New York, February 18, 2026, 14:03 (EST) — Regular session
- Albemarle climbed roughly 3%, lifted by an analyst upgrade that continued to support lithium stocks.
- Benchmark indices for both lithium carbonate and hydroxide dipped Wednesday.
- Investors are scanning for signs of pricing and demand before SQM reports next week.
Albemarle shares were up roughly 3% by midday Wednesday in U.S. trading, building on the previous session’s advance. A Bank of America upgrade helped keep lithium names in the spotlight, even as some lithium price indicators came in weaker. The Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF added close to 2.3%. Chile’s SQM picked up about 1%. Lithium Americas, on the other hand, barely moved.
Lithium’s price swings are back in the spotlight. Producers have slashed spending, idled capacity, and are hunting for deeper cost cuts into 2025. Now, investors are left to puzzle over whether the metal’s latest bounce has staying power—or fizzles out again.
Lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, essential for producing rechargeable batteries in electric vehicles and grid backup systems, sit at the heart of the supply chain. A swing in prices can hammer or lift margins for miners and refiners almost immediately—shares in the sector tend to swing hard in response.
Benchmark Mineral Intelligence put its lithium carbonate index at 349.17, down 2.14%. The lithium hydroxide index came in at 295.42, a drop of 4.7%. (Benchmark Mineral Intelligence)
Bank of America’s Rock Hoffman has bumped Albemarle up to Buy from Neutral, lifting his price target to $190. “Recent developments suggest broader support,” Hoffman said, highlighting $450 million in annualized cost cuts and the company’s full-year EBITDA outlook between $2.4 billion and $2.6 billion. (Benzinga)
Bank of America noted that lithium spot prices for immediate delivery have more than doubled since October, staying above $20 per kilogram. The bank pointed to permitting changes in China, which have sidelined supply from higher-cost lepidolite — a lithium-rich rock that’s expensive to process. (Investing)
Albemarle, the world’s biggest lithium producer, announced last week it’s closing the last operational processing line at its Kemerton plant in Western Australia and shelving expansion plans there, blaming low lithium prices. (Reuters)
Still, it’s a shaky setup. Should Chinese supply recover faster than anticipated, or if battery demand drops off following this year’s restocking, lithium prices may drop again—potentially pressuring higher-cost producers and putting the sector’s equity rally at risk.
Right now, traders are glued to daily lithium price signals coming out of China, tracking the speed of battery and energy-storage expansions—looking for any indication that demand has staying power beyond just a brief uptick.
Chile’s SQM is up next with its latest numbers—the company is set to release both Q4 and full-year 2025 results on February 27, and there’s a conference call lined up for March 2. (Sqm)
