USA Rare Earth stock hit a lifetime high in October 2025 and has fallen more than 50% from that level.
The company has some promising potential catalysts in the critical minerals space, but it's still a relatively high-risk play.
USA Rare Earth (NASDAQ: USAR) is a critical minerals specialist that went public through a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. II in March 2025. The company saw some volatile trading in the months immediately following its debut, but it went on to hit a lifetime high in October of that year following reports that the company was discussing a potential partnership with the White House and rumors that the U.S. government could take a stake in the business.
In January 2026, USA Rare Earth actually did announce that the U.S. government was establishing a roughly 10% ownership stake in the company that could expand to 16% with the exercise of warrants -- but its share price has still fallen far below the high it hit last year. As of this writing, the stock is down roughly 53.5% from that valuation peak. In other words, a $10,000 investment made in the stock at that point would now be worth roughly $4,650.
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While the U.S. government's desire to increase its ability to source critical minerals domestically and reduce its dependence on minerals from China presents a potentially powerful catalyst for USA Rare Earth's business, the company is still in a relatively early stage of expanding its operations. Along those lines, the company generated just $11.5 million in revenue across the first half of this year. Meanwhile, the mining and processing player has a market capitalization of roughly $4.4 billion.
The company's move to acquire Brazilian rare-earth specialist Serra Verde in a roughly $2.8 billion deal should dramatically expand USA Rare Earth's sales footprint and earnings potential, but the deal being primarily funded with stock also means that shareholders will see significant dilution. USA Rare Earth has growth opportunities on the horizon that could help it bounce back and climb well above its past valuation peak, but investors should approach the stock with the understanding that it's a speculative bet.
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Keith Noonan 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.