Why MP Materials (MP) Is Down 9.1% After Apple Magnet Deal And Wider Expansion Update – And What's Next

• MP Materials Corp. recently reported first-quarter 2026 results, with sales of US$90.65 million and a net loss of US$7.97 million, while also confirming near-term production impacts from planned maintenance and progress on heavy rare earth separation commissioning at Mountain Pass.
• Alongside the earnings, MP Materials announced a US$500 million rare earth magnet and recycling partnership with Apple and highlighted long-term government-backed contracts, underscoring both its growing role in U.S. supply chains and rising concerns about customer concentration and expansion risks.
• Next, we’ll examine how the Apple partnership and ambitious build-out plans influence MP Materials’ investment narrative and perceived execution risks.

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MP Materials Investment Narrative Recap

To own MP Materials, you have to believe its U.S. rare earth mine to magnet platform can scale profitably while government and blue chip contracts underpin demand. Right now, the key near term catalyst is successful commissioning of heavy rare earth separation at Mountain Pass, while the biggest risk is execution and cost control across multiple simultaneous build outs. The latest results and maintenance related production impacts do not appear to change that balance in a material way.

The new US$500 million Apple rare earth magnet and recycling partnership sits at the center of this story, because it links MP’s upstream output to a long term, high profile customer while funding part of its downstream push. That strengthens the case for more predictable revenue tied to magnet production, but it also sharpens the concern around customer concentration and the operational strain of ramping several U.S. facilities at once.

Yet behind the contract headlines, investors should also be aware of rising dependence on a handful of customers and what happens if any one of them...

Read the full narrative on MP Materials (it's free!)

MP Materials’ narrative projects $1.0 billion revenue and $236.3 million earnings by 2028. This requires 61.3% yearly revenue growth and a $337.7 million earnings increase from -$101.4 million today.

Uncover how MP Materials' forecasts yield a $79.29 fair value, a 29% upside to its current price.

Exploring Other Perspectives

Before this news, the most optimistic analysts were modeling MP to reach about US$1.5 billion in revenue and roughly US$408 million in earnings, which is far more upbeat than consensus and assumes MP’s Apple fueled recycling edge drives cost leadership rather than stalling on execution issues; you should treat this Apple update as a fresh data point that could either support or challenge those higher expectations.

Explore 16 other fair value estimates on MP Materials - why the stock might be worth 45% less than the current price!

The Verdict Is Yours

Don't just follow the ticker - dig into the data and build a conviction that's truly your own.

• A great starting point for your MP Materials research is our analysis highlighting 3 key rewards and 1 important warning sign that could impact your investment decision.
• Our free MP Materials research report provides a comprehensive fundamental analysis summarized in a single visual - the Snowflake - making it easy to evaluate MP Materials' overall financial health at a glance.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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