Freeport-McMoRan posted second-quarter revenue of $7.03 billion, down about 7% year-over-year, while adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.74, up sharply from $0.54 a year earlier. GAAP net income attributable to common stock was $984 million, or $0.68 per share. Both figures beat Wall Street estimates by a wide margin. The gains came even as copper sales volumes fell versus last year, with higher realized copper and gold prices, lower unit cash costs, and a continued rebound at the Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia driving the improvement in profitability.
Note: Freeport-McMoRan's FY'25 ended on December 31, 2025. Q2 FY'26 ended on June 30, 2026.
Production at the Grasberg Block Cave mine roughly doubled during the quarter, climbing to about 69,000 tons a day in June, and management expects to reach 65% of full capacity in the second half of the year as recovery from last year's mud rush incident continues. Alongside the operational progress, Freeport opportunistically raised its stake in Peru's Cerro Verde mine to 55.66% for roughly $107 million, and it is nearing a final investment decision on a major expansion of its Bagdad mine in Arizona, though the preliminary price tag has climbed around 30% above earlier estimates. Separately, PT Freeport Indonesia has submitted its application to extend its operating rights beyond 2041, a process that remains pending.
Below are key drivers of Freeport-McMoRan's value that present opportunities for upside or downside to the current Trefis price estimate:
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Freeport-McMoRan is one of the world's largest publicly traded copper producers, with mining operations spanning North America, South America, and Indonesia. Copper accounts for roughly three-quarters of net sales, with gold and molybdenum contributing the remainder, largely as byproducts of its copper operations. The company also operates smelting and refining facilities in Indonesia and the United States, giving it an integrated position from mine to finished metal.
Freeport-McMoRan's value is anchored primarily in its copper business, supported by a combination of scale, geographic diversification, and a long-lived, low-cost asset base.
Freeport supplies approximately 70% of total US refined copper production through its integrated mining and processing network, positioning it as the primary domestic beneficiary of trade actions and reshoring policies aimed at copper.
The company's copper leach initiative, designed to recover additional copper from existing stockpiles at mines like Morenci and El Abra, is already producing at roughly a 200-million-pound annual run rate, with a near-term target of 300 million pounds and a longer-term ambition of up to 800 million pounds a year, offering low-capital-intensity production growth.
Freeport's portfolio spans the Americas and Indonesia, including a majority stake in the high-margin Cerro Verde mine in Peru, which it has continued to increase opportunistically, giving the company both geographic diversification and growing control over one of its most valuable assets.
Analysts including Morgan Stanley have flagged a potential refined copper deficit approaching 600,000 tonnes in 2026, the largest in over two decades, as mine disruptions in Chile, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo collide with rising demand tied to electrification and grid buildout. As one of the largest global copper suppliers, Freeport is well positioned to benefit from a structurally tighter market.
Freeport returned $600 million to shareholders in the first half of 2026, including $200 million in buybacks, while keeping net debt near $2.1 billion, well within its target range. That balance sheet flexibility is allowing the company to simultaneously fund growth projects like Bagdad and El Abra, opportunistically raise its Cerro Verde stake, and continue returning cash to investors.
A 50% tariff on semi-finished copper products has been in place since August 2025, and the US government is reviewing whether to extend tariffs to refined copper starting in 2027. Freeport's heavily domestic US footprint, particularly its copper rod business, stands to benefit from further protectionist trade measures, though the company has also cautioned that a broader economic slowdown tied to tariff policy could pressure copper prices and slow its US production growth plans.
