MP Materials expects to begin commercial shipments of rare-earth magnets to General Motors in the fourth quarter of 2026, after sending test shipments in the second quarter. The milestone follows an 89% year-over-year revenue jump and a narrowed adjusted loss, as the company builds a U.S.-based alternative to China's dominance of rare-earth supply.
MP Materials expects to start commercial shipments of rare-earth magnets to General Motors in the fourth quarter, a step that follows the test shipments it sent GM's way in the second quarter. Suppliers face rigorous testing before automakers approve them, given how central safety is to the car industry, so clearing that bar and moving to commercial volume marks real progress for the company.
Financial position improves as the company scales up
MP Materials is still a young business working through heavy capital investment. In the second quarter of 2026, it lost $0.01 per share on an adjusted basis, an improvement over the $0.13 per share loss in the same quarter of 2025. Revenue, meanwhile, increased 89% year over year in the quarter.
Much of the world's rare-earth supply comes from China, which has used that access as a geopolitical bargaining chip. China's threats to limit supply led automakers to warn in mid-2025 that they might be unable to produce enough vehicles. That backdrop is part of why the U.S. government stepped in to help fund MP Materials as it builds a domestic rare-earth metals business.
GM is not the only customer in the pipeline
Being included in an automaker's supply chain gives MP Materials a potentially reliable customer for years to come, and the GM relationship could help the company move from a money-losing start-up toward sustainable profitability. But GM is not the only name on its customer list. According to The Motley Fool, in its second-quarter earnings release the company announced an agreement with a new American aerospace and defense customer: "new American aerospace and defense customer". It also highlighted efforts to court drone manufacturers, saying it had executed subscription agreements with multiple leading U.S. and allied customers.
Rare-earth metals go into products ranging from cars and cellphones to missile defense systems, which is why governments cannot treat access to them as a purely commercial matter. MP Materials still needs to prove it can reliably supply customers at scale. The GM shipments due in the fourth quarter are the first real test of that.
Source: The Motley Fool
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