous whitethorn notation to non-GAAP fiscal measures. You tin find reconciliations successful our net materials. And present I'll crook the telephone implicit to Kent.

Jerry Masters: Thank you, Meredith. Our beardown commencement to 2026 continued successful the 2nd quarter, supported by disciplined execution and improving conditions crossed our cardinal markets. Second 4th nett income of $1.7 cardinal accrued 31% year-over-year, driven by higher pricing successful vigor retention and some higher pricing and volumes successful specialties. Adjusted EBITDA much than doubled to $858 million, with our endeavor EBITDA borderline expanding to 49%. Importantly, we converted that show into cash. We generated $710 cardinal of currency from operations, representing a much than 80% operating currency conversion and $638 cardinal of escaped currency travel successful the quarter.

We are besides connected way to scope the precocious extremity of our $100 cardinal to $150 cardinal afloat twelvemonth people for outgo and productivity improvements. These results bespeak a deliberate absorption connected operational excellence and outgo discipline. We besides payment from globally divers and resilient cardinal extremity markets. Global lithium depletion was up 45% year-over-year done May, tracking supra our forecasted range, driven by continued spot successful stationary retention and improving maturation successful electrical vehicles. Needed proviso increases are coming to marketplace slower than request maturation owed to constricted spodumene availability, impermanent disruptions successful shipments from Africa and slower-than-expected ramp-up of Chinese lepidolite mines. And arsenic a result, inventories are debased and the carnal lithium marketplace remains tight.