MW This rare-earth company may be the next Trump administration investment

By James Rogers

USA Rare Earth is in 'close communication' with the Trump administration, CEO Barbara Humpton says on CNBC

The Trump administration has made a series of investments in industries it sees as vital to the U.S. economy.

Shares of USA Rare Earth Inc. have been soaring as investors look to get a jump on the next corporate investment by the Trump administration.

The rally was extending further into record territory on Friday, after Chief Executive Barbara Humpton went on CNBC late Thursday - her second day on the job - and said the company was in direct contact with the government, which has recently taken equity stakes in companies in industries deemed critical to national security.

It may help that Humpton has some government connections. Before she became CEO of Siemens USA - her position before she joined USA Rare Earth - she worked with U.S. government agencies and departments as head of Siemens Government Technologies Inc. She's also on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

The stock (USAR) shot up 13.3% in morning trading. It has soared 48.5% this week amid heightened interest in U.S. critical materials, buoyed by this week's announcement of the federal government's stake in Lithium Americas.

USA Rare Earth (USAR) supplies magnets and rare-earth materials to the energy, electric-vehicle and defense industries, as well as for consumer electronics. A federal government investment would be the latest in the Trump administration's push into key U.S. industries, which include its recent stakes in lithium producer Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC), rare-earth producer MP Materials Corp. (MP) and semiconductor giant Intel Corp. $(INTC)$. Those stocks have continued to rise after the government stakes were announced.

Humpton was asked on CNBC whether she would be open to a deal with the U.S. government. She replied that the company is in "close communication" with the administration.

"We're excited about the deal that MP actually has, that Lithium has, and now, a big part of what we are doing is keeping the administration informed of our own plans, and we expect that partnership to continue," she added.

The White House has not yet responded to a request for comment from MarketWatch.

Humpton indicated the timing was just right for the interest in rare-earth stocks, as there is a "global imperative, now, to build a mine-to-magnet supply chain for critical rare earths," she said on CNBC.

Earlier this week, the company acquired U.K.-based Less Common Metals, a rare-earth metal and alloy producer. Humpton said the deal will ensure that USA Rare Earth has the first domestic supply chain for heavy rare-earth metals, alloys and magnets.

As part of this supply-chain effort, U.S. Rare Earth is developing the Texas Round Top Deposit in Hudspeth County, Texas, with Texas Mineral Resources Corp. (TMRC). The company is also building a magnet manufacturing plant in Stillwater, Okla.

Shares of USA Rare Earth have climbed 124.2% in 2025, while MP Materials' stock has rocketed 367.9% and the S&P 500 index SPX has gained 14.4%.

-James Rogers

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October 03, 2025 10:14 ET (14:14 GMT)

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