Albemarle Corp. vs CarMax, Inc — how do they compare? Albemarle Corp. trades at $128.54 (market cap $15.27B), while CarMax, Inc trades at $58.6 (market cap $8.26B). The key difference: Albemarle Corp. is the larger of the two by market cap, and Albemarle Corp. pays a 1.27% dividend while CarMax, Inc pays none. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| ALB | KMX | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $15.27B | $8.26B |
Sector | Basic Materials | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $215.62 | $62.17 |
52-Week Low | $72.58 | $30.88 |
Enterprise Value | $17.75B | $26.77B |
Dividend Yield | 1.27% | — |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Albemarle (ALB) trades at $128.29, down 2.23% today, with mixed technical signals showing bullish moving averages but overbought RSI levels. The company reported strong Q2 2026 results with EPS of $3.75 beating estimates by 17%, driven by improved lithium pricing and specialty chemicals performance. Despite recent profitability challenges with negative net income in 2025, cash flow generation remains healthy at $1.28B from operations.
Analyst consensus leans positive with 42% buy ratings and $184.50 price target representing 44% upside potential. Key risks include lithium price volatility and Q3 margin pressure, while catalysts include sustained demand for energy storage solutions and ongoing balance sheet improvements through debt reduction.
CarMax (KMX) trades at $58.705, down 0.13% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages. The company reported mixed quarterly earnings, missing in Q2 2025 but beating in Q3 2025 and Q1 2026, with net income of $500.56M in 2025. Recent news includes a Zacks Strong Buy rating and a partnership with Sierra to enhance customer service, though ongoing legal investigations pose a headwind.
The stock's outlook is cautiously optimistic, supported by improving cash flow trends and analyst buy ratings, but risks include high debt levels and margin pressures. With a consensus price target of $53.09 below the current price, near-term upside may be limited despite positive momentum indicators.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Albemarle is the world's largest lithium producer. Our outlook for robust lithium demand is predicated upon increased demand for electric vehicle batteries. Albemarle produces lithium from its salt brine deposits in Chile and the U.S. and its hard rock joint venture mines in Australia. Albemarle is also a global leader in the production of bromine, used in flame retardants. The company is also a major producer of oil refining catalysts.
Read more on ALB →CarMax sells, finances, and services used and new cars through a chain of over 230 used retail stores. It was formed in 1993 as a unit of Circuit City and spun off into an independent company in late 2002. Used-vehicle sales typically account for about 83% of revenue and wholesale about 13%, with the remaining portion composed of extended service plans and repair. In fiscal 2022, the company retailed and wholesaled 924,338 and 706,212 used vehicles, respectively. CarMax is the largest used-vehicle retailer in the U.S. but still estimates that it has only about 4% U.S. market share of vehicles 0-10 years old in 2021. It seeks over 5% share by the end of calendar 2025 and revenue between $33 billion to $45 billion by fiscal 2026. CarMax is based in Richmond, Virginia.
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