HL vs SQM
Hecla Mining Co. and Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc., side by side — 10 fiscal years reported in USD, drawn from SEC filings.
Most recent reported year
| Metric | HL | SQM |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1.4B | $4.5B |
| Net income | $321.7M | $685.1M |
| Gross margin | 43.7% | 29.3% |
| Net margin | 22.6% | 15.3% |
| Return on equity | 13.9% | 14.3% |
| Diluted EPS | $0.49 | $2.40 |
| Dividend / share | $0.01 | · |
| Payout ratio | 3.2% | 9.8% |
| Free cash flow | $310.2M | $302.9M |
| Equity | $2.6B | $5.2B |
| Net debt / equity | −0.09× | 0.92× |
| Current ratio | 2.72× | 2.51× |
| Revenue CAGR 5y | 15.5% | 18.4% |
| Profit CAGR 5y | · | 19.8% |
SQM bills 3.2× the revenue of HL, and HL keeps more of each dollar of revenue as profit (22.6% against 15.3%).
The stronger figure of the pair is set in bold. That is arithmetic, not a recommendation — this page does not pick a winner. "·" marks a figure not available in our data.
10 years side by side
| Fiscal year | HL | SQM |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | $929.9M | $4.5B |
| FY2023 | $720.2M | $7.5B |
| FY2022 | $718.9M | $10.7B |
| FY2021 | $807.5M | $2.9B |
| FY2020 | $691.9M | $1.8B |
| FY2019 | $673.3M | $1.9B |
| FY2018 | $567.1M | $2.3B |
| FY2017 | $577.8M | $2.2B |
| FY2016 | $646.0M | $1.9B |
| FY2015 | $443.6M | $1.7B |
Bottom line
| Fiscal year | HL | SQM |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | $35.8M | $685.1M |
| FY2023 | $-84.2M | $923.2M |
| FY2022 | $-37.3M | $3.9B |
| FY2021 | $35.1M | $585.5M |
| FY2020 | $-9.5M | $164.5M |
| FY2019 | $-94.9M | $278.1M |
| FY2018 | $-26.6M | $439.8M |
| FY2017 | $-28.5M | $427.7M |
| FY2016 | $61.6M | $278.3M |
| FY2015 | $-87.0M | $220.4M |
10 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | −$3,598,836,000 | SQM |
| FY2023 | −$6,747,263,000 | SQM |
| FY2022 | −$9,991,673,000 | SQM |
| FY2021 | −$2,054,842,000 | SQM |
| FY2020 | −$1,125,318,000 | SQM |
| FY2019 | −$1,270,389,000 | SQM |
| FY2018 | −$1,698,666,000 | SQM |
| FY2017 | −$1,579,548,000 | SQM |
| FY2016 | −$1,293,365,000 | SQM |
| FY2015 | −$1,284,765,000 | SQM |
SQM has reported the higher revenue in every one of these 10 fiscal years. The gap has widened since the earliest year compared.
10 of 15 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
10 fiscal years
| Fiscal year | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | −11.4 pp | SQM |
| FY2023 | −24.2 pp | SQM |
| FY2022 | −41.7 pp | SQM |
| FY2021 | −16.3 pp | SQM |
| FY2020 | −10.6 pp | SQM |
| FY2019 | −28.5 pp | SQM |
| FY2018 | −24.2 pp | SQM |
| FY2017 | −24.8 pp | SQM |
| FY2016 | −5.0 pp | SQM |
| FY2015 | −32.6 pp | SQM |
SQM has kept the higher net margin in every one of these 10 fiscal years.
10 of 15 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
HL's net margin has been more volatile than SQM's over the 10 comparable fiscal years — 8.5 percentage points of standard deviation against 7.2.
10 of 15 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
SQM led in net margin in every one of the 10 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
10 of 15 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Standard deviation, each side
SQM's return on equity has been more volatile than HL's over the 10 comparable fiscal years — 24.8 percentage points of standard deviation against 3.3.
10 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.
Year by year
SQM led in return on equity in every one of the 10 comparable fiscal years — a structural lead, not a recent swing.
10 of 18 comparable fiscal years — a year missing data on either side is not counted.