Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE: SQM) reported net income of US$1,024.7 million, or US$3.59 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2026, against US$225.9 million, or US$0.79 per share, a year earlier. The release is dated Santiago, August 18, 2026, and was furnished to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Form 6-K under commission file number 33-65728. The company also lists in Santiago under the symbols SQM-B and SQM-A.

Revenues reached US$4,228.5 million for the half, up 103.4% from US$2,079.3 million. Gross profit rose 267.2% to US$2,038.6 million, lifting the gross margin to 48.2% of revenues from 26.7%. Cost of sales rose 44% to US$2,189.9 million, and administrative expenses of US$101.3 million fell to 2.4% of revenues from 4.4%.

The second quarter carried most of that. Net income reached US$660.0 million, or US$2.31 per share, against US$88.4 million and US$0.31 per share, and gross profit reached US$1,260.0 million against US$253.0 million. Quarterly revenues of US$2,468.4 million compare with US$1,042.7 million, an increase of 136.7%, although the release labels both figures as the second quarter of 2025 in the same sentence; on GSN’s reading of the surrounding tables, the smaller figure is the second quarter of 2025.

Lithium volumes and prices moved together

Lithium and derivatives revenues reached US$2,964.8 million for the half, up 212.7% from US$948.1 million, and US$1,779.2 million in the quarter, up 299.7% from US$445.2 million. The segment accounted for 78% of consolidated gross profit for the half.

Volumes reached 153.1 thousand metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent for the half against 108.1 thousand, and 84.1 thousand in the quarter against 53.1 thousand. Of the quarterly total, approximately 75.8 thousand metric tons came from Chile through Nova Andino Litio, the company held jointly with Codelco, and approximately 8.3 thousand metric tons from Australia through Covalent Lithium, the venture with Wesfarmers Limited.

Price did the rest of the work. The average realized lithium sales price for Novandino in the quarter was approximately US$21.8 per kilogram, up almost 23% on the first quarter of 2026 and close to 160% year on year. The average realized spodumene price reached approximately US$2,048 per metric ton, up more than 40% on the first quarter and more than 160% year on year. Chief Executive Officer Ricardo Ramos said prices increased during the second quarter on stronger than expected demand, and that the company now expects global lithium demand to be over 2.1 million metric tons in 2026.

The other segments

Iodine and derivatives revenues reached US$578.1 million for the half, up 9.9%, and US$302.2 million in the quarter, up 11.4% from US$271.3 million, on volumes of 4.1 thousand metric tons against 3.8 thousand. The average realized price reached a record high of approximately US$73.4 per kilogram, up approximately 2.6% year on year. The segment produced 16% of consolidated gross profit. SQM expects to produce around 15,500 metric tons of iodine this year, with a seawater pipeline in commissioning that would allow production across four operations.

Specialty plant nutrition revenues reached US$562.0 million for the half, up 18.9% from US$472.6 million, and US$322.9 million in the quarter, up 24% from US$260.3 million, on volumes of 302.8 thousand metric tons against 264.8 thousand. The average realized price surpassed US$1,060 per metric ton. The company attributes the gain to supply constraints, particularly lower product availability from China. The segment delivered 6% of consolidated gross profit.

Potassium revenues fell 8.8% over the half to US$75.6 million on volumes of 148.9 thousand metric tons against 186.1 thousand, contributing 0.5% of gross profit. Industrial chemicals revenues reached US$38.4 million, up 1%, contributing 0.8%.

Analysis: one segment now sets the whole result

Lithium generated 78% of consolidated gross profit in the half while iodine, plant nutrition, potassium and industrial chemicals together produced the remainder. That concentration is new in degree rather than in kind, and it matters because the lithium gain came disproportionately from price. Half year lithium volumes rose to 153.1 thousand metric tons from 108.1 thousand while segment revenues rose 212.7%. Applying the same disclosure to the quarter, volumes went from 53.1 to 84.1 thousand metric tons and revenues rose 299.7%. A realized price near US$21.8 per kilogram against a level roughly 160% lower a year earlier explains the gap.

The company itself sets the near term expectation: it anticipates lithium prices remaining relatively stable during the third quarter. On volumes it guides to production of between 280,000 and 290,000 metric tons of LCE in 2026 through lithium chloride processing in Chile and lithium sulfate refining in China, and to surpassing 300,000 metric tons of capacity by the end of 2027. The hydroxide plant in Chile is being converted into a dual purpose facility able to make carbonate or hydroxide, with completion expected by mid-2027.

Against that, the capital commitments are large and dated. Capital expenditure is expected to be approximately US$3 billion over 2026 to 2028, split roughly 60% to Novandino, 20% to the iodine and plant nutrition division and 20% to the international lithium division, including approximately US$300 million per year of sustaining capital. The Salar Futuro project, whose environmental and technical documentation Novandino submitted in July, contemplates an estimated capital investment of approximately US$3 billion deployed over approximately seven years after approvals, with the most capital intensive phase in the third and fourth years. The Mt. Holland expansion in Australia is expected to double attributable spodumene concentrate capacity to approximately 350 thousand metric tons of SC 6% a year, with first production during 2030.

What the release does not establish is how much of the half year margin survives a flat price. Every segment except lithium is growing at rates in the single digits or low twenties, and potassium volumes are being reduced as lithium output at the Salar de Atacama rises. The disclosure also carries a state payment line that scales with profit: SQM and its subsidiaries accrued over US$1.6 billion in payments to the Chilean State during the first half, covering accrued corporate income taxes and mining taxes, lease and other payments under the Corfo contracts, and the dividend accrued to Codelco.

After the quarter

On August 25, 2026 the board approved an interim dividend of US$1.43501 per share charged against 2026 net income, payable in Chilean pesos at the Observed Dollar rate published in the Diario Oficial on September 4, 2026, from 9:00am on September 11, 2026 to holders on the register five business days before payment. The company reported the decision under Articles 9 and 10 of Chilean securities market law as a hecho esencial.

SQM is registered with Chile’s Comision para el Mercado Financiero under RUT 93007000-9, under the fantasy name S.Q.M., with a domicile at El Trovador 4285 in Santiago, and its registration is current.