MP Materials Corp. / DE

We present Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Loss, Adjusted Diluted EPS, and Free Cash Flow, which are non-GAAP financial measures that we use to supplement our results presented in accordance with GAAP. These measures may be similar to measures reported by other companies in our industry and are regularly used by securities analysts and investors to measure companies’ financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted Net Loss, Adjusted Diluted EPS, and Free Cash Flow are not intended to be substitutes for any GAAP financial measures and, as calculated, may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of performance or liquidity of other companies within our industry or in other industries.

Adjusted EBITDA

We define Adjusted EBITDA as our GAAP net income or loss before interest expense, net; income tax expense or benefit; and depreciation, depletion and amortization; further adjusted to eliminate the impact of stock-based compensation expense; initial start-up costs; transaction-related and other costs; accretion of asset retirement and environmental obligations; gain or loss on disposals of long-lived assets; gain or loss on early extinguishment of debt; other income or loss; and other items that we do not consider representative of our underlying operations. We present Adjusted EBITDA because it is used by management to evaluate our underlying operating and financial performance and trends. Adjusted EBITDA excludes certain expenses that are required in accordance with GAAP because they are non-recurring, non-cash or are not related to our underlying business performance. This non-GAAP financial measure is intended to supplement our GAAP results and should not be used as a substitute for financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP.

The following table presents a reconciliation of our Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, to our net income or loss, which is determined in accordance with GAAP:

(1)Principally included in “Selling, general and administrative” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

(2)Included in “Start-up costs” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and excludes any applicable stock-based compensation, which is included in the “Stock-based compensation expense” line above. Primarily relates to certain costs incurred in connection with the commissioning and starting up of our initial magnet-making capabilities at Independence prior to the achievement of commercial production. These costs include labor of incremental employees hired in advance to work directly on such commissioning activities, training costs, costs of testing and commissioning the new circuits and processes, and other related costs. Given the nature and scale of the related costs and activities, management does not view these as normal, recurring operating expenses, but rather as non-recurring investments to initially develop our magnet-making capabilities. Therefore, we believe it is useful and necessary for investors to understand our core operating performance in current and future periods by excluding the impact of these start-up costs. To the extent additional start-up costs are incurred in the future to expand our separations and magnet-making capabilities after initial achievement of commercial production (e.g., significantly expanding production capacity at an existing facility or building a new separations or magnet manufacturing facility), such costs would not be considered an adjustment for this non-GAAP financial measure.

(3)Pertains to legal, consulting, and advisory services, and other costs associated with specific transactions, including litigation matters, potential acquisitions, mergers, or other investments. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, amount is principally included in “Selling, general and administrative” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, amount is principally included in “Advanced projects and development” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

(4)Included in “Other operating costs and expenses (income), net” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted Diluted EPS

We calculate Adjusted Net Loss as our GAAP net income or loss excluding the impact of stock-based compensation expense; initial start-up costs; transaction-related and other costs; gain or loss on disposals of long-lived assets; gain or loss on early extinguishment of debt; change in fair value of derivative instruments; and other items that we do not consider representative of our underlying operations; adjusted to give effect to the income tax impact of such adjustments. We calculate Adjusted Diluted EPS as our GAAP diluted earnings or loss per share excluding the per share impact, using adjusted diluted weighted-average shares outstanding as the denominator, of stock-based compensation expense; initial start-up costs; transaction-related and other costs; gain or loss on disposals of long-lived assets; gain or loss on early extinguishment of debt; change in fair value of derivative instruments; and other items that we do not consider representative of our underlying operations; adjusted to give effect to the income tax impact of such adjustments. In addition, when appropriate, we include an adjustment to reverse the impact of applying the if-converted method to our 2026 Notes if necessary to reconcile between GAAP diluted earnings or loss per share and Adjusted Diluted EPS. When applicable, adjusted diluted weighted-average shares outstanding reflect the anti-dilutive impact of our Capped Call Options entered into in connection with the issuance of our 2030 Notes.

Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted Diluted EPS exclude certain expenses that are required in accordance with GAAP because they are non-recurring, non-cash, or not related to our underlying business performance. To calculate the income tax impact of such adjustments on a year-to-date basis, we utilize an effective tax rate equal to our income tax expense or benefit excluding material discrete costs and benefits, with any impacts of changes in effective tax rate being recognized in the current period. We present Adjusted Net Loss and Adjusted Diluted EPS because it is used by management to evaluate our underlying operating and financial performance and trends. These non-GAAP financial measures are intended to supplement our GAAP results and should not be used as a substitute for financial measures presented in accordance with GAAP.

The following table presents a reconciliation of our Adjusted Net Loss, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, to our net income or loss, which is determined in accordance with GAAP:

(1)Principally included in “Selling, general and administrative” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

(2)Included in “Start-up costs” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and excludes any applicable stock-based compensation, which is included in the “Stock-based compensation expense” line above. Primarily relates to certain costs incurred in connection with the commissioning and starting up of our initial magnet-making capabilities at Independence prior to the achievement of commercial production. These costs include labor of incremental employees hired in advance to work directly on such commissioning activities, training costs, costs of testing and commissioning the new circuits and processes, and other related costs. Given the nature and scale of the related costs and activities, management does not view these as normal, recurring operating expenses, but rather as non-recurring investments to initially develop our separations and magnet-making capabilities. Therefore, we believe it is useful and necessary for investors to understand our core operating performance in current and future periods by excluding the impact of these start-up costs. To the extent additional start-up costs are incurred in the future to expand our separations and magnet-making capabilities after initial achievement of commercial production (e.g., significantly expanding production capacity at an existing facility or building a new separations or magnet manufacturing facility), such costs would not be considered an adjustment for this non-GAAP financial measure.

(3)Pertains to legal, consulting, and advisory services, and other costs associated with specific transactions, including litigation matters, potential acquisitions, mergers, or other investments. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, amount is principally included in “Selling, general and administrative” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, amount is principally included in “Advanced projects and development” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

(4)Included in “Other operating costs and expenses (income), net” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.

(5)Included in “Other income, net” within our unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and pertains to the change in fair value of the redemption feature included in the portion of our 2030 Notes that were issued in December 2024.

(6)Tax impact of adjustments is calculated using an adjusted effective tax rate, which excludes the impact of discrete tax costs and benefits, to each adjustment. The adjusted effective tax rates were 17.4% and 28.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

The following table presents a reconciliation of our Adjusted Diluted EPS, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, to our diluted earnings or loss per share, which is determined in accordance with GAAP:

(1)Tax impact of adjustments is calculated using an adjusted effective tax rate, which excludes the impact of discrete tax costs and benefits, to each adjustment. The adjusted effective tax rates were 17.4% and 28.8% for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.

(2)For the three months ended March 31, 2024, since the 2026 Notes were dilutive for purposes of computing GAAP diluted loss per share but antidilutive for purposes of computing Adjusted Diluted EPS, within this reconciliation, we have included this adjustment to reverse the impact of applying the if-converted method to the 2026 Notes in the computation of GAAP diluted loss per share.

(3)For the three months ended March 31, 2024, since the 2026 Notes were dilutive for purposes of computing GAAP diluted loss per share but antidilutive for purposes of computing Adjusted Diluted EPS, the adjusted diluted weighted-average shares outstanding excludes the potentially dilutive securities associated with the 2026 Notes.

Free Cash Flow

We calculate Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by or used in operating activities less additions to property, plant and equipment, net of proceeds from government awards used for construction. We believe Free Cash Flow is useful for comparing our ability to generate cash with that of our peers. The presentation of Free Cash Flow is not meant to be considered in isolation or as an alternative to cash flows from operating activities and does not necessarily indicate whether cash flows will be sufficient to fund cash needs.

The following table presents a reconciliation of our Free Cash Flow, which is a non-GAAP financial measure, to our net cash used in operating activities, which is determined in accordance with GAAP:

(1)Amount for the three months ended March 31, 2024, is net of $0.1 million in proceeds from government awards used for construction.

Critical Accounting Policies

A complete discussion of our critical accounting policies is included in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024. There have been no significant changes in our critical accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2025.

Recently Adopted and Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently adopted and issued accounting pronouncements are described in Note 2, “Significant Accounting Policies,” in the notes to the unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.