Head-To-Head Analysis: Electra Battery Materials (NASDAQ:ELBM) vs. Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR)

Lithium Americas (Argentina) (NYSE:LAR) and Electra Battery Materials (NASDAQ:ELBM) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, valuation, analyst recommendations, risk, institutional ownership and dividends.

Profitability

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Electra Battery Materials’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	-2.15%	-1.67%
Electra Battery Materials	N/A	-48.57%	-17.70%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Electra Battery Materials, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	1	2	5	2	2.80
Electra Battery Materials	1	0	1	0	2.00

Lithium Americas (Argentina) currently has a consensus target price of $7.44, indicating a potential upside of 17.01%. Electra Battery Materials has a consensus target price of $2.10, indicating a potential upside of 144.76%. Given Electra Battery Materials’ higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Electra Battery Materials is more favorable than Lithium Americas (Argentina).

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Lithium Americas (Argentina) and Electra Battery Materials”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Lithium Americas (Argentina)	N/A	N/A	-$15.23 million	($0.50)	-12.72
Electra Battery Materials	N/A	N/A	-$21.49 million	($1.27)	-0.68

Lithium Americas (Argentina) is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Electra Battery Materials, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

49.2% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 32.9% of Electra Battery Materials shares are owned by institutional investors. 19.8% of Lithium Americas (Argentina) shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 22.7% of Electra Battery Materials shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Lithium Americas (Argentina) beats Electra Battery Materials on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Lithium Americas (Argentina)

Lithium Argentina AG, a resource and materials company, focuses on advancing lithium projects in Argentina. The company owns interests in the Cauchari-Olaroz project located in Jujuy province; and the Pastos Grandes project located in Salta Province of Argentina. The company was formerly known as Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. and changed its name to Lithium Argentina AG in January 2025. Lithium Argentina AG was incorporated in 2007 is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland.

About Electra Battery Materials

Electra Battery Materials Corporation engages in the acquisition and exploration of resource properties in the United States and Canada. It primarily explores for cobalt and silver deposits. The company's flagship project is the Iron Creek cobalt-copper project located in Lemhi County, Idaho. It also operates a cobalt refinery for producing battery materials for the electric vehicle supply chain. The company was formerly known as First Cobalt Corp. and changed its name to Electra Battery Materials Corporation in December 2021. Electra Battery Materials Corporation was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.