USA Rare Earth, Inc.

USA Rare Earth stock fell 5% to $18.26 in Monday midday trading even after the company completed the upsized $1.55 billion capitalization of the special purpose vehicle that will purchase 100% of Phase 1 rare earth production from Serra Verde Group, satisfying a key closing condition for the merger. The U.S. Department of War committed $750 million, an increase of $250 million over the $500 million originally contemplated, under an agreement carrying both a take-or-pay arrangement and floor prices, while a Tier-1 institutional bank delivered a commitment letter for a senior secured revolving credit facility of up to $500 million and the U.S. government entered a forward purchase contract for not less than $300 million of rare earth products over five years. United States Antimony shares dropped 9% to $5.02 with no company-specific announcement, MP Materials fell 4% to $57.51, and Critical Metals declined 4% to $6.83, while the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF slipped just 2% to $79.38, indicating small-cap risk rotation rather than a repricing of rare earths. USA Rare Earth stockholders vote on the Serra Verde transaction at a special meeting on August 28, and analyst target prices for the stock sit at $37.38.

MP Materials has entered into a transformative public-private partnership with the Department of Defense, securing a 10-year price floor commitment for its materials, a 10-year commitment to ensure magnets produced at its new 10X facility will be purchased, commitments to $1 billion of financing, as well as a $150 million loan from the DOD and a $400 million investment in stock by the DOD. Shortly after, Apple signed a $500 million long-term supply agreement for rare-earth magnets from MP Materials' Fort Worth facility, and the company raised $650 million in a public offering. The U.S. government is actively supporting domestic rare-earth production to reduce reliance on China, which dominates over 90% of the market. USA Rare Earth has also received a supportive deal from the government, as both companies pursue mine-to-magnet strategies critical for reshoring manufacturing in defense, electronics, and automotive sectors.

An analyst at The Motley Fool recommends buying MP Materials and USA Rare Earth while selling TMC The Metals Company, citing differing risk profiles in the U.S. push for a domestic rare-earth supply chain. MP Materials operates the only commercial-scale rare-earth mine in North America and has a public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense that includes a 10-year price protection agreement guaranteeing a minimum price of $110 per kilogram for its neodymium-praseodymium product, a $400 million convertible preferred stock purchase, and a commitment to buy 100% of magnet production from its planned 10X facility, locking in annual minimum EBITDA of $140 million. USA Rare Earth secured $1.6 billion in federal financing under the CHIPS and Science Act, acquired Less Common Metals and the Serra Verde Group for $2.8 billion, and is building a $1.2 billion permanent magnet facility in South Carolina. TMC faces regulatory uncertainty because the International Seabed Authority has not finalized exploitation regulations, and although a recent provisional order from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea removed some uncertainty, the company still needs formal approval of its commercial extraction applications.

Pentagon suppliers warn that the United States will not have sufficient domestic processing and magnet manufacturing capacity by the January 1, 2027 deadline, potentially forcing the Trump administration to extend access to Chinese rare earth materials. Industry executives told Reuters that despite billions of dollars in federal support for new mines, separation facilities, and downstream manufacturing, U.S. capacity remains insufficient to meet military and commercial demand. The shortage centers on neodymium-iron-boron and samarium-cobalt magnets, which rely on rare earth supply chains still dominated by China. Companies including MP Materials, USA Rare Earth, Lynas Rare Earths, Energy Fuels, and REalloys are investing heavily, with several projects expected to begin commercial production within 18 months, but executives say they cannot fully replace Chinese supply by early 2027. Beijing's tighter export controls and expanded traceability regime have further strengthened its grip on global magnet feedstocks.

USA Rare Earth has acquired Serra Verde, a move that Artisan Small Cap Fund says will strengthen the company's franchise and advance its strategy to build an integrated mine-to-magnet platform. The fund initiated a Garden position in USA Rare Earth following the announcement, believing the acquisition provides exposure to strategic heavy rare earth production outside China and positions the company as one of the highest quality franchises in the Western Hemisphere. USA Rare Earth is a vertically integrated rare earths producer developing mining, separation, and magnet manufacturing capabilities. The company's shares closed at $15.14 on July 23, 2026, with a market capitalization of $3.8 billion.

USA Rare Earth has named Thras Moraitis, currently CEO of Serra Verde, as its next chief executive officer, succeeding Barbara Humpton who will retire on October 1. Moraitis will initially serve as president of the combined company following the expected completion of the merger with the Brazilian rare earth producer by the end of August. The company also appointed board chairman Michael Blitzer as executive chairman, effective immediately. The leadership change comes as USA Rare Earth advances its strategy to build a Western mine-to-magnet supply chain, with the Serra Verde acquisition expected to give it control of one of the few large-scale producers of key magnetic rare earth elements outside Asia. Humpton, who joined in 2025, oversaw major strategic milestones including public-private partnerships and expansion across critical minerals processing, metals, and magnet manufacturing.

USA Rare Earth has produced commercial-grade dysprosium oxide and neodymium-praseodymium oxide samples from recycled rare earth magnet scrap at its hydrometallurgical facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The oxides were made using swarf, the fine scrap from machining neodymium-iron-boron magnets, sourced from the company's magnet manufacturing plant in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The company called the successful separation a pivotal milestone, positioning it as one of the few Western producers capable of the process outside Asia. Turning scrap into high-purity oxides broadens feedstock options and strengthens circularity, with swarf projected to support up to 30% of future magnetic rare earth oxide feedstock needs.

USA Rare Earth shares surged 81.3% in the first half of 2026, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The rally was fueled by a partnership with the French government to build a metal and alloy production facility, progress on its Round Top Rare Earth Project in Texas including a Definitive Feasibility Study with Fluor, and about $1.6 billion in federal funding from the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Energy alongside $1.5 billion in private funding from Inflection Point. Analysts at Roth Capital and Benchmark raised price targets to $35 and $45 respectively in January. In April, the company announced its subsidiary produced commercial-grade yttrium in the United Kingdom and agreed to acquire Serra Verde Group for approximately $2.8 billion, a deal expected to bring annualized run-rate EBITDA of $550 million to $650 million by the end of 2027.

A group of Democratic lawmakers led by Senator Elizabeth Warren is seeking information from Cantor Fitzgerald about how the financial services firm may have benefited from a deal involving USA Rare Earth and Commerce Secretary Lutnick. In a letter to Cantor Fitzgerald Chairman Brandon Lutnick, the commerce secretary's son, the lawmakers raised concerns about potential violations of conflict-of-interest laws related to the Trump administration's $1.6 billion investment in USA Rare Earth. The deal, finalized last month, likely benefited two of the commerce secretary's sons who now operate Cantor Fitzgerald, which acted as a placement agent for the deal. A Cantor spokesperson said the firm had no role in USA Rare Earth's negotiations with or financing from the government. The U.S. government agreed to supply up to $1.6 billion in loans and federal incentives for USA Rare Earth in exchange for a significant ownership stake, and the company raised $1.5 billion in a share offering from private investors as part of the deal.

USA Rare Earth has gained access to potential funding of up to $1.6 billion through the U.S. Department of Commerce's CHIPS Program, prompting Cantor Fitzgerald to raise its price target on the stock to $40 from $35 while maintaining an Overweight rating. The company also announced the commissioning of its hydrometallurgical demonstration facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, with initial separated oxide production expected in the third quarter. The facility is processing Round Top ore, third-party mixed rare earth carbonate materials, and recycled rare earth magnet waste, with results set to support the Round Top Definitive Feasibility Study and guide engineering plans for future processing facilities. USA Rare Earth aims to build a fully integrated U.S.-based mine-to-magnet supply chain for defense, aerospace, electric vehicle, and renewable energy industries.

TMC The Metals Company, USA Rare Earth, and MP Materials are pursuing rare-earth metals businesses amid high demand and supply concentration in China. The International Energy Agency expects rare-earth demand to rise 50% to 60% by 2040, driven by renewable energy, AI, and electric vehicles. TMC is attempting undersea mining but remains pre-revenue and highly speculative. USA Rare Earth has a processing business generating revenue and plans a mine by 2028, plus a Brazilian acquisition expected to close in the second half of 2026. MP Materials operates a mine and processing facilities and is generating positive adjusted earnings, making it the most advanced of the three. All three carry significant risk, with only MP Materials currently profitable on an adjusted basis.

USA Rare Earth has secured approximately $3.5 billion in total funding to establish a domestic mine-to-magnet supply chain for rare-earth elements critical to national security. The funding includes up to $1.6 billion from the U.S. Department of Commerce under the CHIPS and Science Act, consisting of $277 million in direct grants and up to $1.3 billion in senior secured loan capacity, plus $1.5 billion raised through a private placement in January. The company has made key acquisitions, including Serra Verde Group for approximately $2.8 billion, whose Pela Ema mine in Brazil is currently the only operating large-scale producer outside Asia supplying all four primary magnetic rare-earth elements, and U.K.-based Less Common Metals for $100 million in cash plus shares. USA Rare Earth also announced a $1.2 billion magnet manufacturing facility in South Carolina and projects a near-term magnet manufacturing run rate of 600 metric tons per annum at its Oklahoma facility, with longer-term targets of 10,000 tons of rare-earth metal alloys and 10,000 tons of NdFeB permanent magnets annually. The company plans to begin commercial production at its low-cost Round Top mine in Texas as soon as 2028.

USA Rare Earth Inc. shares rose 8.33 percent on Tuesday to close at $23.55 after G7 leaders agreed that no single country should supply more than 60 percent of their rare earth imports by 2030. The joint statement from the Group of Seven nations, which include the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK, said the aim is to reduce dependencies on a single supplier outside the G7 and partner countries, with an ambition to reach 50 percent as soon as possible. The announcement boosted rare earth stocks including USA Rare Earth, MP Materials, and Critical Metals Corp. USA Rare Earth recently commissioned a hydrometallurgical demonstration facility in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, with production of separated oxides targeted for the third quarter.