Stocks analysis

ACN vs ALB Stock Comparison

Scores Breakdown

Metric ACN ALB
📈 Growth 28/30 27/30
💰 Profitability 16/20 15/20
🏦 Financial Health 18/20 18/20
💵 Valuation 15/20 14/20
⚠️ Risk (lower is better) 5/10 7/10
Overall Score 82/100 77/100

Side-by-Side Summaries

ACN Analysis ALB Analysis

📈 Growth & Financial Trajectory

Over the eight quarters, Revenues rose from $17.69B to $18.72B, while Net Income increased from $1.79B to $2.34B, signaling a positive trajectory with modest top-line growth and stronger bottom-line advancement. The trend shows resilience amid quarterly fluctuations, with mid-single-digit revenue growth and improving profitability.

💰 Margins & Cash Flow

Gross Margin sits in the low 30s (about 32%–33%), and Operating Margin runs in the mid-teens, supporting the Net Income growth. Cash flow is robust: Net Cash Flow From Operating Activities around $3.0–3.8B per quarter; Net Cash Flow overall was positive in several periods, while Net Cash Flow From Investing Activities and Net Cash Flow From Financing Activities show volatility.

🛡️ Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Liquidity remains solid with Current Assets around $25–29B versus Current Liabilities around $18–22B (current ratio near 1.3x). Equity sits near $31–33B, and overall liabilities are manageable relative to assets.

⚠️ Key Drivers & Risks

  • Drivers: AI-enabled transformation demand and a broad, diversified client base across industries.
  • Risks: Economic cyclicality in IT budgets and valuation sensitivity to growth assumptions.

📈 Growth & Financial Trajectory

Across eight quarters, ALBEMARLE shows modest revenue growth from about $1.43B in 2024-Q2 to $1.74B in 2026-Q2, a gain of ~22%. Net income evolved from a loss of about -$176.6M to a positive $499.2M in 2026-Q2, with a mid-2025 dip, then a clear recovery into 2026.

💰 Margins & Cash Flow

Gross margin expanded from a negative figure in 2024-Q2 to roughly 35% in 2025-Q1 and remained around the high 30% into 2026. Operating leverage benefited from higher margin production in later quarters. Net cash flow from operating activities, continuing, stayed strong, with $709.997M in 2026-Q2 and positive quarterly cash generation overall. Free cash flow was primarily consumed by investing activities, which were negative but the company still reported a positive overall cash flow in 2026-Q2.

🛡️ Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Total assets of about $15.9B and equity of ~$10.5B support a solid balance sheet. Current assets of roughly $3.9B and current liabilities of $1.89B yield a healthy current ratio around 2.1x. Long-term debt remains moderate at about $1.88B, keeping balance-sheet risk contained.

⚠️ Key Drivers & Risks

  • Drivers: Lithium/alloy battery demand; EV and energy-storage deployment
  • Risks: commodity-price cyclicality; execution/valuation sensitivity to macro conditions