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what it is
LSB turns natural gas into fertilizer and industrial chemicals, then sells them to farmers, miners, and chemical buyers across North America.
how it gets paid
Last year Lsb Industries made $615M in revenue. UAN fertilizer was the main engine at $196.9M, or 32% of sales.
why it's growing
Revenue grew 17.8% last year. 190% revenue growth mattered most because it shows how violently this business can snap back when pricing and operations line up.
what just happened
Revenue hit $450M, up 190% vs. prior year, while EPS came in at $0.12.
At a glance
C++ balance sheet — some cracks in the foundation
10/100 earnings predictability — expect surprises
28.2x trailing p/e — priced about right
4.4% return on capital — nothing to write home about
-$0.27 fy2024 eps est
xvary composite: 55/100 — below average
What they do
LSB turns natural gas into fertilizer and industrial chemicals, then sells them to farmers, miners, and chemical buyers across North America.
LSB owns and runs three multi-plant sites plus a fourth operated facility, which is a real asset base for a company with just 583 employees. Natural gas goes in, ammonia-related products come out, and the plants are built to sell output at multiple stages. That flexibility helps when one end market slows, because you still have other products to move.
How they make money
$615M
annual revenue · their business grew +17.8% last year
UAN fertilizer
$196.9M
Ammonium nitrate
$129.2M
Ammonia
$116.9M
Nitric acid
$110.7M
Other industrial products
$61.5M
The products that matter
nitrogen fertilizer production
Ammonia
core input product
this sits inside a $522M revenue business, and management says a $0.50/MMBtu move in natural gas can swing production costs by millions. that's what commodity exposure looks like in real life.
gas-sensitive
liquid nitrogen fertilizer
Urea Ammonium Nitrate (UAN)
farm-cycle dependent
management issued 2026 sales volume guidance for this line, which tells you volumes matter after a year when total revenue fell 12.0%. one strong quarter will not fix the story by itself.
volume watch
industrial and mining supply
Industrial & Mining Contracts
risk-transfer channel
this matters because LXU is trying to protect a 4.0% net margin by pushing raw-material volatility onto customers where contracts allow it. if that holds, the cycle hurts less. if it doesn't, the margin disappears fast.
margin defense
Key numbers
$484M
long-term debt
Debt this large matters because it limits how much bad pricing or downtime the company can absorb before equity holders feel it.
15.4%
operating margin
Operating margin → profit after running the plants, before interest and taxes → so what: the business is profitable when the cycle cooperates.
4.4%
return on capital
Return on capital → profit earned on the money tied up in the business → so what: LSB is earning a pretty thin return for a heavy-asset company.
1.45
beta
Beta → how violently the stock tends to move versus the market → so what: you should expect sharper swings than the S&P 500.
Financial health
C++
strength
- balance sheet grade C++ — below average — limited financial resources
- risk rank 1 — safer than 95% of stocks
- price stability 10 / 100
- long-term debt $484M (31% of capital)
C++ — risk rank looks solid but balance sheet grade needs watching.
Total return vs. market
Return history isn't available for LXU right now.
source: institutional data · return history unavailable
What just happened
beat estimates
Revenue hit $450M, up 190% vs. prior year, while EPS came in at $0.12.
Sales rebounded hard versus the prior year, but gross margin was still just 14.0%. That is the quiet part: volume can recover faster than profitability.
$450M
revenue
$0.12
eps
14.0%
gross margin
the number that mattered
190% revenue growth mattered most because it shows how violently this business can snap back when pricing and operations line up.
source: company earnings report, 2026
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What could go wrong
the top risk is natural gas and fertilizer spread compression. LXU only earned a 4.0% net margin on $522M of annual revenue, so it does not take much pricing pressure to knock profits out.
high
natural gas and product price swings
management says a $0.50/MMBtu move in gas can swing production costs by millions. when your net margin is 4.0%, that is the difference between a normal quarter and an ugly one.
management says a $0.50/MMBtu move in gas can swing production costs by millions. when your net margin is 4.0%, that is the difference between a normal quarter and an ugly one.
high
q4 may prove temporary
LXU made $24.6M in q4, but consensus still expects a full-year EPS loss of -$0.18. the market is basically saying one clean quarter is not enough evidence.
LXU made $24.6M in q4, but consensus still expects a full-year EPS loss of -$0.18. the market is basically saying one clean quarter is not enough evidence.
med
cash gets spoken for quickly
$150M of cash sounds comfortable until you stack it against $75M of planned 2026 capex and $484M of long-term debt. the cushion exists. it is not oversized.
$150M of cash sounds comfortable until you stack it against $75M of planned 2026 capex and $484M of long-term debt. the cushion exists. it is not oversized.
med
industrial contracts need to do real work
part of the thesis is that industrial customers assume more raw-material volatility. if that protection is weaker than it sounds, LXU is back to taking commodity hits with a 4.0% margin. that is a bad setup.
part of the thesis is that industrial customers assume more raw-material volatility. if that protection is weaker than it sounds, LXU is back to taking commodity hits with a 4.0% margin. that is a bad setup.
4.0% net margin on $522M of annual revenue implies only about $21M of annual profit capacity at that margin. q4 alone produced $24.6M. that gap tells you how quickly this story can swing from fine to fragile.
source: institutional data · regulatory filings · risk analysis
Pay attention to
margin check
can q4's ~15% margin survive contact with the next quarter
q4 net income of $24.6M on $165.0M of sales is a very different picture from a 4.0% full-year net margin. you need to know which version is real.
calendar
q1 2026 results
management gave 2026 sales volume guidance. the next report is where you find out whether that guidance was confidence or wishful thinking.
cash use
$75M capex against a $150M cash balance
half the cash pile is effectively spoken for if the 2026 capex plan holds. that leaves less room for commodity surprises.
trend
revenue after a 12.0% decline
LXU does not need perfect conditions, but it does need sales to stop moving backward. a cyclical rebound is helpful. a durable one matters.
Analyst rankings
earnings predictability
10 / 100
in human-speak, analysts do not trust this earnings stream to behave. expect sharp revisions when commodity prices move.
price stability
10 / 100
this stock can move like a small cap tied to fertilizer spreads, because that is exactly what it is.
risk rank
1
rated safer than 95% of stocks on this metric. translation: balance-sheet risk and share-price behavior are not the same thing.
source: institutional data
Institutional activity
institutional ownership data for LXU is being compiled.
source: institutional data
Price targets
3-5 year target range
n/a
n/a
$8
current price
n/a
target midpoint · n/a from current
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