Century Aluminum Co (CENX)

Price$46.78Cached quoteAs of 2026-09-05 15:41 UTC

AI: Fair-priced

Price checkThe shares look fairly priced because strong current profits are offset by unusually high cycle risk.

At roughly $4.7 billion of equity value, annualizing first-half adjusted net income of $428 million implies about 5.4 times earnings. Using June net debt, enterprise value is roughly $4.8 billion, about 3.7 times annualized second-quarter adjusted EBITDA, a rough operating-profit measure before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Yet first-half free cash flow was only about $102 million, or roughly 23 times annualized cash generation. Third-quarter guidance supports the strong run rate, but the cash record makes a larger discount hard to justify.

Big pictureProfitability has jumped, but recent history shows earnings and cash can swing sharply.

The business earned $41.8 million on $2.53 billion of 2025 sales, while operating cash flow of $185 million less $100.2 million of capital spending left about $84.8 million of free cash flow, meaning cash left after running and investing in the business. The first half of 2026 improved sharply: operating cash flow reached $236 million and free cash flow about $101.6 million. Reported profit was boosted by a $287.9 million Hawesville sale gain, so recent headline earnings overstate repeatable operating progress.

Business strengthThe balance sheet is much safer, while expansion has increased output without near-term share dilution.

By June 2026, cash had risen to $343.4 million and net debt had fallen to $136.6 million; management then said cash exceeded total debt by the end of July. That materially reduces downside risk in a cyclical smelting business. The trade-off is shareholder dilution: shares outstanding rose about 6.1% during 2025 and roughly 10% since 2020, while the supplied statements show no buyback or dividend cash outflows. Shares were essentially flat through the first half of 2026, so near-term dilution has stabilized.

What could change the storyTariff support and aluminum prices matter more than small cost changes for future value.

Management expects third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $325 million to $345 million, close to the strong second quarter, so the bull case is that higher U.S. aluminum premiums, Mt. Holly expansion output and restored Iceland production persist. The bear case is policy and project dependence: lower Canadian import tariffs could compress domestic pricing, while Century's 40%-owned Oklahoma smelter still faces litigation, permitting and power-agreement hurdles. The current valuation needs a meaningful part of 2026 profitability to endure; a return toward 2025 cash generation would make it expensive.

AI: News

Second-quarter earnings jumpSecond-quarter operating profit jumped, and management guided to similarly strong third-quarter performance.

On August 6, Century reported second-quarter sales of $752.1 million, adjusted net income of $257.3 million and adjusted EBITDA of $326.9 million, up $95.5 million from the first quarter. Management guided third-quarter adjusted EBITDA to $325 million-$345 million and said cash exceeded total debt by the end of July. The shares rose about 11.5% in the next session on elevated volume; the timing strongly suggests a positive earnings reaction, though other market factors cannot be excluded.

Tariff-cut report selloffA report of lower Canadian metal tariffs triggered a sharp selloff in domestic producers.

On August 19, a report said the United States planned to cut tariffs on certain Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 25% from current levels. Century fell more than 6% during the session alongside other domestic metals producers, and a separate market report noted a broader non-ferrous selloff and easing aluminum risk premium. The tariff report was not immediately verified, so the move should be treated as market concern about lower U.S. premiums rather than confirmed policy damage.

Oklahoma smelter court fightFederal support strengthened, but state litigation still threatens the planned Oklahoma smelter timetable.

On August 11, Oklahoma's attorney general sought a preliminary injunction against the planned Inola smelter. On August 28, the U.S. Justice Department urged dismissal of that lawsuit, arguing the project is important for national security. Century owns 40% of the planned 750,000-tonne-per-year facility, which also has up to $500 million of federal support. The opposing filings leave a major long-term growth project alive but exposed to schedule, permitting and legal risk; no clean stock-price reaction can be isolated.

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Financial statements

	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009
Revenue	$2.53B	$2.22B	$2.19B	$2.78B	$2.21B	$1.61B	$1.84B	$1.89B	$1.59B	$1.32B	$1.95B	$1.93B	$1.45B	$1.27B	$1.36B	$1.17B	$899.3M
Gross profit	$256.4M	$172.0M	$87.6M	$46.7M	$124.2M	−$36.5M	−$23.9M	−$22.9M	$131.3M	−$6.1M	$41.3M	$201.8M	$39.5M	$46.3M	$89.5M	$112.4M	−$65.7M
Gross margin	10.14%	7.75%	4.01%	1.68%	5.61%	−2.27%	−1.30%	−1.21%	8.26%	−0.46%	2.12%	10.45%	2.72%	3.64%	6.60%	9.61%	−7.30%
Operating expenses	$98.3M	$63.6M	$60.1M	$196.9M	$58.2M	$44.0M	$48.2M	$36.1M	$34.1M	$221.8M	$80.4M	$61.7M	$76.1M	$53.6M	$3.8M	$37.4M	$16.1M
Operating income	$158.1M	$108.4M	$27.5M	−$150.2M	$66.0M	−$80.5M	−$72.1M	−$59.0M	$97.2M	−$227.9M	−$39.1M	$140.1M	−$36.6M	−$7.3M	$47.3M	$103.0M	−$97.5M
Operating margin	6.25%	4.88%	1.26%	−5.41%	2.98%	−5.02%	−3.93%	−3.12%	6.12%	−17.28%	−2.00%	7.26%	−2.51%	−0.57%	3.49%	8.81%	−10.84%
EBITDA	$249.9M	$195.1M	$106.5M	−$76.8M	$148.6M	$2.5M	$11.1M	$31.1M	$181.4M	−$143.1M	$41.0M	$210.9M	$30.0M	$55.3M	$109.5M	$166.5M	−$24.8M
EBITDA margin	9.89%	8.79%	4.87%	−2.77%	6.72%	0.16%	0.60%	1.64%	11.42%	−10.85%	2.10%	10.92%	2.06%	4.35%	8.07%	14.24%	−2.76%
Net income	$41.8M	$336.8M	−$43.1M	−$14.1M	−$167.1M	−$123.3M	−$80.8M	−$66.2M	$48.6M	−$252.4M	−$59.3M	$126.5M	−$40.3M	−$35.6M	$11.3M	$60.0M	−$206.0M
Net profit margin	1.65%	15.17%	−1.97%	−0.51%	−7.55%	−7.68%	−4.40%	−3.50%	3.06%	−19.13%	−3.04%	6.55%	−2.77%	−2.80%	0.83%	5.13%	−22.91%
Basic EPSper basic share	$0.42	$3.44	-$0.47	-$0.15	-$1.85	-$1.38	-$0.91	-$0.76	$0.51	-$2.90	-$0.68	$1.31	-$0.45	-$0.40	$0.11	$0.59	-$2.73
Diluted EPSper diluted share	$0.42	$3.27	-$0.47	-$0.15	-$1.85	-$1.38	-$0.91	-$0.76	$0.51	-$2.90	-$0.68	$1.30	-$0.45	-$0.40	$0.11	$0.59	-$2.73

Review official source filings ↗

Owners

Reported shareholders

Reference date Jun 30, 2026

29.99%of listed shares

Glencore plc29.69M shares · Jun 30, 2026

View holders

Top 20 reported holders of CENX
Holder	% owned
Glencore plc	29.99%29.69M shares
BlackRock, Inc.	10.41%10.3M shares
STATE STREET CORP	5.60%5.54M shares
VANGUARD PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LLC	4.82%4.77M shares
Assenagon Asset Management S.A.	3.09%3.06M shares
VANGUARD CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC	3.00%2.97M shares
Invesco Ltd.	2.44%2.42M shares
Sourcerock Group LLC	2.29%2.27M shares
DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP	2.23%2.21M shares
FMR LLC	1.98%1.96M shares
GEODE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, LLC	1.87%1.85M shares
Fisher Asset Management, LLC	1.55%1.53M shares
MORGAN STANLEY	1.53%1.51M shares
MILLENNIUM MANAGEMENT LLC	1.13%1.12M shares
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC	1.06%1.05M shares
Impala Asset Management LLC	1.05%1.04M shares
Encompass Capital Advisors LLC	0.91%900K shares
MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.	0.88%870.85K shares
UBS Group AG	0.88%866.82K shares
Boston Partners	0.86%854.1K shares

Percentages use 98.99M shares of this listed class outstanding on Jun 30, 2026.

Gray completes the 100% scale. Reported positions may overlap; holders have different reporting dates.

Source: SEC Form 13F ↗Updated Sep 29, 2026 · Quarterly data

Insider buys & sells

Jul 1, 2024–Jun 30, 2026

Buys0$0.00 disclosed value

Sells (SEC code S)21$628.40M disclosed value

Transaction	Insider	Type	Shares	Price	Value	Owned after
Mar 25, 2026Form 4	Trpkovski Peter AEVP, CFO	SellCommon Stock	16.7K	$50.51	$845.5K	64.1K
Mar 16, 2026Form 4 · 10b5-1	Gary Jesse EPresident and CEO	SellCommon Stock · indirect	150.0K	$55.47	$8.32M	142.6K
Mar 12, 2026Form 4	Calloway Kenneth LSVP, Human Resources	SellCommon Stock	18.0K	$58.00	$1.04M	24.9K
Mar 11, 2026Form 4	Hoffman Robert FSVP, IT and CAO	SellCommon Stock	10.5K	$56.51	$595.0K	56.6K
Mar 4, 2026Form 4	Hoffman Robert FSVP, IT and CAO	SellCommon Stock	10.0K	$56.33	$563.3K	67.2K

Review ownership filings at SEC.gov ↗

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Century Aluminum Co (CENX)

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