Core Viewpoint - Century Aluminum (CENX) stock is considered hazardous and a poor investment choice at its current price of approximately $22 due to several identified issues despite its low valuation [2][3]. Valuation Comparison - CENX stock appears inexpensive when compared to the broader market based on price per dollar of sales or profit [4]. Revenue Growth - Century Aluminum's revenues have shown significant growth, with a 11.4% increase from $2.1 billion to $2.4 billion in the past 12 months, compared to a 5.5% growth for the S&P 500 [6]. - The company experienced an average annual decline of 1.4% in its top line over the last three years, while the S&P 500 saw a 5.5% increase [6]. - Quarterly revenues rose by 29.5% to $634 million in the most recent quarter from $490 million a year prior, outperforming the S&P 500's 4.8% improvement [6]. Profitability Metrics - Century Aluminum's operating income over the last four quarters was $166 million, reflecting a poor operating margin of 7.0% [7]. - The operating cash flow (OCF) during this timeframe was $63 million, indicating a very poor OCF margin of 2.6% compared to 14.9% for the S&P 500 [7]. - The price-to-sales (P/S) ratio for Century Aluminum is 0.9, while the S&P 500's is 3.1; the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio is 17.3 versus the benchmark's 26.9 [7]. Financial Stability - Century Aluminum's debt stood at $483 million at the end of the most recent quarter, with a market capitalization of $2.1 billion, resulting in a moderate debt-to-equity ratio of 23.3% compared to 19.4% for the S&P 500 [9]. - Cash (including cash equivalents) constitutes $45 million of the $2.0 billion in total assets, leading to a poor cash-to-assets ratio of 2.3% [9]. Downturn Resilience - CENX stock has historically performed worse than the S&P 500 during several downturns, including an 82.1% drop during the inflation shock of 2022 compared to a 25.4% decline for the S&P 500 [10]. - During the COVID pandemic in 2020, CENX stock fell 62.1%, while the S&P 500 experienced a peak-to-trough decline of 33.9% [10]. - In the global financial crisis of 2008, CENX stock dropped 98.7%, significantly worse than the S&P 500's 56.8% decline [11]. Overall Assessment - Century Aluminum's performance across key parameters is summarized as follows: Growth is very strong, profitability is very weak, financial stability is weak, and downturn resilience is very weak, leading to an overall weak assessment of the stock [13].

Core Viewpoint - MP Materials stock is currently considered unattractive due to high valuation and weak operational performance [2][11] Valuation Comparison - MP Materials has a price-to-sales (P/S) ratio of 20.9, significantly higher than the S&P 500's ratio of 3.0 [4] Revenue Performance - MP Materials' revenues have contracted at an average rate of 15.3% over the last three years, while the S&P 500 increased by 5.5% [5] - Revenues rose by 4.6% from $206 million to $216 million in the past 12 months, compared to a 5.5% increase for the S&P 500 [5] - Quarterly revenues increased by 24.9% to $61 million from $49 million a year prior, while the S&P 500 saw a 4.8% improvement [5] Profitability Metrics - MP Materials reported an operating income of $-166 million, resulting in an operating margin of -77.0%, compared to 13.2% for the S&P 500 [6] - The operating cash flow (OCF) was $-8.7 million, indicating an OCF margin of -4.0%, against 14.9% for the S&P 500 [6] - Net income was $-105 million, leading to a net income margin of -48.4%, compared to 11.6% for the S&P 500 [7] Financial Stability - MP Materials had a debt of $916 million with a market capitalization of $4.5 billion, resulting in a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.3%, slightly higher than the S&P 500's 19.9% [8] - Cash and cash equivalents accounted for $759 million of total assets of $2.4 billion, yielding a cash-to-assets ratio of 32.1%, compared to 13.8% for the S&P 500 [8] Downturn Resilience - MP stock has underperformed the S&P 500 during recent downturns, with a notable drop of 50.2% from a high of $49.44 on March 2, 2021, to $24.61 on May 13, 2021, while the S&P 500 dropped 25.4% [10] - The stock fully recovered to its pre-crisis peak by January 4, 2022, but currently trades at approximately $27 [10][11] Overall Assessment - MP Materials is assessed as follows: Growth - Neutral, Profitability - Extremely Weak, Financial Stability - Very Strong, Downturn Resilience - Very Weak, Overall - Weak [13]