Chilean lithium giant Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM), or SQM, released lower-than-expected fourth-quarter 2023 revenue and earnings results on Wednesday night. The biggest driver for the declines in the top and bottom line was the huge drop in lithium prices last year.

Lithium prices fell sharply throughout 2023 after soaring to historical highs in late 2022. The main catalysts were the lithium industry's increased production capacity and a slowdown in the growth of the electric vehicle (EV) market, due in part to high interest rates. Lithium is used to make the lithium-ion batteries that power EVs.

Data source: SQM.

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Source Fool.com