New York, Feb 17, 2026, 13:05 (EST) — Regular session
- Albemarle shares climbed roughly 1% after Bank of America upgraded its rating to Buy.
- Spot lithium carbonate prices in China remain steady at 145,000 yuan per tonne, according to SunSirs data.
- All eyes on SQM’s Feb. 27 results—traders looking for fresh clues on lithium pricing.
Albemarle shares climbed Tuesday, picking up around 1.3% to $168.56 by early afternoon following an upgrade from Bank of America Securities. Lithium price recovery stayed in focus for investors eyeing the chemical giant.
Lithium spot prices — immediate delivery — have doubled since October, Bank of America noted, staying north of $20 per kilogram. After sliding about 14% from their highs, the firm called the pullback a more attractive entry, pointing to tightening supply-demand dynamics. Slower restarts for high-cost Chinese lepidolite (a lithium-rich rock) factored into that view.
Spot lithium carbonate prices in China held steady at 145,000 yuan per tonne on Feb. 17, data from SunSirs showed. The chemical is a key ingredient for battery production.
BofA’s Rock Hoffman is turning upbeat on lithium, citing “recent developments suggest broader support” for pricing, according to Benzinga. Hoffman bumped his Albemarle target up to $190, flagging gains in energy storage volumes and more work on costs and productivity at the company. Benzinga
Albemarle has been aggressively managing costs as it tries to wait out volatile prices. The company reported roughly $450 million in cost and productivity gains for 2025 and is now tying its 2026 outlook to lithium price assumptions. If lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) averages about $20 per kg, Albemarle expects adjusted EBITDA — that’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization — to land in the $2.4 billion to $2.6 billion range.
Interest in lithium now stretches well past just electric vehicles. Back in January, Reuters highlighted a 71% leap in lithium demand from energy storage for 2025, with another 55% bump on deck for 2026. That’s according to Reuters’ own math, using UBS numbers, and the surge is tied to China’s overhaul of its power sector and growing electricity needs from data centers. “Energy storage is likely to become a game changer for lithium,” said Jinyi Su, an analyst at consultancy Fubao based in Wuxi. Reuters
Lithium-related names diverged. Chile’s SQM picked up 1.1%. Lithium Americas dropped 3.0%, Sigma Lithium lost 5.2%. The Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETF slipped 0.8%.
Things remain complicated. Earlier this month, Albemarle announced it will shut down the final operating processing train at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide facility in Western Australia. Plans for additional trains are scrapped too, following a brutal slump in lithium prices—down over 90% in the past two years.
The company expects the Kemerton idling to boost adjusted EBITDA starting in the second quarter of 2026, while its 2026 volume outlook stays intact. Customer demand, they said, will be filled by alternative channels.
Lithium’s notorious for its wild swings when policy shifts hit. Back in January, prices in China shot up 9% in a single session after news that Beijing would phase out VAT export rebates on battery products. Analysts suggested that the policy tweak might accelerate both battery shipments and demand.
The next significant event: another producer readout. SQM plans to release its fourth-quarter and full-year numbers on Feb. 27, with a conference call set for March 2, per its investor events calendar.
