Albemarle Names BHP Executive Rag Udd as Next CEO

ManagementAnalyst
โดย Benzinga·US·Read original
Summary · why it matters

Albemarle Corp. has named BHP Group's Chief Commercial Officer Ragnar "Rag" Udd as its next CEO, effective Feb. 1, 2027, succeeding Kent Masters, who will become executive chairman at the 2027 annual meeting. Udd, who brings over 25 years of experience in natural resources, will oversee the company's retooling for a market increasingly driven by grid-scale storage. The transition comes as Albemarle faces a pricing hangover from Chinese oversupply, with JPMorgan analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas cutting the 2026 adjusted EBITDA estimate by 14.4% to $2.88 billion, noting that each $1-per-kilogram move in lithium prices shifts annual EBITDA by roughly $250 million. Meanwhile, demand is diverging: Chinese EV sales fell 13% in the first half of 2026, but global lithium consumption jumped 45% through May, above Albemarle's 15%-to-40% forecast, driven by stationary storage. Udd inherits a company with second-quarter Energy Storage sales up 78% to $1.28 billion, but near-term hurdles remain, including a fire at the Greenbushes CGP3 plant and expected third-quarter adjusted EBITDA of $668 million, down from $858 million.

Impact on stocks 3

Electrification & Mobility▼ · 1 stocks
Albemarle Corp
ALB
▼ NegativeCapitalSupplyrelevance

Albemarle names BHP's Rag Udd as next CEO, a leadership change amid lithium pricing hangover and analyst EBITDA cut.

Digital Finance & Tokenization▼ · 1 stocks
JPMorgan Chase & Co
JPM
▼ NegativeCapitalrelevance

JPMorgan analyst Zekauskas cut Albemarle's 2026 adjusted EBITDA estimate by 14.4%.

Critical Materials & Supply Chain▲ · 1 stocks

Theme Impact 4

Related news

NANO Nuclear Energy Appoints Marilyn Diaz to Lead Fuel Facilities Operations

NANO Nuclear Energy has appointed Marilyn Diaz as Director of Fuel Facilities Operations, bringing senior regulatory experience from her tenure at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to the company's fuel operations team. The hire supports NANO Nuclear's plan to build capabilities across the nuclear fuel supply chain and aligns with U.S. energy security goals. Diaz previously served as Acting Deputy Division Director at the NRC, and her background spans uranium conversion, enrichment, fuel fabrication and material transportation. The appointment is intended to give NANO Nuclear internal expertise on how fuel facilities are reviewed, licensed and operated under U.S. rules as the company builds out the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle. Investors will be watching for concrete progress on conversion, enrichment or TRISO-related facilities under Diaz's oversight, including dated milestones on new license applications or expanded fuel partnerships.
NNE ▲
Energy Transition & Power Demand
Simply Wall St·6hRead more →
▲4impact 4

Westinghouse Targets Over $50B Valuation in U.S. IPO, Eyes October Filing

Westinghouse Electric is seeking a valuation of more than $50B in its U.S. initial public offering, with a filing targeted for as soon as October, though details including timing could still change, Bloomberg reported Friday. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs are leading the IPO, with CIBC, J.P. Morgan Chase and Royal Bank of Canada also working on the listing. Westinghouse is jointly owned by Brookfield Renewable Partners and Cameco, which completed a deal in 2023 to buy a 49% stake in the company at a roughly $8B value. The company looks set to benefit from the Trump administration's efforts to boost the U.S. nuclear industry, and the U.S. Army recently selected it as one of five firms to build, own and operate its power plants. Westinghouse's nuclear power technology is used by 57% of the world's nuclear reactors, and it has a pipeline of as many as 91 opportunities for its latest generation reactor.
BAMBEPCCCJCMGS+2
Energy Transition & Power Demand ▲
Seeking Alpha·13hRead more →
▲

Oklo Targets First Aurora Microreactors in Idaho by Late 2027

Oklo, the microreactor developer that went public through a SPAC merger on May 10, 2024, is targeting deployment of its first Aurora Powerhouse microreactors in Idaho in late 2027 or early 2028, with analysts expecting revenue to rise to $2 million in 2026, $8 million in 2027, and $53 million in 2028. The Aurora generates only 1.5 MWe on its own but is designed to be deployed alongside additional microreactors to build plants capable of generating up to 75 MWe, far below the over 1,000 MWe of a conventional nuclear plant, though its modular, factory-prefabricated design suits remote, off-grid sites and data center operators. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Oklo's Principal Design Criteria for the Aurora in June, and the company achieved criticality at Groves One, its first pilot isotope-production reactor, in early August, deploying it in just 229 days. Oklo's partnership with Meta Platforms, announced in January, aims to deliver 1.2 GW of power at a nuclear campus in Ohio, with initial phases expected online around 2030, and the company is working to convert a multi-gigawatt pipeline of non-binding letters of intent, including a 14 GW agreement with Switch, into firm Power Purchase Agreements. Oklo also signed an LOI to buy HALEU from Centrus Energy, one of the only companies authorized to produce and enrich HALEU in the United States, while carrying a $7.4 billion market cap that trades at 139 times its 2028 sales.
OKLO ▲LEU ▲META ▲
Energy Transition & Power Demand ▲
The Motley Fool·16hRead more →
© 2026 MarketDXNews