FCX Testing Price Floor: Time to Load Up?
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) should be on your watchlist. Here is why – it is currently trading in the support zone ($35.26 – $38.98), levels from which it has bounced meaningfully before. In the last 10 years, the stock received buying interest at this level 10 times and subsequently went on to generate 28.7% in average peak returns.
| Peak Return | Days to Peak Return | |
|---|---|---|
| 4/14/2021 | 23.4% | 27 |
| 11/8/2021 | 14.5% | 65 |
| 1/28/2022 | 44.1% | 56 |
| 5/10/2022 | 20.3% | 28 |
| 11/8/2022 | 32.0% | 78 |
| 5/12/2023 | 28.1% | 80 |
| 11/2/2023 | 23.4% | 55 |
| 1/18/2024 | 43.6% | 123 |
| 3/4/2025 | 23.2% | 21 |
| 4/23/2025 | 34.6% | 78 |
But is the price action enough alone? It certainly helps if the fundamentals check out. For FCX Read Buy or Sell FCX Stock to see how convincing this buy opportunity might be.
Here are some quick data points:
- Revenue Growth: 4.6% LTM and 2.5% last 3 year average.
- Cash Generation: Nearly 6.5% free cash flow margin and 26.8% operating margin LTM.
- Recent Revenue Shocks: The minimum annual revenue growth in last 3 years for FCX was -9.8%.
- Valuation: FCX trades at a PE multiple of 27.7
- Opportunity vs S&P: Compared to S&P, you get higher valuation, lower revenue growth, and better operating margins
Freeport-McMoRan provides mining and oil and gas operations across North America, South America, and Indonesia, including key mineral districts and offshore energy assets.
- What’s Happening With Freeport Stock?
- How Will Freeport-McMoRan Stock React To Its Upcoming Earnings?
- Freeport-McMoRan Stock Rockets 11% as Momentum Builds With 5-Day Streak
- Why Metal Stocks Are Shining Again?
- Why Did Freeport Stock Fall?
- S&P 500 Movers | Winners: INTC, IBM, SNPS | Losers: KMX, JBL, FCX
| FCX | S&P Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Sector | Materials | – |
| Industry | Copper | – |
| PE Ratio | 27.7 | 23.8 |
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| LTM* Revenue Growth | 4.6% | 5.1% |
| 3Y Average Annual Revenue Growth | 2.5% | 5.3% |
| Min Annual Revenue Growth Last 3Y | -9.8% | -0.1% |
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| LTM* Operating Margin | 26.8% | 18.6% |
| 3Y Average Operating Margin | 26.6% | 17.8% |
| LTM* Free Cash Flow Margin | 6.5% | 13.3% |
*LTM: Last Twelve Months
That is one way to look at stocks. Trefis High Quality Portfolio evaluates much more, and is designed to reduce stock-specific risk while giving upside exposure
What Is Stock-Specific Risk If The Market Crashes?
That said, FCX isn’t immune to big sell-offs. It slid 68% during the Dot-Com crash and dropped 86% in the Global Financial Crisis. The 2018 correction and Covid sell-off saw declines north of 50%, at 56% and 61% respectively. Even the recent inflation shock knocked it down over 50%. So, no matter the positives around it, FCX can still feel the heat when markets head south hard.
But the risk is not limited to major market crashes. Stocks fall even when markets are in good shape – think events like earnings, business updates, outlook changes. Read FCX Dip Buyer Analyses to see how the stock has recovered from sharp dips in the past.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio, with a collection of 30 stocks, has a track record of comfortably outperforming its benchmark that includes all 3 – the S&P 500, S&P mid-cap, and Russell 2000 indices. Why is that? As a group, HQ Portfolio stocks provided better returns with less risk versus the benchmark index; less of a roller-coaster ride, as evident in HQ Portfolio performance metrics.