What does Century Aluminum do?

Century Aluminum makes primary aluminum, the raw metal used in cars, packaging, construction and many other products. It runs aluminum smelters in the United States and Iceland. It also mines bauxite and refines it into alumina in Jamaica, and makes carbon anodes in the Netherlands.

What is Century Aluminum's fair value?

On an owner-earnings DCF, Century Aluminum's most-likely fair value is about $15, versus a recent price near $37. A margin-of-safety estimate, not a price target. Analysis, not advice.

Basic Materials · Aluminum · CENX

What Century Aluminum Does & How It Makes Money (CENX)

Updated October 2026 · reflects Century Aluminum's latest reported financials

U.S. producer of primary aluminum with smelters in America and Iceland. The company earns revenue by selling standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum, as well as alumina, to industrial customers.

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How Century Aluminum makes money

The company earns revenue by selling standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum, as well as alumina, to industrial customers. Its own bauxite, alumina and carbon anode operations supply key inputs to its smelters.

What Century Aluminum does

Century Aluminum Company is a Chicago-based producer of primary aluminum, founded in 1995. It operates aluminum reduction facilities (smelters) in the United States and Iceland, making both standard-grade and value-added primary aluminum products. The company also owns operations that supply its smelters with key inputs: bauxite mining and alumina refining in Jamaica, and a carbon anode production facility in Vlissingen, the Netherlands. Because of this setup, its results are closely tied to aluminum prices and the cost of making the metal.

Products & services

Standard-grade primary aluminum
Value-added primary aluminum products
Alumina
Bauxite
Carbon anodes

What is Century Aluminum worth?

On an owner-earnings DCF, Century Aluminum's most-likely value is about $15 versus a recent price near $37 (59% above fair value). But TacticScale only calls a stock undervalued when the price sits below its conservative no-growth floor (~$11) with a margin of safety — so the honest verdict here is “Fairly priced — no edge.” Fair value earns its keep only at the extremes, not in the wide middle.

Verdict: Fairly priced — no edge

Owner-earnings fair value · recent price ≈ $37

Fair value (most likely)

$15

Range

$12–$22

No-growth floor

$11

Price

~$37

Price sits in the normal range — fair value isn't actionable here; it earns its keep only when price drops below the no-growth floor, or runs to roughly double the optimistic case.

⚠ Capital-intensive — this business reinvests heavily, so free cash flow runs well below its earnings. Fair value here is built on free cash flow, which understates owner earnings for reinvestment-heavy companies — read it as conservative.

Analysis, not advice. Fair value is a margin-of-safety estimate from a deterministic owner-earnings DCF, not a price target or recommendation. See the full breakdown →

Sector Basic Materials Industry Aluminum HQ United States Ticker CENX Official site

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Alcoa (AA) · Aluminum Corporation of China (601600.SS) · Yunnan Aluminium (000807.SZ) · Kaiser Aluminum (KALU)

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