Albemarle Earnings Call: Here’s Why CFO Neal Sheorey Sees Strong 2025 EV Growth

Sheorey pointed out that Chinese battery electric vehicle sales have been the strongest segment of the market.

Albemarle (ALB) CFO Neal Sheorey stated on Thursday that 2025 EV demand growth continued its strong start, led by China, where EV sales were up 41% year to date. He added that Chinese battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales have been the strongest segment of the market.

“This is in part due to recent subsidies in China that made the net purchase price for entry-level BEVs very attractive for consumers,” Sheorey said on a post-earnings call.

Retail sentiment on Albemarle remained in the ‘bullish’ territory with ‘extremely high’ chatter levels, according to data from Stocktwits. The retail user message count on the stock jumped over 200% in the last 24 hours on Stocktwits.

Shares of Albemarle were down 1% in early trading, and the stock has lost 21% year-to-date.

CEO Kent Masters said that the estimated global lithium consumption was up about 35% year to date, including strong volume in stationary storage and EVs. He added that the company continues to expect the direct impacts of tariffs announced since April to be minimal on its enterprise, thanks to the exemptions and Albemarle’s global footprint.

Albemarle is also reducing its full-year 2025 capital expenditure outlook to between $650 and $700 million, compared with the prior estimate of $700 million to $800 million.

The company, in an attempt to trim costs, had laid out plans to cut staff and also cancelled expansion plans. This was a result of facing persistent challenges stemming from a global lithium oversupply, partially driven by excessive production in China.

“Lower input costs and ongoing cost and productivity improvements helped to mitigate the impact of lower lithium pricing and reduced pretax equity earnings,” Sheorey said.

Albemarle’s quarterly revenue of $1.33 billion topped Wall Street estimates of $1.23 billion, according to data compiled by Fiscal AI. It posted a profit of $0.11, compared with expectations of a loss of $0.81.

The company’s shares have declined 27% in the last 12 months.

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