Sociedad Química y Minera's Lithium Boom Is Back, But Iodine Steals the Show

Sociedad Química y Minera is benefiting from a sharp rebound in lithium, but another part of the business is quietly adding stability. Iodine has continued to deliver steady pricing and record results even as lithium remains far more volatile. For investors, the contrast between lithium growth and iodine consistency helps explain why SQM is more than a one-commodity story.

Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile NYSE: SQM delivered a blowout Q2 2026 earnings report. Revenue of $2.47 billion beat the consensus forecast of $2.24 billion by 10.3%. The company also beat on adjusted earnings per share (EPS) with the reported $2.31 coming in ahead of estimates of $2.04.

Lithium deserves most of the credit. Revenue for the segment nearly quadrupled year over year (YOY), and the swing from a weak 2025 to a record 2026 pulled the entire company's results along with it. But buried underneath that headline is another story worth telling: iodine just posted its second straight record quarter, without any of the volatility.

There's no understating how much lithium drove this quarter. Revenue for the segment hit $1.78 billion, up 300% YOY, on record sales volume above 84,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent. Average realized prices at SQM's Chilean joint venture, Novandino, reached about $21.80 per kilogram. That was up 23% from the prior quarter and roughly 160% higher than a year ago.

That kind of move is exactly what makes lithium such a compelling trade and such an unpredictable business to own. A year ago, lithium was dragging down the company's results as oversupply crushed pricing. Now demand from battery storage systems has outpaced expectations, and SQM raised its full-year global lithium demand forecast to more than 2.1 million metric tons. The rise in lithium prices also shows up on SQM's bottom line. The segment generated 78% of the company's gross margin for the first half of 2026. That's a dramatic reversal from when lithium prices were depressed. It's also the reason SQM has been so volatile over the past year. It was up near $95 in May, down into the $60s by July, and back above $76 as of Aug. 19.

The story of SQM's quarter wouldn't be complete without a discussion of the role of iodine. It won't get the headlines that lithium does. Some of that is because iodine won't move a stock 20% in a week. But that's precisely the point. Average realized iodine prices hit an all-time high of about $73.40 per kilogram this quarter, up 2.6% year-over-year. Volumes grew 8% to 7,900 metric tons for the first half, and segment revenue rose 10% to $578.10 million. Demand continues to be led by X-ray contrast media, the largest application for iodine, supported by steady demand from industry, pharmaceuticals, and polarizing film. Iodine has now posted record pricing in back-to-back quarters. That's a level of consistency lithium simply doesn't offer investors right now. While lithium was swinging from a drag on earnings to the company's dominant profit driver, iodine kept setting new highs quarter after quarter without fanfare. Management isn't blind to what's coming, either. The company forecasted that third-party iodine supply will increase later this year, which could moderate sales volumes into year-end. Full-year production guidance still sits around 15,500 metric tons, supported by a seawater pipeli...