Anglo American plc (AAL.L) stock analysis

In our weekly check, Anglo American plc is graded D (A to F). Of 23 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 11 pass, warnings: 4, red flags: 8.

About Anglo American plc

Anglo American plc is a Basic Materials company (Industrial Materials) based in the United Kingdom, listed on LSE as AAL.L.

What our checks show for AAL.L

Red flags

• The net margin fell by 42.9 points over 5 years, to -22.3%: the company keeps less of each sale as profit.
• The gross margin fell by 29 points, to 39.1%: costs are rising faster than prices.
• Revenue fell 18.6% a year over the last 3 years.
• Earnings per share grew only 0.1% a year over the last 3 years.
• The company is losing money: the net margin is -22.3%.
• Anglo American plc pays a dividend while losing money: it is funded from reserves or debt.
• The stock has fallen as much as 94% from a peak. Would you have held through that?
• Recovering from its deepest fall took about 6 years.

Warning signs

• Net debt is 1.5x a year of EBITDA (debt/equity 1.01). That limits room in a downturn and raises refinancing risk.
• Analysts expect earnings per share to shrink about 9.8% a year.
• The price swings a lot: 39.2% annual volatility. Expect large ups and downs.
• Return on capital (ROCE) is only 8.9%.

Strengths

• Operating cash flow is 1.22x net profit: the profit arrives as real cash.
• Analysts expect the net margin to improve by 36.5 points from today's -22.3%.
• A large company: market value $52.49 billion.
• The share count fell by 6.8% in 2 years: the company buys back its own shares.
• Actively traded: about 5.4 million shares a day.
• Pay in shares is only 7.4% of free cash flow.

Similar companies

FMG.AX · VALE · GLEN.L · S32.AX · RIO · BHP

Questions

What grade does Anglo American plc (AAL.L) have?

In our weekly check, Anglo American plc is graded D (A to F). Of 23 checks on debt, profit, cash flow and trend: 11 pass, warnings: 4, red flags: 8. The grade is a risk check, not a buy or sell recommendation.

What are the main risks of AAL.L stock?

This week's biggest flags for Anglo American plc: Margins falling, Gross margin falling, Weak revenue growth. In total 12 of 23 checks show a warning or a red flag.

What does Anglo American plc do?

Anglo American plc is a Basic Materials company (Industrial Materials) based in the United Kingdom, listed on LSE as AAL.L.

The grade is a risk check, not a price forecast, and not investment advice. In our 10-year test (S&P 500, 2016-2026), stocks we graded A or B fell more than 30% 2-3 times less often than D or F, without a lower average return.

Updated 2026-10-24

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