Why United States Antimony Stock Got Crushed Today

Over the past few years, United States Antimony (NYSE: UAMY) has seen its stock rise precipitously. On Friday, however, the company's shares fell by over 10% on the back of an earnings report that investors found very disappointing.

A top supplier slips

Although antimony isn't a well-known chemical element, it's a valuable commodity used in semiconductor production. U.S. Antimony is the only producer of the element in North America and receives financial support from the U.S. federal government, most notably through purchase contracts. Lately, it's been branching out into other critical metals.

So it's understandable that investors felt the company's first-quarter results were lackluster. Total revenue fell year over year to $6.8 million from $7 million. On the bottom line, U.S. Antimony flipped dramatically to a loss of nearly $11.3 million, or $0.08 per share, from a profit of nearly $545,000.

Both headline results badly missed the consensus analyst estimates. On average, pundits tracking the stock were modeling $19.7 million for revenue and breakeven on the bottom line.

In its earnings release, the company attributed its hiccups to those expansion plans. It quoted CEO Gary Evans as saying, "When you are building a vertical business at the speed we are achieving at USAC, things rarely move in a straight line. There will be bumps in the road. Our first quarter results reflect a deliberate investment phase for our future."

Unchanged guidance

Considering that, it's somewhat comforting that U.S. Antimony left its guidance unchanged. It reiterated its forecast for full-year 2026 revenue of roughly $125 million, although it added that this depends on a clutch of factors, including the timing of its antimony shipments under its contract with the government's Defense Logistics Agency.

This is a company with numerous balls in the air just now. Personally, I think it has an admirably strong position in its small but lucrative niche. However, it's early days for its diversification efforts, so I'd feel most comfortable waiting for the initial results of these before considering the stock for a buy.

Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.