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• Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM) has entered a long term lithium production agreement with Codelco, creating a new entity called Nova Andino Litio.
• The agreement secures future lithium production from the Salar de Atacama, one of the world's largest lithium sources.
• Alongside the new partnership, SQM reported record lithium sales volumes and shared a positive market outlook for lithium demand.

For investors looking at NYSE:SQM, this agreement comes as the stock trades at $70.39 with a 1 year return of 68.3%. The tie up with Codelco and access to Salar de Atacama resources adds to record sales volumes and helps illustrate how SQM is positioning itself within global lithium supply.

Management's constructive view on lithium demand, driven by electric vehicles and energy storage, provides useful context if you are considering SQM's longer term role in the sector. The creation of Nova Andino Litio and the production agreement with Codelco may influence how you weigh SQM's exposure to future lithium supply against price and demand uncertainty in the years ahead.

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NYSE:SQM Earnings & Revenue Growth as at Mar 2026

📰 Beyond the headline: 1 risk and 2 things going right for Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile that every investor should see.

The new agreement with Codelco and creation of Nova Andino Litio sits alongside a sharp improvement in SQM’s recent financials. In Q4 2025, revenue was US$1,323.9 million compared with US$1,073.8 million a year earlier, and net income moved to US$183.8 million from US$120.1 million. For the full year, SQM reported revenue of US$4,576.2 million versus US$4,528.8 million and turned from a net loss of US$404.4 million to net income of US$588.1 million, with basic EPS from continuing operations at US$2.06 after a loss per share of US$1.42 the prior year. Management pointed to record lithium sales volumes, higher realized prices quarter on quarter and an improving supply demand balance supported by electric vehicles and energy storage. For you as an investor, the Codelco partnership secures access to one of SQM’s key resource bases, while the earnings swing back to profit shows how sensitive results are to lithium volumes and pricing. It also puts the focus on how SQM executes expansion projects and manages regulatory terms in Chile, especially relative to global peers like Albemarle and Ganfeng Lithium.

How This Fits Into The Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile Narrative

• The move to secure long term production from Salar de Atacama supports the narrative that SQM is leaning on capacity growth and cost leadership to underpin future revenue and margin potential.
• Reliance on a partnership with Codelco also speaks to the narrative’s concern about higher state involvement and regulatory complexity, which could affect capital efficiency and timing of new projects.
• The creation of Nova Andino Litio as a new structure around Atacama production is a development that may not be fully reflected in earlier commentary that focused more on future projects like Salar Futuro and Australian expansion.

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The Risks and Rewards Investors Should Consider

• ⚠️ Earnings remain highly exposed to lithium prices and Chilean regulatory terms around Atacama, which could affect profitability and future project approvals.
• ⚠️ Analysts flag that the dividend, around 3%, is not well covered by earnings or free cash flow, which may matter if you are relying on income.
• 🎁 SQM has just moved from a net loss of US$404.4 million to net income of US$588.1 million, reflecting the benefit of higher lithium sales volumes and pricing.
• 🎁 Earnings are forecast to grow 19.53% per year, according to analyst expectations, which some investors may view as support for a growth focused thesis.

What To Watch Going Forward

From here, it is worth keeping an eye on how Nova Andino Litio is structured in practice, including royalty terms, capital spending and governance between SQM and Codelco. Lithium sales volumes and realized prices will remain key data points each quarter, especially if supply disruptions ease or if demand from electric vehicles and energy storage systems changes pace. You may also want to track how SQM’s position compares with other large producers like Albemarle and Ganfeng Lithium, particularly on costs and access to high quality resources. Any updates to Chilean mining policy or environmental rules around brine extraction at Salar de Atacama could quickly feed into the investment case.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data
and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your
financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data.
Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material.
Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include SQM.

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