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Here's Why You Should Retain Freeport-McMoRan Stock in Your Portfolio
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Key Takeaways
FCX is advancing organic growth opportunities while maintaining strong liquidity and cash flow generation.
Freeport's unit net cash costs jumped in Q3 and are projected to rise sharply again in the fourth quarter.
FCX expects steep Q4 copper and gold volume declines due to the Grasberg mine suspension.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX - Free Report) is poised to gain from progress in expansion activities that will boost production capacity. Robust financial health also allows FCX to invest in growth projects and drive shareholder value. However, a weaker sales volume outlook and higher expected unit costs warrant caution.
The company’s shares are up 25% over the past six months compared with the Zacks Mining - Non Ferrous industry’s 42.2% rise.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Let’s find out why FCX stock is worth retaining at the moment.
FCX Gains on Growth Actions, Strong Financial Health
Freeport is well-placed with high-quality copper assets and remains focused on strong execution and advancing its organic growth opportunities. At its Cerro Verde operation in Peru, a large-scale concentrator expansion provided incremental annual production of around 600 million pounds of copper and 15 million pounds of molybdenum. It has completed the evaluation of a large-scale expansion at El Abra in Chile to define a large sulfide resource that could potentially support a major mill project similar to the large-scale concentrator at Cerro Verde, with an estimated resource of approximately 20 billion recoverable pounds of copper.
FCX is also conducting pre-feasibility studies (expected to be completed in 2026) in the Safford/Lone Star operations in Arizona to define a significant sulfide expansion opportunity. It also has expansion opportunities at Bagdad in Arizona to more than double the concentrator capacity of the operation.
Also, PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) substantially completed the construction of the new greenfield smelter in Eastern Java during 2024, with start-up having commenced in the second quarter of 2025. The first production of copper anode was achieved in July 2025. PT-FI is also developing the Kucing Liar ore body within the Grasberg district with a targeted ramp-up to commence before 2030. Gold production also started at the new precious metals refinery in late 2024. Plans are in place to transition PT-FI’s existing energy source from coal to natural gas, which is expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions at Grasberg.
FCX has a strong liquidity position and generates substantial cash flows, which allow it to finance its growth projects, pay down debt and drive shareholder value. It generated operating cash flows of around $1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Freeport ended the third quarter with strong liquidity, including $4.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents, $3 billion in availability under the FCX revolving credit facility, and $1.5 billion in availability under the PT-FI credit facility.
At the end of the third quarter, Freeport had a net debt of $1.7 billion, excluding PTFI’s new downstream processing facilities. Its net debt is below its targeted range of $3-$4 billion. Freeport has a policy of distributing 50% of the available cash to shareholders and the balance to either reduce debt or invest in growth projects. FCX has no significant debt maturities until 2027.
Higher Costs, Lower Expected Volumes Weigh on Freeport
Freeport faces headwinds from higher costs. FCX saw an increase in its average unit net cash cost per pound of copper in the third quarter of 2025 to $1.40 from $1.13 in the prior quarter, marking a roughly 24% spike. The increase was fueled by a decline in copper sales volumes. FCX’s outlook for the fourth quarter suggests significantly higher costs on a sequential basis. It expects unit net cash costs to rise to $2.47 per pound, while projecting a full-year average of roughly $1.68. Lower expected sales volumes are likely to impact costs in the quarter. Higher costs are likely to weigh on the company's margins.
Freeport’s copper sales volumes also fell approximately 6% year over year in the third quarter to 977 million pounds. The downside primarily resulted from the temporary suspension of operations since the mud rush incident at the Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia in September 2025, which led to the suspension of operations.
Freeport’s outlook for copper sales volumes in the fourth quarter assumes minimal contribution from its Indonesian operations due to the Grasberg mine incident. FCX expects copper sales volumes of 635 million pounds, indicating a 35% sequential and 36% year-over-year decline. The company has also issued weaker guidance for gold sales volume of 60,000 ounces, suggesting significant sequential and year-over-year decreases. Lower sales volumes are expected to weigh on its top line in the fourth quarter.
FCX’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
FCX currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC - Free Report) , Fortuna Mining Corp. (FSM - Free Report) and Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX - Free Report) .
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KGC’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.68 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 147%. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters while missing once, with an average surprise of 17.4%. KGC shares have gained roughly 93% over the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSM’s current fiscal-year earnings is pinned at 76 cents per share, indicating a 65.2% year-over-year increase. Its shares have popped around 57% over the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EQX’s current-year earnings stands at 54 cents per share, reflecting a 170% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the average earnings surprise of 87%. EQX’s shares have rallied roughly 153% over the past six months.
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Here's Why You Should Retain Freeport-McMoRan Stock in Your Portfolio
Key Takeaways
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX - Free Report) is poised to gain from progress in expansion activities that will boost production capacity. Robust financial health also allows FCX to invest in growth projects and drive shareholder value. However, a weaker sales volume outlook and higher expected unit costs warrant caution.
The company’s shares are up 25% over the past six months compared with the Zacks Mining - Non Ferrous industry’s 42.2% rise.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Let’s find out why FCX stock is worth retaining at the moment.
FCX Gains on Growth Actions, Strong Financial Health
Freeport is well-placed with high-quality copper assets and remains focused on strong execution and advancing its organic growth opportunities. At its Cerro Verde operation in Peru, a large-scale concentrator expansion provided incremental annual production of around 600 million pounds of copper and 15 million pounds of molybdenum. It has completed the evaluation of a large-scale expansion at El Abra in Chile to define a large sulfide resource that could potentially support a major mill project similar to the large-scale concentrator at Cerro Verde, with an estimated resource of approximately 20 billion recoverable pounds of copper.
FCX is also conducting pre-feasibility studies (expected to be completed in 2026) in the Safford/Lone Star operations in Arizona to define a significant sulfide expansion opportunity. It also has expansion opportunities at Bagdad in Arizona to more than double the concentrator capacity of the operation.
Also, PT Freeport Indonesia (PT-FI) substantially completed the construction of the new greenfield smelter in Eastern Java during 2024, with start-up having commenced in the second quarter of 2025. The first production of copper anode was achieved in July 2025. PT-FI is also developing the Kucing Liar ore body within the Grasberg district with a targeted ramp-up to commence before 2030. Gold production also started at the new precious metals refinery in late 2024. Plans are in place to transition PT-FI’s existing energy source from coal to natural gas, which is expected to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions at Grasberg.
FCX has a strong liquidity position and generates substantial cash flows, which allow it to finance its growth projects, pay down debt and drive shareholder value. It generated operating cash flows of around $1.7 billion in the third quarter of 2025. Freeport ended the third quarter with strong liquidity, including $4.3 billion in cash and cash equivalents, $3 billion in availability under the FCX revolving credit facility, and $1.5 billion in availability under the PT-FI credit facility.
At the end of the third quarter, Freeport had a net debt of $1.7 billion, excluding PTFI’s new downstream processing facilities. Its net debt is below its targeted range of $3-$4 billion. Freeport has a policy of distributing 50% of the available cash to shareholders and the balance to either reduce debt or invest in growth projects. FCX has no significant debt maturities until 2027.
Higher Costs, Lower Expected Volumes Weigh on Freeport
Freeport faces headwinds from higher costs. FCX saw an increase in its average unit net cash cost per pound of copper in the third quarter of 2025 to $1.40 from $1.13 in the prior quarter, marking a roughly 24% spike. The increase was fueled by a decline in copper sales volumes. FCX’s outlook for the fourth quarter suggests significantly higher costs on a sequential basis. It expects unit net cash costs to rise to $2.47 per pound, while projecting a full-year average of roughly $1.68. Lower expected sales volumes are likely to impact costs in the quarter. Higher costs are likely to weigh on the company's margins.
Freeport’s copper sales volumes also fell approximately 6% year over year in the third quarter to 977 million pounds. The downside primarily resulted from the temporary suspension of operations since the mud rush incident at the Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia in September 2025, which led to the suspension of operations.
Freeport’s outlook for copper sales volumes in the fourth quarter assumes minimal contribution from its Indonesian operations due to the Grasberg mine incident. FCX expects copper sales volumes of 635 million pounds, indicating a 35% sequential and 36% year-over-year decline. The company has also issued weaker guidance for gold sales volume of 60,000 ounces, suggesting significant sequential and year-over-year decreases. Lower sales volumes are expected to weigh on its top line in the fourth quarter.
FCX’s Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
FCX currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Kinross Gold Corporation (KGC - Free Report) , Fortuna Mining Corp. (FSM - Free Report) and Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX - Free Report) .
At present, KGC sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while FSM and EQX carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KGC’s current-year earnings is pegged at $1.68 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 147%. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters while missing once, with an average surprise of 17.4%. KGC shares have gained roughly 93% over the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSM’s current fiscal-year earnings is pinned at 76 cents per share, indicating a 65.2% year-over-year increase. Its shares have popped around 57% over the past six months.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EQX’s current-year earnings stands at 54 cents per share, reflecting a 170% year-over-year increase. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimates in two of the trailing four quarters and missed twice, with the average earnings surprise of 87%. EQX’s shares have rallied roughly 153% over the past six months.