CENTURY ALUMINUM CO (CENX)

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") provides information that management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of the consolidated financial condition and results of operations of Century Aluminum Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, "Century," the "Company," "our" and "we") and should be read in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto. This MD&A contains "forward-looking statements" - see "Forward-Looking Statements" above.

Overview

We are a global producer of primary aluminum and alumina with production facilities in the United States, Iceland and Jamaica. Our primary aluminum smelters are concentrated in the U.S. and Iceland, while in Jamaica we maintain a 55% joint venture interest in the Jamalco alumina refinery, from which we off-take a proportionate amount of alumina production. We intend for the majority of our Jamalco off-take to be consumed internally at our primary aluminum smelters in a vertical integration model. We also own a carbon anode production facility located in the Netherlands ("Vlissingen"). Carbon anodes are consumed in the production of primary aluminum. Vlissingen supplies carbon anodes to our aluminum smelter in Iceland. Each of our aluminum smelters in the United States produces anodes at on-site facilities.

The key determinants of our results of operations and cash flows from operations are as follows:

•the price of primary aluminum, which is based on the London Metal Exchange ("LME"), plus any regional premiums and value-added product premiums;

•the cost of goods sold, the principal components of which are electrical power, alumina, carbon products, labor and other controllable costs, which in aggregate represent more than 82% of our cost of goods sold; and

•our production volume and product mix.

Recent Developments

New Smelter Project

On January 26, 2026, we announced that we had entered into a joint development agreement with Emirates Global Aluminium ("EGA") to build the first new primary aluminum smelter in the United States since our Mt. Holly facility came online in 1980. Under the joint development agreement, EGA will own 60 percent of the joint venture, with Century Aluminum owning the remaining 40 percent. The new plant, to be built in Inola, Oklahoma, is expected to produce 750,000 tonnes of aluminum per year, more than doubling current U.S. production of primary aluminum. Construction of the project is expected to start by the end of 2026, subject to the completion of detailed engineering work, completion of negotiations with Public Service Company of Oklahoma on a competitive long-term power supply agreement and the negotiation of a definitive joint venture agreement with EGA.

On July 20, 2026, the President signed an executive order entitled Securing America’s Defense Supply Chains and Ensuring Domestic Acquisition of Critical Materials. The executive order allows approved companies investing in new primary aluminum production in the United States to import a commensurate amount of primary aluminum at a reduced tariff rate. The effects of the executive order are dependent on rulemaking and other government actions and there can be no assurances regarding the impact of this order on the Company’s business, financial condition and/or operating results.

Sale of Hawesville

On February 2, 2026, we completed the sale of our Hawesville, Kentucky facility to an affiliate of Terawulf, Inc. for $200.0 million in cash and a 6.8% non-dilutive minority equity interest in the Terawulf affiliate that intends to develop and own a high-performance computing/artificial intelligence data center on the site. A large portion of the proceeds are intended to be deployed to expand our domestic primary aluminum production capacity through the restart of the last potline at our Mt. Holly facility and investments in our new smelter project. On July 6, 2026, Terawulf announced that its subsidiary entered into a 20-year lease agreement with Anthropic PBC under which Terawulf’s subsidiary will provide Anthropic with approximately 401 MW of critical IT load for high-performance computing operations at the Hawesville site. Terawulf further disclosed that delivery of the leased capacity is expected to occur in phases beginning in late 2027 and concluding in early 2028. No assurances can be given regarding the delivery of critical IT load (including the amount and timing of such delivery) at the Hawesville site or our ability to exercise our Put Option.

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Grundartangi Equipment Failure

In October 2025, our Grundartangi smelter was forced to temporarily cease production at one of its two potlines due to a failure of a transformer unit. As a result, production at the smelter has been temporarily reduced by approximately two-thirds. Grundartangi’s other potline remains unaffected and in full production. We expect that losses arising from this event, less applicable deductibles, will be covered under our insurance policies. As of June 30, 2026, we have received $83.1 million in insurance recoveries related to the equipment failure. In July 2026, we received an additional $18.5 million in insurance recoveries and we expect to receive additional recoveries as our insurance carriers process our claims. We restarted production of the idled potline in the second half of April 2026, with a return to near full production expected by the end of the third quarter.

Section 232 Aluminum Tariffs

In March 2018, the U.S. implemented a 10% tariff on imported primary aluminum products into the U.S. These tariffs are intended to protect U.S. national security and incentivize primary aluminum production in the U.S., reducing reliance on imports and ensuring that domestic producers, like Century, can supply all the aluminum necessary for critical industries and national defense. In addition to primary aluminum products, the tariffs also cover certain other semi-finished products. All imports that directly compete with our products are covered by the tariff.

In February 2025, President Trump issued a new Presidential Proclamation directing the tariff rate on imported primary aluminum to be increased from 10% to 25% and for all existing country exemptions or product exclusion to be ended, in each case effective March 12, 2025. Then, in May 2025, President Trump again increased tariffs on primary aluminum from 25% to 50%, effective June 4, 2025. Since the implementation of these changes to the Section 232 tariff program, Midwest premium has increased, which has had a material positive impact on our financial position and results of operations.

U.S. Department of Energy Award

On January 10, 2025, the Company entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's ("DOE") Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a new aluminum smelter as part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program. With the help of this funding, we intend to construct, own, and operate the new aluminum smelter together with EGA in Inola, Oklahoma.

Jamalco Equipment Failure

In June 2023, Jamalco experienced a power disruption caused by damage to its power generation unit. The equipment failure resulted in a loss of production at Jamalco of approximately 84,000 tonnes for the year ended December 31, 2023. The impact of the equipment failure on gross margin was approximately $30.4 million. Despite returning the equipment to full capacity as of the end of October 2023, we continued to see some inefficiencies into the first quarter of 2024. In July 2026, we entered into a settlement agreement and expect to receive $9.7 million, net of deductibles, in connection with an insurance claim related to the equipment failure.

Pricing of Aluminum

The overall price of primary aluminum consists of three components: (i) the base commodity price, which is based on quoted prices on the LME; plus (ii) any regional premium (e.g., the Midwest premium for metal sold in the United States ("MWP") and the European Duty Paid premium for metal sold into Europe ("EDPP")); plus (iii) any value-added product premium. Each of these price components has its own drivers and variability.

The price of aluminum is influenced by a number of factors, including global supply-demand balance, inventory levels, speculative activities by market participants, production activities by producers, geopolitical and economic conditions, including tariffs, as well as production costs in major production regions. These factors can be highly variable and difficult to predict, which can lead to significant volatility in the price of aluminum. Increases or decreases in primary aluminum prices result in variability in our revenues and profitability (assuming all other factors are unchanged). From time to time, we may seek to manage our exposure to fluctuations in the LME price of primary aluminum and/or associated regional premiums through financial instruments designed to limit our downside price risk. Information regarding financial contracts is included in Note 11. Derivatives and risks associated with such financial contracts are disclosed specifically in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.

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We saw an increase in the pricing of aluminum through the second quarter of 2026 attributable to increases in the LME and MWP. The average MWP continued to increase due to the additional increase in Section 232 tariff rate for imported primary aluminum from 25% to 50% effective June 4, 2025. The MWP price has recently been at historically high levels and may change rapidly based on factors beyond our control, including changes in tariff policies, changes in supply in the U.S market, and other factors. The following table summarizes the average price for primary aluminum per tonne for the three months ended June 30, 2026 and March 31, 2026 and for the six months ended June 30, 2026 and 2025.

Restatement of Prior Period Results

As noted in the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2025, as filed with the SEC on March 3, 2026, the Company has restated the comparative financial statements including the Consolidated Statement of Operations, Consolidated Balance Sheets, and Consolidated Statement of Stockholders' Equity for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026 and applicable footnotes. The restatement reflects a change related to the consolidation of the Company's Jamalco joint venture whereby the Company previously used the proportionate method of consolidation for certain of Jamalco's net assets versus the full consolidation method. The change in consolidation method did not have any impact on our net income attributable to Century stockholders for the periods that were restated. See Note 1. General, for additional information.

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Results of Operations

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Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis (“MD&A”) provides information that management believes is relevant to an assessment and understanding of the consolidated financial condition and results of operations of Century Aluminum Company and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Century,” the “Company,” “our” and “we”) and should be read in conjunction with the accompanying consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data and in Item 1A. Risk Factors. This MD&A contains “forward-looking statements” - See “Forward-Looking Statements” above. The following discussion and analysis are for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared with the same period in 2024 unless otherwise stated. For discussion and analysis of the year ended December 31, 2024, compared with the same period in 2023, please refer to "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" included in Part II, Item 7. of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on March 3, 2025.

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Overview

We are a global producer of alumina and primary aluminum with production facilities in the United States. Iceland and Jamaica. Our primary aluminum smelters are concentrated in the U.S. and Iceland, while in Jamaica we maintain a 55% joint venture interest in the Jamalco alumina refinery, from which we off-take a commensurate amount of alumina production. We intend for the majority of our Jamalco off-take to be consumed internally at our primary aluminum smelters in a vertical integration model. We also own a carbon anode production facility located in the Netherlands. Carbon anodes are consumed in the production of primary aluminum. Vlissingen supplies carbon anodes to our aluminum smelter in Iceland. Each of our aluminum smelters in the United States produces anodes at on-site facilities.

The key determinants of our results of operations and cash flow from operations are as follows:

•the price of primary aluminum, which is based on the London Metal Exchange ("LME") and other exchanges, plus any regional premiums and value-added product premiums;

•the cost of goods sold, the principal components of which are electrical power, alumina, carbon products, labor and other controllable costs, which in aggregate represent more than 84% of our cost of goods sold; and

•our production volume and product mix.

Recent Developments

New Smelter Project

On January 26, 2026, we announced that we had entered into a joint development agreement with EGA to build the first new primary aluminum smelter in the United States since our Mt. Holly facility came online in 1980. Under the joint development agreement, EGA will own 60 percent of the joint venture, with Century Aluminum owning the remaining 40 percent. The new plant, to be built in Inola, Oklahoma, is expected to produce 750,000 tonnes of aluminum per year, more than doubling current U.S. production. Construction of the project is expected to start by the end of 2026, subject to the completion of detailed engineering work, completion of negotiations with Public Service Company of Oklahoma on a competitive long-term power supply agreement and the negotiation of a definitive joint venture agreement with EGA.

Sale of Hawesville

On February 2, 2026, we completed the sale of our Hawesville, Kentucky facility to an affiliate of Terawulf, Inc. for $200.0 million in cash and a 6.8% non-dilutive minority equity interest in the Terawulf affiliate that intends to develop and own a high-performance computing/artificial intelligence data center on the site (the “Data Center Minority Interest”). A large portion of the proceeds are intended to be deployed to expand our domestic primary aluminum production capacity through the restart of the last potline at our Mt. Holly facility and investments in our new smelter project. See “Risk Factors – The new smelter joint venture project with EGA is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties.”

Grundartangi Equipment Failure

In October 2025, our Grundartangi smelter was forced to temporarily idle production on one of its two potlines due to the failure of two transformers over a seven week period in September and October 2025. As a result, production at the smelter has been temporarily reduced by approximately two-thirds. Grundartangi’s other potline remains unaffected and in full production. We expect that losses arising from this event, less applicable deductibles, will be covered under our insurance policies. We currently estimate that we will begin resumption of production of the idled potline by the end of April 2026.

Section 232 Aluminum Tariff

In March 2018, the U.S. implemented a 10% tariff on imported primary aluminum products into the U.S. These tariffs are intended to protect U.S. national security and incentivize primary aluminum production in the U.S., reducing reliance on imports and ensuring that domestic producers, like Century, can supply all the aluminum necessary for critical industries and national defense. In addition to primary aluminum products, the tariffs also cover certain other semi-finished products. All imports that directly compete with our products are covered by the tariff.

In February 2025, President Trump issued a new Presidential Proclamation directing the tariff rate on imported primary aluminum to be increased from 10% to 25% and for all existing country exemptions or product exclusion to be ended, in each case effective March 12, 2025. Then, in May 2025, President Trump again increased tariffs on primary aluminum from 25% to

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50%, effective June 4, 2025. Since the implementation of these changes to the Section 232 tariff program, the Midwest Premium has increased, which has had a material positive impact on our financial position and results of operations.

U.S. Department of Energy Award

On January 10, 2025, the Company entered into a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy's ("DOE") Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations for up to $500 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding to build a new aluminum smelter as part of the Industrial Demonstrations Program. With the help of this funding, we intend to construct, own and operate together with EGA in Inola, Oklahoma.

Section 45X of the Inflation Reduction Act

On October 24, 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations implementing Section 45X of the Inflation Reduction Act (the "IRA"), which provide guidance on rules taxpayers must satisfy to qualify for the advanced manufacturing production tax credit provided by the IRA. The government has incentivized the production of aluminum by offering a tax credit equal to 10% of eligible domestic production costs. Based on the final regulations, we have recognized a receivable and corresponding offset to cost of goods sold and selling, general and administrative expenses. Any changes to the final regulations could result in a subsequent adjustment to the estimated credit as of December 31, 2025.

President Trump signed Public Law No: 119-21, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (the "Act") into law on July 4, 2025, which marks the date of enactment for the tax provisions included in the Act. The Act removed the exemption for critical minerals related to the phase out of the advanced manufacturing production tax credit under Internal Revenue Code Section 45X of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and final regulations issued in October of 2024. Under the Act, beginning in 2031, the amount of the tax credit will be reduced by 25% each year and reduced to 0% in 2034. Additionally, the Act made changes to, but not limited to, permanently extending bonus depreciation that permits full expensing of qualified property, and changes to limitations on the deductibility of interest expense. The Act did not have a material impact on our financial results for the year ended December 31, 2025. We will continue to evaluate the effects of the Act on our results as further guidance is issued.

Acquisition of 55% interest in Jamalco

On May 2, 2023, our wholly-owned subsidiary, Century Aluminum Jamaica Holdings, Inc., completed the acquisition of all the outstanding share capital of General Alumina Holdings Limited, the holder of a 55% interest in Jamalco, an unincorporated joint venture with the Government of Jamaica through its controlled entity Clarendon Alumina Production Limited. Jamalco is engaged in bauxite mining and alumina refining in Jamaica. The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, General Alumina Jamaica Limited, is the managing partner of the Jamalco joint venture. Jamalco has alumina production capacity of approximately 1.4 million tonnes. We recognized a bargain purchase gain of $245.9 million in connection to the acquisition within the Consolidated Statements of Operations for the year ended December 31, 2024. Refer to Note 2. Acquisition of Jamalco for further information.

Jamalco Equipment Failure

In June 2023, Jamalco experienced a power disruption caused by damage to its power generation unit. The equipment failure resulted in a loss of production at Jamalco of approximately 84,000 tonnes for the year ended December 31, 2023. The impact of the equipment failure on gross margin was approximately $30.4 million. Despite returning the equipment to full capacity as of the end of October 2023, we continued to see some inefficiencies into the first quarter of 2024. We are engaged with our insurance carriers in connection with the equipment failure to determine the specific amount of coverage available to us, including any applicable deductibles.

Pricing of Aluminum

The overall price of primary aluminum consists of three components: (i) the base commodity price, which is based on quoted prices on the LME and other exchanges; plus (ii) any regional premium (e.g., the Midwest premium for metal sold in the United States ("MWP") and the European Duty Paid premium for metal sold into Europe); plus (iii) any value-added product premium. Each of these price components has its own drivers and variability.

The price of aluminum is influenced by a number of factors, including global supply-demand balance, inventory levels, speculative activities by market participants, production activities by producers, geopolitical and economic conditions, as well

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as production costs in major production regions. These factors can be highly variable and difficult to predict which can lead to significant volatility in the price of aluminum. Increases or decreases in primary aluminum prices result in variability in our revenues (assuming all other factors are unchanged). From time to time, we may seek to manage our exposure to fluctuations in the LME price of primary aluminum and/or associated regional premiums through financial instruments designed to limit our downside price risk. Information regarding financial contracts is included in Note 20. Derivatives and risks affiliated with such financial contracts are disclosed specifically in Item 1A. Risk Factors.

The historic volatility of the price of aluminum is reflected in the chart below:

During 2025, global, macroeconomic trends continued to impact global LME inventory levels which remain near all-time lows. Low inventory levels, challenged aluminum supply growth and improving global demand for aluminum all led to a supportive pricing environment for aluminum in 2025. The following table summarizes the average price for primary aluminum per tonne for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023.

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