Shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE: SQM), or SQM, eked out a 0.2% gain on Thursday, following the Chile-based lithium giant's release of its first-quarter 2023 results on the prior evening.

Most investors were probably at least satisfied with the stock treading water. After all, the quarter's revenue and earnings missed the Wall Street consensus estimates. The stock's saving grace was management's positive outlook for its lithium business -- by far, the largest of its segments -- for the year.

In recent years, the lithium segment has been turning in robust to downright powerful results, thanks primarily to surging demand for the compounds used to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.

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Source Fool.com