Top 3 Rare Earth Stocks To Watch In October 2026

Global trade officials are wrestling with tariffs and overcapacity, which puts a fresh spotlight on who controls the building blocks of modern technology. Rare earth miners sit at the crossroads of that debate, supplying metals that feed everything from electric motors to defense hardware. For investors, this creates a scarce access point. This article walks through three rare earth metal stocks from our screener that provide targeted exposure.

The three rare earth metal stocks highlighted below are just a starting sample from a wider field, and the full screen surfaced 3 more companies with equally compelling narratives that are not covered in this article. To size up the full opportunity set, head straight into the Rare Earth Metal Stocks screener to identify, filter, and analyze the rare earth miners that best fit your thesis.

Critical Metals (CRML)

Overview: Critical Metals is a New York based explorer developing the Tanbreez rare earth and lithium projects across Greenland, Germany, and Austria.

Operations: Critical Metals generates about US$2 million from mineral exploration activities, reflecting an early stage focus rather than mature production.

Market Cap: US$1.08b

Critical Metals provides direct exposure to the Tanbreez heavy and light rare earth deposit in Greenland, which is used in EVs, clean energy hardware, and defense components. The stock is considered highly speculative, with minimal revenue and recent dilution. Recent Greenland security agreements and refinery plans are factors that could significantly affect future project economics.

Those shifting pieces put a premium on understanding the trade off between ambition and dilution in Critical Metals, so start with the Critical Metals financial health report

MP Materials (MP)

Overview: MP Materials runs the Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California and produces NdPr-based magnets for EV, wind, and defense customers.

Operations: MP Materials generates about US$286 million from its Materials unit and US$79 million from Magnetics, with a small segment adjustment.

Market Cap: US$8.1b

MP Materials matters for this rare earth theme because it links a Western mine directly to the magnet supply chain that powers EVs, turbines, and defense hardware, and recent partnerships have turned that position into long-term contracted demand.

"MP Materials' recently secured long-term, government-backed offtake agreements, including a minimum price floor and guaranteed EBITDA for magnet output from the Department of Defense, as well as a $500M+ multi-year supply contract with Apple, are expected to support more predictable and resilient revenue streams that are less sensitive to price volatility."

What those contracts ultimately mean for MP Materials' pricing power and future margins depends on how one quiet competitive pressure evolves.

That quiet pressure point is exactly where MP Materials’ story gets interesting, so read the full narrative for MP Materials to see how pricing power and risk are really evolving.

USA Rare Earth (USAR)

Overview: USA Rare Earth mines and processes rare earth elements from its Round Top Mountain project in Texas to supply high tech and defense applications.

Market Cap: US$3.44b

USA Rare Earth plugs a gap in this rare earth metals screen because it is trying to pair U.S. resource access with domestic processing, which matters for anyone focused on secure supply chains for EV motors, magnets, and defense hardware.

"The award comes through the DOE’s Critical Materials Innovation, Efficiency and Alternatives program and is aimed at advancing a pilot-scale rare earth element (REE) separations project within the United States."

The real swing factor is how one still developing piece of support ultimately ripples through future project economics and pricing power.

That potential support is already shifting how risk and upside could balance, so read the full narrative for USA Rare Earth to see whether USA Rare Earth’s story is quietly accelerating.

Seeking Alternatives Beyond Rare Earths?

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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