Century Aluminum rises 11.3% after earnings and resumed output drove stronger results

What happened

Century Aluminum (CENX) rose 11.3% on November 6, 2026, after quarterly results showed higher sales and restarted production at key plants. The company reported net sales of nearly $1 billion, adjusted EBITDA of $332 million and quarterly earnings of $2.89 per share, with outlets saying the strength reflected higher aluminum prices and resumed output at Mt. Holly and Grundartangi, according to Zacks Investment Research and The Motley Fool. The earnings release and an earnings call on November 5, 2026, triggered the market move.

How big was the move

The stock closed at $33.47, an increase of 11.3% on the day after it opened 9.1% above the previous close. Trading volume was 1.5 times its 20-day average, and the session represented 3.5 times a typical daily move for this stock. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% on the day while the Basic Materials sector median rose 0.4%, leaving Century Aluminum’s rise 10.9 percentage points better than the sector median. The stock’s beta of 1.80 indicates the stock tends to move more than the market.

The technical picture

Shorter-term technical indicators remained mixed despite the rally. The stock was 0.1% below its 20-day moving average but 11.6% below its 50-day moving average and 32.4% below its 200-day moving average. The 50-day average sat below the 200-day average, which is a sign of a weak longer-term trend. Its Relative Strength Index (14 days) was 46, inside a neutral range between 30 and 70. The shares traded 52.5% below the 52-week high and had fallen 8.0% over one month and 35.5% over three months, though they rose 16.8% over one year, 8.3 percentage points ahead of the S&P 500. Volatility was 51% annualized over 60 days, lower than 94% of its own readings over five years.

Fundamentals and valuation

For the four quarters through September 30, 2026, Century Aluminum reported revenue of $3.00 billion, which grew 18.7% from a year earlier and 9.7% versus one quarter earlier. Diluted earnings per share for that period were $8.53, a rise of 965.1% from a year earlier. Gross margin widened to 24.7% from 9.5% a year earlier, and operating margin improved to 21.0% from 6.9%. Free-cash-flow margin was 17.6% and return on invested capital was 16.7%. The balance sheet showed net cash of $232.7 million while share count increased by 6.0% over one year.

Valuation measures look cheap relative to the company’s recent history. The stock traded at 3.9 times trailing earnings and 3.3 times expected forward earnings, with a free-cash-flow yield of 15.8%. The price-to-earnings reading was lower than 92% of its own readings over the past five years, against a five-year median of 8.0 times earnings. PromtFinance scores rank the company highly for Value at 98 and Growth at 95, positively for Quality at 66, but weak on Momentum at 30, Revisions at 24 and Stability at 38.

Earnings and analyst expectations

Earnings were the direct catalyst for the session’s move. The company’s last report on November 5, 2026, showed earnings per share of $2.58 against $2.67 expected, 3.4% below estimates; that quarterly figure sits alongside the quarterly earnings of $2.89 versus $0.15 a year earlier reported for the period. Century Aluminum has had zero consecutive quarters beating estimates and an average surprise over the last four reports of 26.2% below estimates. Typical two-day reactions after recent reports resulted in the stock falling 1.3%. Analysts’ consensus is Hold across 23 analysts, with 43% rating the stock Buy or Strong Buy and a consensus price target of $58.00, 73.3% above the closing price.

What to watch

• Next report scheduled February 18, 2027.
• Recent news: shipments rose 33% sequentially to 174,000 tons, reported by Zacks Investment Research and The Motley Fool.
• Management participation on the November 5, 2026, earnings call included President & CEO Jesse Gary, EVP & CFO Peter Trpkovski, and VP of Finance Chad Rigg, according to Seeking Alpha.
• In the past five years the stock had 20 sessions with a gain of at least 11.3%; twenty trading days later the median result was a decline of 5.5%, and 6 of 20 were higher.