By Katherine Hamilton

MP Materials posted lower revenue following its decision to cease rare earth sales to China as part of its agreement with the U.S. government.

The producer of rare earth minerals on Thursday posted a fourth-quarter profit of $9.4 million, or 5 cents a share, compared with a loss of $22.3 million, or 14 cents a share, a year earlier.

Stripping out certain one-time items, adjusted per-share earnings were 9 cents. Analysts polled by FactSet were expecting MP to break even on an adjusted basis.

Revenue fell 14% to $52.7 million, behind the $67.7 million analysts were forecasting.

Last July the Pentagon took a 15% stake in MP as part of a deal in which the company agreed to build a new factory to make rare-earth magnets.

To align with that agreement, MP ceased all sales to China, which resulted in no revenue recognized from rare earth concentrate during the quarter. That fueled the decline in revenue, MP said.

Chief Executive James Litinsky said the agreement with the government, along with a deal with Apple to deliver scaled recycling and magnetics capabilities, will help spur growth going forward.

The U.S. government is focused on increasing production of rare earth minerals, which are used in electric vehicles and smartphones, in an effort to remain competitive with China's production of the products.

Shares fell 4% to $57.40 in after-hours trading.

MP said earlier on Thursday that it would invest more than $1.25 billion in its large-scale rare-earth magnet manufacturing campus in Northlake, Texas. The investment would build onto its existing capacity in North Texas and is expected to come online in 2028.

Write to Katherine Hamilton at katherine.hamilton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2026 16:49 ET (21:49 GMT)

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