Century Aluminum Company CENX reported earnings of $3.23 per share for the first quarter of 2026. It compares favorably with the prior-year quarter’s earnings of 29 cents.
Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings came in at $1.06 per share. The bottom line missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.16.
Adjusted EBITDA was $231.4 million, up from $78 million in the prior-year quarter.
Century Aluminum Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Century Aluminum Company price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Century Aluminum Company Quote
CENX’s Revenues and Shipments
The company reported net sales of $649.2 million, up 2.4% year over year. However, the figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $652.2 million.
The increase in sales was driven by higher aluminum prices, which more than offset lower shipment volumes.
Primary aluminum shipments were 122,865 tons, down around 27% year over year and around 12% sequentially.
CENX’s Financials
At the end of the quarter, the company had cash and cash equivalents of $244.1 million, up 81.9% from the previous quarter.
CENX’s Q2 Outlook
The company forecasts second-quarter 2026 adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $315 million to $335 million, supported by higher realized LME and regional premiums, energy benefits and favorable volume/mix, partly offset by raw material costs and OPEX/other items.
CENX Stock’s Price Performance
Shares of Century Aluminum have risen 250.3% in the past year compared with the industry’s 55.8% growth.
CENX’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
CENX currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Other top-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space are Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. SQM, Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. IDR and Hawkins, Inc. HWKN.
Sociedad is slated to report first-quarter 2026 results on May 26. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for loss is pegged at $1.78 per share, indicating 270.8% year-over-year growth. SQM has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present.
Idaho is expected to report first-quarter 2026 results on May 14. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings is pegged at 43 cents per share, indicating 258.3% year-over-year growth. IDR sports a Zacks Rank #1 at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Hawkins is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter results on May 13. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWKN’s fourth-quarter earnings is pegged at 76 cents per share. HWKN currently has a Zacks Rank #2.
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power .
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Sociedad Quimica y Minera S.A. (SQM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Century Aluminum Company (CENX): Free Stock Analysis Report
Hawkins, Inc. (HWKN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (IDR): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).