If you’ve been staring at your brokerage account wondering why your Lithium Americas position looks a little... weird, you aren't alone. Honestly, the way people talk about the "lithium americas stock split" is kinda misleading. Technically, it wasn't a traditional 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 split like you’d see with Apple or Nvidia. It was a full-blown corporate divorce.
Back in October 2023, the original Lithium Americas Corp. basically cut itself in half. It created two entirely separate companies. Now we have Lithium Americas Corp. (LAC), which kept the North American assets like the massive Thacker Pass project in Nevada, and Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp. (LAAC), which took over the South American brine operations.
If you held 100 shares of the "old" LAC, you didn't just get more shares of the same thing. You woke up with 100 shares of the new LAC and 100 shares of LAAC. It’s a lot to wrap your head around, especially if you were just expecting a simple price adjustment.
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Why the "Split" Actually Happened
The "split" was a strategic move to untangle two very different types of risk. Think about it. One side of the business was building a hard-rock mine in the Nevada desert (Thacker Pass), while the other was pumping brine in Argentina (Cauchari-Olaroz).
Basically, the company wanted to separate the "China connection." The Argentina projects involved a heavy partnership with Ganfeng Lithium, a Chinese giant. In the current political climate, having deep ties to China makes it really hard to get those sweet, sweet U.S. government loans. By spinning off the Argentina side into its own entity (LAAC), the new LAC became a "pure-play" North American company.
This move cleared the path for Lithium Americas to snag a massive $2.26 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy. That’s not pocket change. It’s the kind of money that actually gets a mine built.
The Ticker Confusion: LAC vs. LAAC
This is where people get tripped up. The "new" Lithium Americas kept the original ticker, LAC. Meanwhile, the Argentina-focused company started trading under LAAC.
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- LAC: Focuses on Thacker Pass in Nevada. This is the one General Motors (GM) is heavily invested in. It’s a long-term play because the mine is still under construction.
- LAAC: Focuses on the Cauchari-Olaroz project in Argentina, which is already producing lithium. This one is more tied to the current market price of lithium carbonate.
If you’re looking at historical charts for LAC, you’ll see a massive "drop" in price around October 4, 2023. It wasn't a crash. It was just the value of the Argentina assets being removed from the stock price and handed to shareholders as LAAC shares.
The 2017 Reverse Split You Probably Forgot
While everyone talks about the 2023 separation, there was an actual 1-for-5 reverse stock split way back on November 8, 2017.
In that case, the company did the opposite of what most people want. They consolidated shares. Five old shares became one new share, which boosted the price from around $2 to $10. Companies usually do this to keep their share price high enough to stay listed on major exchanges like the NYSE. It's a classic move for "junior" miners who are still in the early stages of development.
What’s Happening Now in 2026?
Fast forward to today. If you're looking at LAC in 2026, the landscape has shifted again. The company has been busy raising more cash through "At-the-Market" (ATM) equity programs. For instance, in late 2025, they issued millions of new shares to keep the lights on and the bulldozers moving at Thacker Pass.
This constant issuance of new shares is a form of dilution. It’s the "silent split" that bites investors. While the number of shares you own doesn't change, the percentage of the company you own gets smaller.
Expert Tip: Don't just look at the stock price. Look at the "Market Cap." If the price stays the same but the company issues 20% more shares, the stock is actually more expensive than it looks.
Is It Still a Good Bet?
Honestly, lithium is a rollercoaster. The "split" was designed to give investors a choice. Do you want the high-stakes, U.S.-backed Nevada project (LAC)? Or do you want the operational brine mines in South America (LAAC)?
Most analysts, like those at Canaccord Genuity, have been hot and cold on LAC. The big concern is always "when will it actually produce?" Thacker Pass is a beast of a project, and while the DOE loan and the GM partnership are huge votes of confidence, mining is notoriously slow.
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Actionable Steps for Investors
If you're still holding shares from before the 2023 split, or if you're looking to jump in now, here’s how to handle it:
- Check Your Cost Basis: This is the most annoying part of the split. Your original investment price needs to be split between your LAC and LAAC shares for tax purposes. Usually, it's about a 64/36 split, but check with your broker or the IRS Form 8937 on the company's investor relations page.
- Watch the Dilution: Keep an eye on those ATM programs. Every time LAC issues shares to raise money, your "slice of the pie" gets a bit thinner.
- Monitor Lithium Prices: Lithium prices can be brutal. Even if LAC is doing everything right, if the price of lithium carbonate drops globally, the stock will likely follow.
- Differentiate the Risks: Remember that LAC is now a "pre-revenue" developer. It’s spending money, not making it. LAAC is a producer. They are different beasts.
The Lithium Americas stock split wasn't just a corporate hiccup. It was a survival tactic. By splitting the company, they protected their U.S. interests and opened the door for billions in funding. Whether that pays off for you depends entirely on your patience for the multi-year timeline of building a mine from scratch.
Next Steps: You might want to verify your current share count in both LAC and LAAC through your brokerage's "Corporate Actions" tab to ensure the 1-for-1 distribution was processed correctly. Check your 2023 or 2024 tax filings to confirm your cost basis was adjusted, as this affects your capital gains if you decide to sell in 2026.