LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU): History, Ownership, Mission, How It Works & Makes Money

When you look at LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU), the first question you should ask is: how does a core chemical manufacturer, with an expected full-year 2025 revenue of nearly $580 million, navigate the volatile intersection of agriculture and the energy transition? This is a company that generated a strong $40 million in Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2025 alone, largely by supplying essential products like ammonia and nitric acid to critical sectors, yet it's also deeply focused on its mission of 'Leadership in Energy Transition' by developing low-carbon products. Understanding LSB Industries' history, its significant institutional ownership of approximately 51%, and its strategic pivot toward green ammonia projects is crucial for any investor or strategist looking to map near-term risks to long-term opportunity in the US industrial market.

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) History

If you're looking at LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) today, you see a focused chemical manufacturer, but its history is a classic American conglomerate story. The direct takeaway is that the company spent decades as a diversified holding company before a strategic, and frankly painful, pivot in 2016 to focus entirely on its higher-margin chemical business, which is now driving its future in low-carbon ammonia.

Given Company's Founding Timeline

The company's roots go back to a post-WWII era business, but the modern corporate structure was the vision of Jack E. Golsen, who saw an opportunity in acquiring and managing a diverse portfolio of companies.

Year established

LSB Industries, Inc. was formally incorporated as a holding company in 1968.

Original location

The company has always been headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which is still its base of operations today.

Founding team members

The founder and driving force was Jack E. Golsen, who had acquired the original L&S Bearing Company in 1961 and built a portfolio of a dozen companies before incorporating LSB Industries.

Initial capital/funding

By the time Golsen formed the holding company in 1968, the collection of acquired businesses was already generating annual sales of approximately $17 million. The company went public quickly, listing on the American Stock Exchange on April 1, 1969, with an initial issue price of $24.50 per share. That's how they fueled the early growth.

Given Company's Evolution Milestones

The company's journey shows a clear transition from a scattered industrial conglomerate to a specialized chemical producer, which is a smart move for long-term earnings quality. The early years were all about acquisitions, but the last decade has been about focus and sustainability.

Given Company's Transformative Moments

The company's story is one of survival and reinvention. The biggest change wasn't an acquisition; it was a divestiture. Selling off the Climate Control division in 2016 was the single most transformative decision, simplifying the business model and removing a major source of earnings volatility. That move allowed management to concentrate capital and expertise on the chemical assets, particularly the El Dorado facility.

Here's the quick math: In the second quarter of 2025, the company repurchased $32.4 million in Senior Secured Notes. This action, along with a total debt reduction to $448.4 million as of September 30, 2025, shows a clear, defintely disciplined focus on strengthening the balance sheet and reducing interest expense. Strong balance sheets give you options.

The current transformative moment is the aggressive push into low-carbon ammonia. This isn't just a marketing ploy; it's a bet on the future energy market. The 2024 landmark 5-year agreement to supply low carbon ammonium nitrate solution to Freeport Minerals Corporation proves there's real demand. They are leveraging their existing ammonia production capabilities to capture and sequester carbon dioxide at the El Dorado facility, a project expected to be operational by the end of 2026. This strategic focus is critical for understanding their Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU).

• Divestiture of Climate Control (2016): This sale provided the capital and focus to invest in and optimize the core chemical plants.
• Operational Reliability Focus (2017-2019): Initiatives led to a 6% year-over-year increase in sales volumes in Q2 2025, driven by higher ammonia production and better plant efficiency.
• Low-Carbon Ammonia Strategy (2022-Present): Committing to the El Dorado Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) project, which is projected to reduce Scope 1 emissions by 25%.

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) Ownership Structure

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) is a publicly traded company, and its ownership is heavily concentrated among institutional investors, which is a key factor in its strategic governance.

This structure means a significant portion of the stock is held by large funds like BlackRock, Inc. and The Vanguard Group, Inc., giving them considerable influence over major corporate decisions and long-term direction, especially regarding the company's shift toward low-carbon products.

Given Company's Current Status

LSB Industries, Inc. is a public company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol LXU. This public status requires rigorous financial transparency and adherence to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, which is why you see detailed quarterly reports like the one showing Q3 2025 Adjusted EBITDA of $40 million.

As of November 2025, the company's market capitalization sits around $680.95 million, reflecting its position as a mid-cap player in the industrial inorganic chemicals sector.

What this public status hides is the constant pressure from institutional holders; their sheer size means they defintely have a seat at the table when the board sets strategy, such as the push for the El Dorado Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) project mentioned in their Q3 2025 update.

Given Company's Ownership Breakdown

The company's ownership is dominated by institutional money, a common pattern for mid-sized industrial firms. This concentration of power means that a small number of large asset managers control the majority of the voting shares. Here's the quick math on who owns what, based on the most recent data from the 2025 fiscal year:

The institutional stake of nearly 74% is high, so you should track the movements of the largest holders. For example, BlackRock, Inc. is one of the top shareholders, holding millions of shares.

Given Company's Leadership

The company is steered by a seasoned executive team with deep industry and financial experience, ensuring operational precision and strategic focus. The average tenure for the management team is a solid 4.8 years, which suggests stability.

• Mark Behrman: Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Appointed CEO in December 2018, his total yearly compensation is approximately $4.34 million.
• Cheryl Maguire: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). She is a key communicator for investors, participating in industry conferences as recently as November 2025.
• Damien Renwick: Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). He leads the commercial strategy, which is critical for their product mix across agricultural, industrial, and mining end markets.
• Michael Foster: Executive Vice President. His compensation is reported at approximately $1.15 million.
• Scott Bemis: Executive Vice President of Manufacturing. He brings over 32 years of chemical manufacturing experience, joining in May 2024 to oversee the production facilities in places like El Dorado, Arkansas.

Understanding who is in charge and how they are compensated-like Mr. Behrman's $4.34 million package-helps you gauge the alignment of leadership incentives with shareholder returns. You can learn more about the strategic direction driving these decisions by reviewing the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU).

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) Mission and Values

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) centers its purpose on leading the chemical industry's energy transition, moving beyond traditional production to focus on low and no carbon products. This commitment is the cultural DNA, guiding every strategic decision and operational improvement, defintely.

The company's mission and values map a clear path for sustainable growth, balancing essential market supply-like the agricultural and mining sectors-with a forward-looking environmental mandate. For example, the Q3 2025 revenue of $155.43 million shows they are executing this strategy while maintaining strong financial performance.

LSB Industries' Core Purpose

The core purpose is simple: to be a critical supplier of essential chemicals while actively decarbonizing its operations. This isn't just about selling nitrogen-based fertilizers and industrial chemicals; it's about making them cleaner.

The company is focused on operational excellence, which is why they reported zero recordable injuries for the first half of 2025. That's a tangible result of their 'Protect What Matters' value in action. They are also investing in growth, like the $32.4 million in Senior Secured Notes repurchased during Q2 2025, which strengthens the balance sheet.

Official Mission Statement

LSB Industries' mission is to play a leadership role in the energy transition through the production of low and no carbon products that build, feed and power the world. This focus breaks down into three core components:

• Lead the energy transition within the chemical industry.
• Produce products that minimize environmental impact.
• Serve essential markets: agriculture, industrial, and mining.

The team is equally dedicated to building a culture of excellence in customer experiences as they deliver products across these end markets, and in the future, the energy markets. You can read more about this commitment at Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU).

Vision Statement

The company's vision is a concise articulation of its long-term aspiration in the global chemical landscape. It's about being a leader, not just a participant, in the shift toward a more sustainable economy.

• Be a leader in the energy transition in the chemical industry.
• Produce low and no carbon products that build, feed and power the world.
• Make building blocks for better living.

This vision is backed by concrete plans, like the El Dorado Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) project, which is expected to reduce Scope 1 emissions by 25% by capturing between 400,000 and 500,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. That's a massive, quantifiable goal.

LSB Industries' Core Values

These values are the non-negotiable standards for how the company operates and makes decisions, from the plant floor to the executive suite.

• Protect What Matters: Keep safety as the highest priority for colleagues, communities, and the environment.
• Make it Better: Strive for continuous improvement and operational excellence.
• Practice Integrity: Be transparent, reliable, and accountable to all stakeholders.
• Be One Team: Work together to do the right thing for customers, suppliers, and each other.

This cultural framework is essential, especially when facing market volatility; the current 2025 full-year revenue estimate of $579.79 million shows they are navigating the market while upholding these principles.

LSB Industries' Slogan/Tagline

While the company uses several powerful phrases to describe its impact, the most resonant and frequently used is a direct statement of its value proposition.

• Building blocks for better living.

This tagline neatly summarizes the dual nature of their business: providing the foundational chemical components (the building blocks) for essential global needs (better living). It's a clear, actionable statement.

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) How It Works

LSB Industries, Inc. operates as a critical North American chemical manufacturer, transforming natural gas feedstock into essential nitrogen-based products for the agriculture, industrial, and mining sectors. The company creates value by optimizing its production facilities to upgrade basic ammonia into higher-margin derivatives like Urea Ammonium Nitrate (UAN) and industrial-grade Ammonium Nitrate (AN), driving a trailing twelve-month (TTM) revenue of approximately $585.07 million as of the third quarter of 2025.

LSB Industries, Inc.'s Product/Service Portfolio

LSB Industries, Inc.'s Operational Framework

The core of LSB's value creation lies in its integrated manufacturing process, primarily at facilities in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Alabama, which converts natural gas into ammonia, the foundational chemical. Then, they upgrade that ammonia into more profitable products. In the first nine months of 2025, this focus led to increased production volumes across ammonia, UAN, and AN.

We've seen a strategic shift to stabilize earnings, so roughly 35% of their sales volumes are now under cost-plus contracts by the end of 2025. This allows the company to pass through the volatile cost of natural gas-a major input-directly to customers, which is defintely smart. Here's the quick math: higher natural gas prices drove production costs up 62% in Q1 2025, but the cost-plus structure helps mitigate that squeeze in the industrial segment.

• Convert natural gas into ammonia at integrated plants.
• Upgrade ammonia to higher-margin UAN and AN derivatives.
• Execute planned plant maintenance for reliability; delayed El Dorado turnaround to H1 2026 to boost 2025 production.
• Prioritize safety, achieving zero recordable injuries in the first half of 2025.

LSB Industries, Inc.'s Strategic Advantages

LSB's advantage isn't just about making chemicals; it's about making them reliably and sustainably within a favorable domestic market. They are positioning themselves as a leader in the energy transition, which is a major long-term driver. You can read more about their direction in the Mission Statement, Vision, & Core Values of LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU).

The biggest near-term opportunity is their low-carbon ammonia initiative. The El Dorado Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) Project is set to capture between 400,000 and 500,000 metric tons of CO₂ annually, reducing their Scope 1 emissions by 25%. This project, expected to be operational by late 2026, is projected to generate about $15 million in annual EBITDA, mostly starting in 2027.

• Geographic advantage: U.S. manufacturing base benefits from trade tariffs and lower import competition.
• Product mix flexibility: Ability to pivot production to higher-margin products like UAN and industrial AN based on market demand.
• Financial stability: Strong free cash flow generation in the second half of 2025 and a healthy cash balance of approximately $150 million as of Q3 2025.
• Decarbonization leadership: Pre-certification for low-carbon ammonia opens doors to premium pricing and carbon credit revenues.

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) How It Makes Money

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) primarily makes money by manufacturing and selling nitrogen-based chemical products, which serve two distinct, yet equally critical, end-markets: agricultural fertilizers and industrial/mining applications. The core of their financial engine is the production of ammonia, which is then upgraded into higher-margin products like Urea Ammonium Nitrate (UAN) for farming and Ammonium Nitrate (AN) and Nitric Acid for industrial uses.

LSB Industries' Revenue Breakdown

The company's revenue mix is heavily influenced by commodity prices, but the strategic product split provides a foundational view. Based on the most recent available segment data and the company's stated shift in focus, the revenue is split between the high-volume, seasonal agricultural market and the more stable, contract-based industrial business.

Business Economics

You need to understand two things about LSB Industries' business economics: the massive impact of natural gas and the strategic pivot to industrial sales. The company's profitability is fundamentally tied to the price of natural gas (nat gas), which is the primary raw material for ammonia production. Higher nat gas costs were a significant headwind in the first half of 2025, with the average cost per MMBtu reaching approximately $5.25 in Q2 2025, a substantial jump from the prior year's low levels. [cite: 10, 11 (from first search)]

Here's the quick math on their pricing power:

• Cost Pass-Through: LSB Industries has strategically shifted their product mix, particularly by transitioning High-Density Ammonium Nitrate (HDAN) sales into industrial-grade AN. This move allows them to pass through about 35% of their natural gas costs in the selling price to customers, which is a huge step for earnings visibility. [cite: 15 (from first search)]
• Agricultural Pricing: Fertilizer prices, especially for UAN, have been strong in 2025. The NOLA (New Orleans, LA) UAN price was trading around $350 per ton in Q2 2025, which was more than 70% higher than the previous year. This strength comes from tight US supply, lower imports, and robust demand from the corn market. [cite: 10, 11 (from first search)]
• Industrial Stability: The Industrial and Mining segment offers more financial predictability. Demand for AN for commercial mining explosives is robust, driven by strong gold and copper prices. Plus, demand for Nitric Acid is supported by increased domestic production of MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate), which is used in manufacturing. [cite: 2, 15 (from first search)]

The core business is a margin play on the spread between the selling price of nitrogen products and the cost of natural gas. That's the whole ballgame.

LSB Industries' Financial Performance

The company's financial performance in 2025 demonstrates a strong recovery and operational leverage, despite the volatile input costs. The trailing twelve months (TTM) revenue as of the end of Q3 2025 stood at approximately $585.07 million. [cite: 5 (from first search), 6 (from first search)] The third quarter of 2025 was particularly strong, showing a return to profitability and significant EBITDA growth.

• Q3 2025 Net Sales: Reported at $155.4 million, a substantial increase from $109.2 million in Q3 2024, driven by both higher selling prices and increased sales volumes.
• Adjusted EBITDA: Q3 2025 Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled year-over-year, climbing to $40.1 million from $17.5 million in Q3 2024. This shows their operational improvements are defintely paying off.
• Net Income/EPS: The company achieved a net income of $7.1 million in Q3 2025, translating to a diluted EPS of $0.10, a significant turnaround from a net loss in the prior year period.
• Balance Sheet Health: As of September 30, 2025, LSB Industries maintained a solid cash position with cash and short-term investments of approximately $152.0 million, while total debt was reduced to $448.4 million.
• Leverage: The net debt to trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA ratio stood at a healthy 2.0x, indicating strong financial positioning and ongoing deleveraging efforts.

For a deeper dive into the balance sheet and cash flow dynamics, you should check out the full analysis: Breaking Down LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) Financial Health: Key Insights for Investors

Finance: Analyze the impact of a 10% shift in the Agricultural/Industrial revenue mix on Q4 2025 projected EBITDA by the end of next week.

LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) Market Position & Future Outlook

LSB Industries, Inc. is strategically pivoting to capture value in the energy transition while maintaining a strong foothold in specialty industrial chemicals, positioning the company for structural earnings growth despite the cyclical nature of the fertilizer market.

The company's future outlook is anchored by its investments in low-carbon ammonia production, which aims to diversify its revenue beyond commodity agriculture and leverage the growing demand for decarbonization solutions across industrial and maritime sectors.

Competitive Landscape

In the North American nitrogen market, LSB Industries competes against much larger, integrated players. Its true competitive edge lies not in volume, but in its high-purity product mix and proximity to key industrial customers.

Here's the quick math: LSB Industries' estimated market share in the overall US nitrogen market is small, but its focus on specialty industrial products-like high-purity ammonia for semiconductor manufacturing and nitric acid for mining-provides margin stability that the larger, pure-commodity players don't defintely have.

Opportunities & Challenges

The company's near-term trajectory is a balance between capitalizing on its high-margin industrial business and mitigating the volatility of its primary feedstock, natural gas. The strategic focus is clear: reduce cost exposure and move up the value chain.

For a deeper dive into the institutional interest in this strategy, you should read Exploring LSB Industries, Inc. (LXU) Investor Profile: Who's Buying and Why?

The biggest opportunity is the El Dorado Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS) project, which is on track for a late 2026 startup and is expected to generate approximately $15 million in annual EBITDA, primarily starting in 2027. This positions LSB Industries as an early mover in the low-carbon ammonia space, a potential game-changer for long-term valuation.

Industry Position

LSB Industries is a niche player in a commodity-driven industry, which means it can't compete on scale with giants like CF Industries or Nutrien, but it wins on specialization and location. Its Q3 2025 net sales of $155.4 million and Adjusted EBITDA of $40.1 million show the profitability of this model when market conditions are favorable.

The company is actively working to insulate itself from commodity swings by shifting its sales mix. They plan to increase the volume of products sold under cost-plus contracts (agreements where the price adjusts with input costs) to approximately 35% of sales volume by year-end 2025, providing greater margin stability.

• Focus on high-purity ammonia for specialized markets like electronics and DoD contractors.
• Geographic advantage with production facilities near key US agricultural and industrial hubs.
• Strong balance sheet with total debt of $448.4 million as of September 30, 2025, providing flexibility for growth investments.
• Operational improvements led to a 42% jump in Q3 2025 net sales year-over-year.

Still, the core risk is input cost: materially higher natural gas prices were a significant headwind in the first half of 2025, offsetting higher selling prices for their products. The agricultural business, while strong in 2025 due to high corn acreage, remains cyclical.