LSB Industries
LXU on NYSE. LSB Industries sells nitrogen fertilizer and chemicals to farmers and factories. Market value $733m.
Price checks use the past 12 months to June 2026. Quality checks use five annual reports, the latest for the year to December 2025.
Should I look at this?
Worth a closer look
Why it could be worth it
What to watch out for
Nothing big in our quick check. See what could go wrong below.
This is not advice. Check the numbers below.
For every $100 of what the whole company costs, it produced $13.29 of spare cash in the past 12 months. A savings account pays about $4.
You pay 18.5 years of operating profit for the business. The average large US company costs around 18.
Each dollar kept in the business earns 5 cents a year. Above 10 is good.
Quality score: 74 of 100. Price score: 82 of 100. Our list needs 70 on quality and 60 on price.
$10.17 a share, 25% above its 1-year low
Over the past year the price has ranged from $8.12 to $17.22.
Pays no dividend
Prices from Tuesday’s close (6 October).
Five years of cash, in billions
Spare cash swings from quarter to quarter here: $97 million in the past 12 months, $18 million in the year to December 2025.
| Revenue | |||||
| Revenue | $556m | $902m | $594m | $522m | $615m |
| Operating margin | |||||
| Operating margin | 18.2% | 34.2% | 8.7% | -1.1% | 9.3% |
| Debt to equity | |||||
| Debt to equity | 1.15 | 1.38 | 1.12 | 1.02 | 0.88 |
| Shares outstanding | |||||
| Shares outstanding | 0.08bn | 0.07bn | 0.07bn | 0.07bn | 0.07bn |
Health checks
- Free cash flow positive4 of 5 years
- Accounting looks honest (Beneish)Nothing unusual
- Financial strength (Piotroski)8 of 8 checks we could run
- Profit backed by cash (accruals)Yes
- Debt0.88× equity
- Revenue growth, five yearsStrong, 11.9% a year
- Buying back its own sharesYes, 12% fewer since 2021
The quarter to June 2026
How the business did, compared with the same quarter a year earlier.
- Sales: $168 million last quarter, up 11% on a year ago.
- A loss of $6 million, after a profit of $3 million a year ago.
- It keeps 10 cents of each $1 of sales as operating profit, after losing 3 cents a year earlier.
- Spare cash over the past 12 months: $97 million. A year earlier it spent $53 million more than it brought in.
- About the same number of shares as a year ago.
- Debt is $430 million more than cash, down from $457 million a year ago.
- Sales grew on a year ago in each of the last 4 quarters.
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | $109m |
| December 2024 | $135m |
| March 2025 | $143m |
| June 2025 | $151m |
| September 2025 | $155m |
| December 2025 | $165m |
| March 2026 | $169m |
| June 2026 | $168m |
| Quarter to | Amount |
|---|---|
| September 2024 | -$25m |
| December 2024 | -$9m |
| March 2025 | -$2m |
| June 2025 | $3m |
| September 2025 | $7m |
| December 2025 | $16m |
| March 2026 | $20m |
| June 2026 | -$6m |
From the company's quarterly reports to the SEC.
Dates
- Next results (estimated)
- n/a
- Last annual report (10-K)
- 26 February 2026
- Next quarterly (estimated, 10-Q)
- 29 October 2026
Who owns it
4 long-term investors we follow own it, up from 3 last quarter. 201 funds in all.
- Third Avenue ManagementMatthew Fine
- Value
- $4m
- Share of fund
- 0.7%
- Royce & AssociatesChuck Royce
- Value
- $2m
- Share of fund
- <0.1%
| Fund | Value | Share of that fund | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Eagle Investment ManagementMatthew McLennan | $31m | <0.1% | Added |
| Third Avenue ManagementMatthew Fine | $4m | 0.7% | |
| Royce & AssociatesChuck Royce | $2m | <0.1% | |
| Gotham Asset ManagementJoel Greenblatt | $994,520 | <0.1% | New |
Largest holders overall
- BlackRock$51mAdded
- American Century Companies$35mAdded
- First Eagle Investment Management$31mAdded
- Vanguard Capital Management$27mAdded
- Dimensional Fund Advisors LP$26m
- Robotti Robert$23m
- Renaissance Technologies$19mCut
- Systematic Financial Management LP$18mCut
- Arrowstreet Capital, Limited Partnership$17mAdded
- Qube Research & Technologies$17mAdded
From 13F filings for the quarter ended 30 June 2026.
Big holders and activists
4 investors own more than 5%.
- Todd L. BoehlyPassive investorat least 14.5%(filed with 1 related holder)Since 26 March 2026
- BlackRock, Inc.Passive investor5.6%Since 31 March 2026
- ROBOTTI ROBERTPassive investorat least 4.9%(filed with 7 related holders)Since 19 December 2025
What they said
Item 4 of the Amended Statement is hereby restated to read as follows: (a)-(j). The Common Stock has been acquired by the Reporting Persons for investment purposes and was not acquired with the intent to change or influence control of the Issuer or to participate in any…
Read the filing - CastleKnight Master Fund LPPassive investorat least 4.5%−2.3 pts(filed with 5 related holders)Since 31 December 2025
| Holder | Stake | Since | |
|---|---|---|---|
Todd L. Boehly Passive investor | at least 14.5% (filed with 1 related holder) | 26 March 2026 | |
BlackRock, Inc. Passive investor | 5.6% | 31 March 2026 | |
ROBOTTI ROBERT Passive investor | at least 4.9% (filed with 7 related holders) | 19 December 2025 | What they saidItem 4 of the Amended Statement is hereby restated to read as follows: (a)-(j). The Common Stock has been acquired by the Reporting Persons for investment purposes and was not acquired with the intent to change or influence control of the Issuer or to participate in any… Read the filing |
CastleKnight Master Fund LP Passive investor | at least 4.5%−2.3 pts (filed with 5 related holders) | 31 December 2025 |
From Schedule 13D and 13G filings: anyone owning more than 5% must file one.
What insiders did
In the last 12 months, 1 insider bought $21,190 of shares on the open market. 5 sold $9m, $9m of it under preset trading plans.
- Ackerman Jonathan Z.DirectorBoughtunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 15 September 2026
- Shares
- 1,000
- Price
- $11.30
- Value
- $11,300
- Ackerman Jonathan Z.DirectorBoughtunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 12 August 2026
- Shares
- 1,000
- Price
- $9.89
- Value
- $9,890
- White Lynn FDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 10 June 2026
- Shares
- 40,000
- Price
- $11.80
- Value
- $472,000
- CARVER KRISTYSVP and TreasurerSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 8 June 2026
- Shares
- 9,554
- Price
- $12.38
- Value
- $118,279
- BEHRMAN MARK TPresident and CEO, DirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 2 March 2026
- Shares
- 250,000
- Price
- $11.75
- Value
- $3m
- CARVER KRISTYSVP and TreasurerSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 26 February 2026
- Shares
- 2,091
- Price
- $10.99
- Value
- $22,980
- GOLSEN BARRY HDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 11 February 2026
- Shares
- 17,813
- Price
- $10.04
- Value
- $178,843
- GOLSEN BARRY HDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 10 February 2026
- Shares
- 25,501
- Price
- $10.04
- Value
- $256,030
- GOLSEN BARRY HDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 9 February 2026
- Shares
- 3,321
- Price
- $10.00
- Value
- $33,210
- GOLSEN BARRY HDirectorSoldunder a preset trading plan
- Date
- 23 January 2026
- Shares
- 15,926
- Price
- $10.03
- Value
- $159,738
| Date | Who | Did | Shares | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 September 2026 | Ackerman Jonathan Z. Director | Bought under a preset trading plan | 1,000 | $11.30 | $11,300 |
| 12 August 2026 | Ackerman Jonathan Z. Director | Bought under a preset trading plan | 1,000 | $9.89 | $9,890 |
| 10 June 2026 | White Lynn F Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 40,000 | $11.80 | $472,000 |
| 8 June 2026 | CARVER KRISTY SVP and Treasurer | Sold under a preset trading plan | 9,554 | $12.38 | $118,279 |
| 2 March 2026 | BEHRMAN MARK T President and CEO, Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 250,000 | $11.75 | $3m |
| 26 February 2026 | CARVER KRISTY SVP and Treasurer | Sold under a preset trading plan | 2,091 | $10.99 | $22,980 |
| 11 February 2026 | GOLSEN BARRY H Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 17,813 | $10.04 | $178,843 |
| 10 February 2026 | GOLSEN BARRY H Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 25,501 | $10.04 | $256,030 |
| 9 February 2026 | GOLSEN BARRY H Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 3,321 | $10.00 | $33,210 |
| 23 January 2026 | GOLSEN BARRY H Director | Sold under a preset trading plan | 15,926 | $10.03 | $159,738 |
From Form 4 filings: insiders must report trades in their own company's shares within two days.
Warning signs in its filings
Problems the company itself reported to the SEC, in its own words.
None of the serious warning signs we check for were found. 1 thing worth knowing.
We look for five warning signs: doubt it can keep going, weak checks on its own accounts, a notice that its past accounts can't be relied on, a change of auditor, and one customer bringing in a big share of sales. We don't check lawsuits, investigations or debt yet.
We checked the auditor's report, internal controls, restatement notices, auditor changes and big customers in the 10-K filed 26 Feb 2026, plus the 10-Q filed 30 Jul 2026 and 12 later 8-Ks.
Changed auditor
Worth knowingThe company changed its auditor (the firm that checks its books) in the last two years.
“On the same date, the Committee approved the dismissal of EY as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, effective immediately, and informed EY of such dismissal.”
From an 8-K filed 9 March 2026: Change of auditor. Read it in the filing
A 10-K is the yearly report every US company files with the SEC. An 8-K is a short notice of a big event.
What could go wrong
Cheap for a reason is the question the numbers cannot answer.
Whether the price already reflects the risks is what the deep dive is for.
The deep dive
Everything above is arithmetic on public filings. The deep dive reads the last ten years of annual reports, the proxy statements, and the earnings calls, then argues the case the way Buffett, Klarman, and Hohn would, and checks every claim against the source.
- What the business is worth, as a range, and the margin of safety at today’s price
- Prices to start buying, buy, and buy hard
- The three things that would make this a mistake
- Every number footnoted to the filing it came from
Your first deep dive is free.
Not advice. Numbers on this page come from SEC filings and are updated each night; prices are updated again after the US market closes. The five-year figures are rounded.