Albemarle Corporation management check
ALB · Materials · Specialty Chemicals · CEO J. Kent Masters, Jr.
Filings as of
1 good · 5 to watch · 1 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Watch
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $102, against $109 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Watch
Does pay follow performance?
Pay only loosely tracked returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.29 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
Paid in a loss-making year$15.5m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, a year the company lost $465.0m.
- Watch
Do they own the stock?
CEO stake ≈ 1.2 years of payThe CEO holds 100,086 shares, directly or through trusts (unvested awards not counted): about 1.2 years of pay. Light activity: no buys, $3.0m sold in six months.
- Good
Are owners being diluted?
Share count shrinkingDiluted shares changed -0.0% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 0.8% of revenue in the latest year.
- Watch
Is leadership stable?
13 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: J. Kent Masters, Jr.. 13 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Watch
Are the books clean?
An annual report was amendedNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021. 6 amended annual reports.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Materials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 42 | 40 | |
| Pay for performance | 64 | 77 | |
| CEO cost | 0 | 40 | |
| Skin in the game | 39 | 38 | |
| Dilution | 51 | 71 | |
| Stable leadership | 60 | 70 | |
| Clean books | 70 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Specialty Chemicals, by management score. Albemarle Corporation is 21st of 24 in its sector.
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed March 24, 2026. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | J. Kent Masters, Jr. | $15.5m | $38.2m | $3.9m | $102 | $109 | −$465.0m |
| 2024 | — | $14.4m | $4.4m | $3.5m | $61 | $108 | −$1.3bn |
| 2023 | — | $14.5m | −$4.8m | $3.2m | $100 | $110 | $1.6bn |
| 2022 | — | $11.1m | $13.7m | $3.0m | $149 | $96 | $2.5bn |
| 2021 | — | $9.0m | $20.3m | $2.5m | $160 | $128 | $199.9m |
Its other key measures: Adjusted EBITDA, Operating Cash Flow Conversion Rate, Cost Center Expense, rTSR, Adjusted ROIC.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
J Kent Masters (Chairman & CEO) held 100,086 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on May 15, 2026, roughly $18.5m at that filing's price.
Light activity: no buys, $3.0m sold in six months.
- SoldJ Kent MastersChairman & CEO$3.0mMay 15, 2026
Leadership and governance on file
- Sep 3, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 21, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jul 23, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Jun 5, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- May 8, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 17, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 31, 2026Annual report amended10-K/A
- Mar 4, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 12, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 12, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Aug 4, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Mar 31, 2025Annual report amended10-K/A
Latest shareholder vote results: May 8, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $928.5m returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 34% of net income, and $159.6m of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $3.3bn | $7.3bn | $9.6bn | $5.4bn | $5.1bn |
| Net income | $123.7m | $2.7bn | $1.6bn | −$1.2bn | −$510.6m |
| Stock-based pay | $20.1m | $30.5m | $36.5m | $32.1m | $40.3m |
| Buybacks | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dividends | $177.9m | $184.4m | $187.2m | $188.5m | $190.5m |
| Diluted shares | 117m | 118m | 118m | 118m | 118m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.