materials

Shares of MP Materials (MP 8.69%) rallied on Friday, up 13% as of 12:53 p.m. ET.

MP Materials has become a highly strategic company in the U.S., especially after July, when the U.S. Department of Defense directly invested $400 million in the rare-earth elements miner, while also committing to purchasing future output at certain price floors.

Rare-earth elements are critical materials used in a variety of industrial and military electronics applications, so MP Materials has since moved higher whenever geopolitical tensions rise and the subject of critical materials comes to the forefront.

That’s what happened today.

Image source: Getty Images.

Trump threatens China over new rare-earth elements restrictions

On Friday, President Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to excoriate China. President Trump threatened to greatly increase the already-substantial tariffs on Chinese imports into the U.S., and even threatened to cancel his upcoming meeting with President Xi Jinping.

The bellicose reaction came as a response to China apparently instituting new export controls on rare-earth elements yesterday. On Thursday, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said foreign countries must obtain a license to export rare-earth products sourced from China. Of note, China controls roughly 70% of global rare-earth products, especially on the refining side, so this move threatened to cut off or slow these supplies to the rest of the world.

The new tensions were a disappointing step backward from the ongoing trade talks that investors hoped were improving since April’s “Liberation Day” salvo.

Still, certain stocks benefit from geopolitical tensions, and MP Materials — along with other miners of critical minerals — rallied today in response to the back and forth. If rare-earth element imports are delayed or cut off, MP Materials’ U.S.-based rare-earth mining operations would only see that much more demand.

Plays on geopolitical tensions have rallied this year

Strategic U.S. assets, whether in rare-earth elements, uranium, semiconductors, or others, as well as the price of gold, have risen this year. This has been due to the increasingly protectionist stance of the U.S. government, and the increasing inflationary pressure resulting from U.S. attempts to wean itself off cheaper foreign materials and goods to become more self-sufficient.

These trends don’t appear to be slowing down any time soon, so while many of these stocks are up a lot and trade at very high valuations, it may be prudent for investors to secure some “strategic” U.S. companies as part of their diversified portfolios today.

Applied Materials (AMAT 2.93%) was among several semiconductor equipment companies to gain last month, as the company, known for making equipment to produce chips and display panels, benefited from several macroeconomic and sector-level news items last month.

While there was no major company-specific news out on Applied Materials last month, the related items were enough to drive the stock up 27%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.

As you can see from the chart, much of the gains came in the middle of the month.

AMAT data by YCharts

A new semiconductor boom

While the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has propelled stocks like Nvidia to multibagger gains, the semiconductor equipment sector, which operates on a different cycle, has lagged behind due to weaker growth and challenges in areas like China.

However, investors responded positively to news out of the sector last month, indicating that a new spending cycle could be afoot in semiconductor equipment.

First, Applied Materials benefited from the Federal Reserve’s 25-basis point rate cut on Sept. 17, and its forecast for two more cuts over the rest of the year. Semiconductor equipment, such as what Applied Materials sells, tends to be very expensive, so lower rates should make it easier for the company to borrow money so they can buy products from Applied Materials. The stock gained 2.6% that day.

Applied Materials then jumped the following session after Nvidia and Intel announced their partnership. The move helped boost Applied Materials and its semi equipment peers, since Intel is a major fab, and Nvidia’s $5 billion investment into Intel was expected to fuel spending on chip equipment. It also improves Intel’s prospects over the long term. The stock jumped 6.5% that day. Applied Materials is a major supplier for Intel, and even received Intel’s EPIC Supplier Award this year.

Finally, Applied Materials jumped 5.4% on Sept. 22 after it received an upgrade to overweight from Morgan Stanley. The investment bank hiked its wafer fab equipment sales growth forecast from 5% to 10%, seeing increased demand in memory. As a result, it boosted EPS estimates for Applied Materials.

Image source: Getty Images.

What’s next for Applied Materials?

A strong earnings report from Micron toward the end of the month also seemed to boost Applied’s prospects.

Like ASML, Applied Materials’ business strength hasn’t been in question, but cyclical demand is a major factor, as revenue rose just 8% in its most recent quarter.

Still, the news around Intel and broader growth in AI is promising. If that momentum continues, Applied Materials has room to move higher.

It’s been an outstanding year to own MP Materials (MP 0.56%) stock. From the end of 2024 through Oct. 3, 2025, Shares of the rare earth metals and magnets producer rose 358%.

The U.S. Government’s push to reshore manufacturing is the tailwind pushing this stock forward. Magnets made from rare earth elements, especially neodymium, are essential components in electronic vehicles, military drones, and everyday consumer electronics.

The first thing to know about rare earth magnets is that China is the world’s leading supplier of refined rare earth metals. This April, China halted exports of rare earth metals to the U.S. to strengthen its position when negotiating new tariffs. That decision has plenty of American businesses eager to build a more secure supply chain.

Image source: Getty Images.

In the right place at the right time

As the only operational rare earth mine operator in the U.S., MP Materials is an obvious beneficiary of a reshoring push. Recently, USA Rare Earth has collected a great deal of capital with the intention of creating an end-to-end magnet production chain. The potential competitor acquired some mining rights in Texas, but it hasn’t begun extracting any minerals yet.

As the only magnet manufacturer with an operational mine, MP Materials is in a good position to receive government assistance. In July, the company entered a partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to build up the country’s rare earth magnet supply chain.

MP Materials intends to use government funds to construct a second domestic magnet manufacturing facility to be called the 10x Facility. Once complete, DoD has agreed to ensure the sale of every magnet the new facility produces for 10 years. The company thinks it can produce 10,000 kilograms annually with help from the new facility, once it’s built.

Also in July, MP Materials announced an agreement to sell magnets to Apple for use in its popular devices. Magnet shipments to the iPhone manufacturer are expected to begin in 2027.

Missing the most important part of the supply chain

Before getting too excited about MP Materials, it’s important to understand that its facilities for refining ore into metal that can be used to manufacture magnets are small. This is why the deal with Apple involves recycling old magnets, not producing new ones from ore the company dug up in its Californian mining operation.

The 10x Facility to be built in partnership with DoD is for manufacturing magnets. It isn’t the big refinery that the company needs to actually remove China from its supply chain. The company only expects to improve the minor refining operation at its Mountain Pass, California facility.

It’s unlikely that MP Materials’ planned improvements will allow for much independence from Chinese imports. Rare earth metal refining is a chemically intensive process that produces heaps of health-threatening pollution. It’s hard to imagine environmental regulators in California letting such a refinery operate at scale.

Why MP Materials’ stock is risky

Investors who buy MP Materials at recent prices need the company to overcome some extremely high expectations, or they could suffer heavy losses. Most basic materials companies trade at price-to-sales multiples in the low single digits. With a market cap north of $12.6 billion, this stock is trading at 48 times trailing 12-month sales.

The DoD established a guaranteed minimum price of $110 per kilogram of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) to be processed at the 10x Facility. The company hasn’t broken ground yet. Even if we can assume it will rapidly complete construction and begin selling 10,000 kg annually to DoD at that price, we can only expect about $1.1 billion annually.

A bet on MP Materials now is a bet that its new battery recycling program with Apple succeeds. New investors are also betting on perfect execution regarding its partnership with DoD. Those bets entail more risk than most investors should feel comfortable with. It’s probably best to keep this company on a watchlist for now and revisit it after its 10x Facility is up and running.

In the second quarter of 2025, MP Materials‘ (MP -0.76%) revenue declined sequentially from the first quarter. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) and earnings both fell deeper into the red. That’s not a change that most investors will find pleasing to read, but the company’s future remains very bright.

Here’s why MP Materials’ growth isn’t stalling, even though there’s a lot of heavy lifting for the company to do from here.

What does MP Materials do?

MP Materials mines for and processes rare earth metals. These metals are vital to the technology sector and get used in everything from cellphones to missiles. That said, MP Materials is really best viewed as a mining company.

Image source: Getty Images.

That’s important because mining is a very capital-intensive business. A company has to find a place to mine, get approval for it, build the mine, operate it (in this case also process the output into usable rare earth metals products), and then return the mine back to its pre-mine state once it is depleted. MP Materials is really just at the very beginning of this process, which is the most expensive from a capital investment point of view.

That said, MP Materials finds itself in a very enviable position thanks to geopolitical issues. The new U.S. tariff regime has led to friction with China, which is the world’s largest producer of rare earth metals. China has been very willing to limit access to these vital metals as it vies for the best tariff deal. That, essentially, has put the world on notice that China can’t be counted on as a supplier of rare earth metals.

MP Materials has a huge opportunity to exploit

MP Materials didn’t just magically find itself here. The company’s specific goal was to create a rare earth metals supplier that is located in an economically and politically stable region. The company is exactly where it wanted to be and that is leading to a huge influx of cash.

The U.S. government has invested in MP Materials. Apple has inked a sizable deal with the company. And, after the stock advance following these two events, the company was able to sell shares into the market at attractive prices. Demand was so strong for MP Materials’ stock that it was able to sell more shares than it had originally planned.

This is all very good news from a growth perspective. It means that MP Materials has the cash it needs to keep building out its business. And that, in turn, means that it still has a huge growth opportunity ahead that will be easier to achieve since access to capital is less of a constraint. If anything, the growth opportunity isn’t stalling out, it is getting more attractive.

Don’t expect instant results at MP Materials

Despite the positives here, there’s still one small problem. MP Materials is a young miner that is building out its business. That takes time and will likely mean red ink for at least a while longer.

MP Materials stock is up over 350% over the past year, with most of that gain coming after the U.S. government’s investment in the company. So while the business has huge growth potential, a lot of that appears to have been priced into the stock in a very short period of time. Investors should probably tread cautiously with MP Materials, which looks like it has become a story stock at this point.

If the story doesn’t happen as expected (including as quickly as expected), the shares could quickly turn lower again even if the long-term opportunity for the business remains robust.

One of the many big geopolitical stories in the world today is the changing tariff regime in the United States. Key trading partner China is retaliating in a way that only China can, by limiting access to rare-earth metals, which are vital in the technology sector.

And that has led to a huge boon for MP Materials (MP -10.99%), which produces rare-earth metals in the United States. Does this make MP Materials a smart buy?

Image source: Getty Images.

What’s going on in the tariff world?

The new administration in Washington D.C. is raising tariffs on foreign countries that export products to the U.S. market. Given that U.S. consumers represent a valuable customer group, the tariffs are a very big deal. Impacted countries are attempting to negotiate and/or retaliate in an effort to limit the impact that tariff changes will have on their economies. China is one of the largest exporters to the United States and negotiations have been tense.

China’s wild card is the fact that it is the world’s largest producer of rare earth metals. These metals are used in electronics, including in highly sensitive high-tech gear that might be used for defense purposes. In the face of U.S. tariffs, China has been more than willing to limit access to rare-earth metals. And that is potentially a large problem for the United States.

This is where MP Materials comes in, since it is a U.S.-based supplier of rare earth metals. It didn’t just appear overnight, the company went public a few years ago. The whole idea of the business is to produce rare earth metals from within a politically and economically stable country, giving technology-driven customers what might be seen as a more reliable supply option for these vital materials. In hindsight, MP Materials’ timing could hardly have been any better.

There have been big investments in MP Materials

The importance of MP Materials is highlighted by two big events. First, on July 10, the U.S. government made a $400 million investment in the business, which included convertible securities. Second, and just five days later, Apple announced a $500 million partnership with MP Materials around rare-earth metals.

Not surprisingly, MP Materials’ stock price rose dramatically on the news. That, in turn, allowed MP Materials to sell $650 million worth of stock at attractive prices for the company. Demand for the shares was so high that the sale was upsized from $500 million, showing that investor appetite for MP Materials’ story is large. And why not? The story is quite compelling.

There’s just one problem. MP Materials is still building out its business. It likely has ample cash to do that today, but there is still material execution risk. If building the business, which has both mining and processing aspects to it, doesn’t go smoothly, investors could quickly turn negative on the stock. Similarly, if tariff tensions ease, the excitement around MP Materials could also wane. Notably, the bottom of the company’s income statement is in the red.

MP data by YCharts

The fact that MP Materials is losing money as it makes the large capital investments needed to build out its business is hardly surprising. The problem is that investors are likely buying the short-term rare earth metals story, not the upstart business story. The second story, which is fundamental to the business right now, could require years to play out. And yet MP Materials’ stock price has risen more than 140% since July 9, the day before the government investment was announced.

Thinking long term will be key

At this point, it looks like a lot of good news has been priced into MP Materials’ stock. That has diminished the opportunity here for investors, even though the opportunity for the business looks very attractive. If you buy MP Materials today, it would be a smart move to think long term because in the short term, any negative news could lead to a swift drawdown in what has become a story stock.

That said, conservative investors will probably want to watch from the sidelines for a little bit to see how well MP Materials executes on its investment plans. The company has plenty of cash to work with at this point, but it still needs to make good use of that money for the quick stock price advance to make financial sense for investors.

MP Materials (MP -10.99%) stock tumbled 9% through 3 p.m. ET Friday after London’s Financial Times reported on a potential competitive threat to MP’s vast investments (already made) in reviving the American rare earth mining industry, and capacity to produce rare earth magnets domestically.

Image source: Getty Images.

Could Niron replace MP?

Automotive giants Stellantis and General Motors, along with Volvo and Samsung, are investing $150 million in a start-up called Niron Magnetics, which aims to make magnets from common elements such as iron and nitrogen — rather than rare earth elements (which aren’t exactly rare, but can be hard to refine). Various U.S. government agencies have granted the company nearly $70 million more in tax credits and other subsidies.

Niron is building an iron nitride magnetics factory in Minnesota, capable of producing 1,500 tons of magnets annually, and says its magnets will be 18% more powerful than certain — much more expensive — rare earth magnets.

Is MP Materials stock a sell?

I wouldn’t panic just yet, however. While Niron’s magnets have been reported to be better than some of the best rare earth magnets, this appears based on lab reports at present, and the company hasn’t yet proven it can produce magnets of the reported superiority, at scale, and at affordable prices.

It’s also worth noting that while Niron has attracted substantial support from government and industry, so too has MP Materials — up to and including the U.S. government taking an equity stake in the company. And MP Materials has a huge lead in building out mining and manufacturing operations to support production of its own magnets.

True, if all of Niron’s claims prove out, there could be risk to MP here. But it’s a big “if,” and too soon to tell just how big of a risk.

Aug. 15 (UPI) — Applied Materials’ stock price slumped by double digits on Friday after the semiconductor equipment maker reported a projected decline in revenue amid tariff worries in China.

On the Standard and Poor’s 500 index, the company’s stock decreased 11% at the opening bell and was trading at $162.09, down 13.87%, at 2 p.m. Entering trading, Applied Materials was up more than 15% for the year. The stock reached $199.29 on July 15 with the record $235.99 in April 2024.

The company, based in Santa Clara, Calif., reported the sixth consecutive quarter of revenue growth, including $7.3 billion in the third quarter, but foresees a weaker situation in the next quarter. They initially projected $6.7 billion in revenue for the quarter.

“We are expecting a decline in revenue in the fourth quarter driven by both digestion of capacity in China and non-linear demand from leading-edge customers given market concentration and fab timing,” Brice Hill, senior vice president and CFO at Applied Materials, said. “We are navigating and adapting to the near-term uncertainties by leveraging our robust supply chain, global manufacturing footprint and deep customer relationships.”

CEO Gary Dickerson, during an earnings call with analysts, said the current macroeconomic situation and trade issues have fueled “increasing uncertainty and lower visibility,” mainly within its business in China.

In addition, he said their forecast does not account for pending export license applications and a substantial backlog of products.

Dickerson noted the easing of spending from customers, with Chinese clients cutting spending after increasing equipment manufacturing in the region.

President Donald Trump has proposed a 100% tariff on semiconductors and possibly a 300% rate. Exempt companies would be those with manufacturing facilities in the United States.

Applied Materials doesn’t make chips, and instead supplies equipment, services and software used by the makers of the chips. The company’s largest plant for logistics and logistics is in Austin, Texas.

On Monday, Trump extended a tariff pause until Nov. 10 on products sent to the United States from China. Originally, he threatened 145% duty, but it was later lowered to 30% plus the baseline tariffs imposed on nearly all U.S. trading partners. The baseline remains in effect.

In June, Trump announced a trade agreement with China over rare earth minerals. Under the deal, China would export rare earth minerals to the United States with both countries reducing their tariffs for 90 days. Rare earth minerals fuel energy sources for mobile devices and electric vehicles.

Despite uncertainty, Applied Equipment in its report wrote that “we remain very confident in the longer-term growth opportunities for the semiconductor industry and Applied Materials.

The company’s adjusted earnings of $2.11 per quarter was short of the $2.39 expected by LSEG.

Net income hit $1.78 billion, or $2.22 per share. One year ago, it was $1.71 billion, or $2.05 per share.

The gross margin was 48.8% compared with 47.3% one year ago, and the operating margin was 30.6% vs. 28.7% in 2024.

The company specializes in materials engineering solutions for semiconductors, flat panel displays and solar photovoltaic industries. The company’s revenue in semiconductor equipment is No. 1 in the world, followed by the Dutch company ASML.

Sales at all three Applied Materials units rose: Semiconductor Systems at $5.43 billion, Applied Global Services at $1.60 billion and and Display t a$263 million.

The company’s market capitalization is $151.06 billion. It was founded in 1967 as a startup.

Aug. 12 (UPI) — The White House has ordered a sweeping review of the Smithsonian’s exhibitions and materials as part of President Donald Trump‘s efforts to promote a rosier presentation of the nation’s past.

The order came in a letter signed by three White House aides to Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III that was posted online Tuesday. The letter indicates that the Trump administration is again turning its attention on the Smithsonian, a premiere group of museums and research centers located in the nation’s capital, as it seeks to reshape cultural institutions.

The letter requested a sizable list of the Smithsonian’s internal documents that will be used in a review to ensure the museum aligns with an earlier Trump administration directive “to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

The review will focus on eight of the Smithsonian’s museums with an eye on next year’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the museum’s plans for the event, according to the letter. Materials that will be included in the review included exhibition texts, educational materials and social media “to assess tone, historical framing, and alignment with American ideals.”

“As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, it is more important than ever that our national museums reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story,” states the letter signed by aides Lindsey Halligan, Vince Haley and Russell Vought.

This isn’t the first time Trump has sought more control over the Smithsonian. Earlier in his term, Trump issued an executive order seeking to end “influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology” at the Smithsonian. More recently, Smithsonian staff temporarily removed references to Trump’s two impeachments from an exhibit on presidential power.

The upcoming review of the Smithsonian will also include interviews with staff to understand the development of its exhibits, according to the letter, which states that its goal is not to interfere with its operations.

Additionally, the review will evaluate how existing materials and collections “are being used or could be used to highlight American achievement and progress” and if they should be conveyed to other institutions. Lastly, the review will seek “the development of consistent curatorial guidelines that reflect the Smithsonian’s original mission.”

July 15 (UPI) — Apple announced a $500 million deal with MP Materials for the development of a recycling facility and rare earth magnets to boost production on Tuesday.

The company will buy rare earth magnets created by MP Materials. Both companies will combine on a new recycling line in Mountain Pass, Calif., to meet global demand. Apple said it plans to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next couple of years on advancing manufacturing and next-generation recycling technologies.

“Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States. We couldn’t be more excited about the future of American manufacturing, and we will continue to invest in the ingenuity, creativity, and innovative spirit of the American people,” said Apple’s CEO Tim Cook in a press release.

Apple said the deal plans on creating dozens of new jobs and building a new pool of U.S. expertise in magnet manufacturing.

Nearly all magnets in Apple devices are made with recycled rare-earth materials.

“The collaboration with MP Materials will help secure domestic supply of this critical material, strengthen the U.S. rare earth industry’s capabilities to capture more raw material, and advance environmental progress with innovative recycling methods,” Apple said in a press release.

Ruling sides against authors who alleged that Anthropic trained an AI model using their work without consent.

A United States federal judge has ruled that the company Anthropic made “fair use” of the books it utilised to train artificial intelligence (AI) tools without the permission of the authors.

The favourable ruling comes at a time when the impacts of AI are being discussed by regulators and policymakers, and the industry is using its political influence to push for a loose regulatory framework.

“Like any reader aspiring to be a writer, Anthropic’s LLMs [large language models] trained upon works not to race ahead and replicate or supplant them — but to turn a hard corner and create something different,” US District Judge William Alsup said.

A group of authors had filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that Anthropic’s use of their work to train its chatbot, Claude, without their consent was illegal.

But Alsup said that the AI system had not violated the safeguards in US copyright laws, which are designed for “enabling creativity and fostering scientific progress”.

He accepted Anthropic’s claim that the AI’s output was “exceedingly transformative” and therefore fell under the “fair use” protections.

Alsup, however, did rule that Anthropic’s copying and storage of seven million pirated books in a “central library” infringed author copyrights and did not constitute fair use.

The fair use doctrine, which allows limited use of copyrighted materials for creative purposes, has been employed by tech companies as they create generative AI. Technology developpers often sweeps up large swaths of existing material to train their AI models.

Still, fierce debate continues over whether AI will facilitate greater artistic creativity or allow the mass-production of cheap imitations that render artists obsolete to the benefit of large companies.

The writers who brought the lawsuit — Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson — alleged that Anthropic’s practices amounted to “large-scale theft”, and that the company had sought to “profit from strip-mining the human expression and ingenuity behind each one of those works”.

While Tuesday’s decision was considered a victory for AI developpers, Alsup nevertheless ruled that Anthropic must still go to trial in December over the alleged theft of pirated works.

The judge wrote that the company had “no entitlement to use pirated copies for its central library”.

June 4 (UPI) — Federal officials have arrested a Washington man they said provided “significant quantities” of explosive materials to the man who attacked a California fertility clinic in a suicide bombing.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California charged Daniel Jongyon Park of Kent, Wash., with providing and attempting to provide material support to terrorists.

Officials arrested him Tuesday night shortly after he arrived on a flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Park had been deported from Poland where he traveled to in the days after the May 17 attack.

Police said Edward Bartkus of Twentynine Palms, Calif., attacked the American Reproductive Centers location in Palm Springs, Calif., using a vehicle-borne bomb. He was allegedly motivated by his anti-natalist views that people shouldn’t be brought into the world without their consent.

The Justice Department said Park shared Bartkus’ views and bought and shipped more than 200 pounds of ammonium nitrate to Bartkus’ home. Park also joined Bartkus in Twentynine Palms, where the two allegedly conducted experiments on how to build explosives using the chemicals.

Attorney General Pam Bondi thanked the Polish government for assisting in returning Park to the United States to face charges.

“Bringing chaos and violence to a facility that exists to help women and mothers is a particularly cruel, disgusting crime that strikes at the very heart of our shared humanity,” she said.