Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) Business Profile

What it does

Freeport-McMoRan is a metals company that mines copper, gold and molybdenum and processes some of those metals into products customers can use. Founded in 1912 and headquartered in Phoenix, it is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Kathleen L. Quirk.

Copper is the center of the business. Freeport sells it as concentrate, a material made by crushing and treating ore; as cathode, refined sheets of copper; and as rod, which manufacturers turn into wire and cable. Its customers include smelters and manufacturers of wire, cable, brass and tubes. It also sells gold bars and molybdenum products.

The company operates mines in the United States, Peru, Chile and Indonesia. Its assets include Morenci in Arizona, Cerro Verde in Peru and the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia. Freeport also operates smelting, refining and other processing facilities, including plants in the United States, Indonesia and Spain. These facilities can turn mined material into more refined products before sale.

Freeport produces gold almost entirely at Grasberg. Its molybdenum comes from dedicated mines in Colorado and from some copper mines. In the United States and South America, the company is also applying technology to leaching: a process that extracts copper from mined material using a solution.

How it makes money

Freeport earns revenue principally by mining and selling metals. Copper accounted for 75% of consolidated revenue in 2025, gold for 15% and molybdenum for 8%. It also processes copper through its refining and rod facilities and, at times, performs refining and rod production for customers on a toll basis.

The mining business is organized into U.S. copper mines, South America operations, Indonesia operations and molybdenum mines. U.S. Rod & Refining processes copper from Freeport’s mines and purchased copper. Atlantic Copper, in Spain, smelts and refines concentrate and markets refined copper and precious metals.

Copper prices are set by international metals exchanges and can move with global supply and demand. Sales from South America and Indonesia generally use London Metal Exchange prices, while U.S. mine sales generally use COMEX prices. U.S. cathode and rod contracts generally add a premium to the monthly benchmark. South American concentrate sales are recorded net of royalties, smelting charges and negotiated allowances for metal that cannot be recovered in processing.

Many copper sales are made under annual, multi-year or long-term contracts, but the contracts generally refer to market prices rather than fixing the metal price permanently. After completing Indonesian processing facilities in 2025, Freeport’s Indonesian subsidiary sells copper cathode under long-term contracts and gold bars primarily priced near shipment.

Net income attributable to common stock was $2.2 billion in 2025. Consolidated net income increased by over 80% in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the year-ago quarter.

Customers and how it sells

Freeport sells copper to industrial customers in several forms. Much of the copper produced at its U.S. mines and refined at El Paso is consumed by its rod plants; the rod is then sold to wire and cable manufacturers. Other U.S. cathode goes to rod, brass or tube fabricators, while concentrate can go to smelters.

South American copper is sold as concentrate or cathode under annual and multi-year contracts. In Indonesia, the completion of downstream processing facilities means the local subsidiary sells copper cathode under long-term contracts. Some concentrate from Cerro Verde also goes to Freeport’s Atlantic Copper processing operation in Spain.

Mitsubishi Materials Corporation accounted for 17.0% of Freeport’s revenue in FY2024. It was the only customer accounting for at least 10% of consolidated revenue in any of the three years ended December 31, 2025. Mitsubishi Materials is also Freeport’s partner in PT Smelting, an Indonesian copper smelter and refinery.

Freeport’s operations span the U.S., Peru, Chile and Indonesia. Morenci, Cerro Verde and Grasberg together produced 70% of its consolidated copper production in 2025. Grasberg also accounts for almost all of the company’s gold production.

Suppliers and costs

Freeport’s costs depend on where its ore bodies are located, their grade and nature, and the cost of inputs such as energy, labor and equipment. Mining also requires spending on processing facilities, infrastructure, maintenance and mine development. The company has faced a tight labor market in the United States.

Sulfuric acid is used in copper leaching. Freeport produces acid at its smelters and consumes it in its leaching processes. The company says that integration generally insulates it from acid price moves, although sulfuric acid prices more than doubled during 2026. Rising energy costs, particularly diesel, increased costs by approximately $500 million in 2026 compared with 2025.

Freeport’s sales can incur royalties and processing charges. It also faces environmental and mine-closure obligations: at December 31, 2025, it had $2.0 billion recorded for environmental obligations and $3.8 billion for asset retirement obligations. The company expects capital expenditures of approximately $4.4 billion in 2026 and $5.2 billion in 2027; those estimates exclude projects awaiting final studies and board approval, including the potential Bagdad expansion.

Competitive position

Freeport competes with other producers in markets for copper and other metals. Copper is internationally traded, and exchange prices generally reflect worldwide supply and demand. No competing copper producers are named in the available company and market material.

Freeport ranked third among copper producers in 2025, with approximately 5% of estimated worldwide mined copper production based on net equity ownership. The company believes its competitive position depends on the size, quality and grade of its ore bodies and its ability to manage costs. Its mines have different grades and cost structures.

Freeport also mines, smelts and refines copper, and manufactures rod. In Indonesia, its downstream facilities process Grasberg concentrate locally. In the U.S., its rod mills use copper from its own mines and processing facilities. The company is developing proprietary additives to extract more copper from stockpiles, though the next-generation additive has not yet been tested in the field.

Our reading: Freeport’s reserves, production scale and processing facilities provide a meaningful competitive position, but exchange pricing and varying mine costs limit its control over returns. Our reading: The leaching technology could strengthen that position if field tests succeed; its contribution is not yet established.

Growth opportunities

Freeport expects copper demand to grow from electrification, urbanization, data centers and other applications. Its growth plans focus on increasing output from existing mines, improving recovery from stockpiles and expanding established operations.

The company expects copper production to grow from 3 billion pounds in 2026 to 3.7 billion pounds in 2027 and over 4 billion pounds in 2028. It identifies the Grasberg recovery as the main driver, with improved U.S. production adding incrementally. At Grasberg, it is targeting operating rates of 80 percent by mid-2027 and an approach to full capacity by the end of 2027.

Freeport is developing a next-generation leach additive. Laboratory testing showed incremental recoveries more than four times those of its initial additive, and the company plans field deployment as it enters 2027. It has targeted 300 million pounds of leach production in 2027; a higher potential level depends on field results and is not in its forecast.

The company also expects an investment decision on the proposed Bagdad expansion and is advancing a potential major expansion at El Abra in Chile. At El Abra, it is commissioning facilities intended to enhance metal production by raising temperatures in leach pads. Freeport is also pursuing an extension of its Indonesian operating rights beyond 2041.

Structural risks

• Metal prices: Copper, gold and molybdenum prices fluctuate with factors outside Freeport’s control. Changes or prolonged declines in commodity prices can cause volatility in financial performance.
• Grasberg recovery: The phased restart and ramp-up following the September 2025 mud rush may not proceed as planned. Freeport also says low water availability during abnormally dry weather has presented challenges to increasing mill rates.
• Operating rights and international exposure: Freeport’s operations depend on government concessions, contracts and permits. It faces political, regulatory and social risks, including the risk that its Indonesian subsidiary fails to meet commitments needed for an extension of its mining license.
• Costs and development: Energy, consumables, equipment and labor costs can change. Freeport says capital costs across mining have risen faster than headline inflation in recent years, affecting both sustaining and expansion projects.
• Environmental and operational obligations: Mining involves waste rock and tailings, water supply, safety and reclamation risks. Environmental regulations and changes to closure requirements can increase costs or affect the ability to expand operations.
• Debt and financial commitments: Debt and other commitments can limit flexibility, including the ability to fund capital spending, development and working capital.

Bottom line

Our reading

Freeport is a copper-centered mining and processing business whose earnings depend on metal prices as well as production and costs. Its established mines and processing network provide a base for expansion, but concentrated production at major assets makes their performance consequential. The Grasberg recovery, Indonesian operating rights and execution of new leaching and mine projects are important to the company’s growth plans.