Key Highlights

  • Net income attributable to common stock rose to USD 1.17 billion, or USD 0.81 per share, from USD 674 million.
  • Realized copper prices rose 40% to USD 6.54 per pound, while copper sales volumes fell 23% to 749 million pounds.
  • Unit net cash costs were USD 2.07 per pound against USD 1.40, while operating cash flow was USD 1.98 billion.
  • Operations at the Indonesian smelter restarted in late August, and management guided 2026 copper sales to about 3.0 billion pounds.

Price Gains Outweigh Lower Volumes

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) reported third-quarter net income attributable to common stock of USD 1.17 billion, or USD 0.81 per diluted share, on Tuesday, against USD 674 million and USD 0.46 a year earlier. Adjusted net income was USD 1.3 billion, or USD 0.88 per share, after excluding after-tax net charges of USD 101 million, or USD 0.07 per share, mainly idle facility and restoration costs tied to the September 2025 mud rush incident at PT Freeport Indonesia.

Revenue was USD 7.546 billion against USD 6.972 billion, and operating income was USD 2.353 billion against USD 1.972 billion. Nine-month net income was USD 3.04 billion, or USD 2.10 per share, against USD 1.80 billion and USD 1.24.

Realized prices rose across the portfolio: copper to USD 6.54 per pound from USD 4.68, gold to USD 4,273 per ounce from USD 3,539, and molybdenum to USD 32.46 per pound from USD 24.07. Chief Executive Kathleen Quirk credited favorable pricing for copper and molybdenum with strong margins and conversion to bottom-line results.

Production, Sales and Costs

Copper production was 832 million pounds against 912 million, and copper sales were 749 million pounds against 977 million. Gold production was 234,000 ounces against 287,000, while gold sales were 105,000 ounces against 336,000, which the company tied to previously reported timing of gold sales in Indonesia. Molybdenum production held at 22 million pounds.

Site production and delivery costs were USD 3.24 per pound of copper against USD 2.71, and unit net cash costs were USD 2.07 against USD 1.40. Management guided to a full-year 2026 average unit net cash cost of USD 1.90 per pound.

The Grasberg minerals district ramp-up met expectations, and management pointed to significant growth in 2027 and 2028. The smelter at PT Freeport Indonesia recommenced operations in late August. The company also named opportunities to scale leach and technology initiatives in the Americas, brownfield expansions in the United States and a potential major expansion at El Abra in Chile.

Cash Flow, Capital and Guidance

Operating cash flow was USD 1.98 billion, net of USD 0.4 billion of working capital use, against USD 1.69 billion. Capital expenditures were USD 1.2 billion, including USD 0.7 billion for major mining projects. For 2026, management guided to capital spending of about USD 4.4 billion, including USD 3.0 billion for major projects, and operating cash flow of about USD 8.5 billion at assumed fourth-quarter prices of USD 6.50 per pound for copper, USD 4,000 per ounce for gold and USD 32.00 per pound for molybdenum.

Guided 2026 sales are about 3.0 billion pounds of copper, 649,000 ounces of gold and 93 million pounds of molybdenum, including 875 million pounds of copper and 300,000 ounces of gold in the fourth quarter.

Debt totaled USD 9.4 billion against cash of USD 4.3 billion, leaving net debt of USD 1.8 billion before USD 3.2 billion of debt for the Indonesian downstream processing facilities. The company bought back 1.4 million shares for USD 102 million in the quarter at an average of USD 70.75, and 4.9 million shares for USD 305 million over nine months.

Copper Markers to Follow

Tracking points include copper sales volumes against 749 million pounds, unit net cash costs relative to the USD 1.90 full-year guide, and gold sales against the 300,000 ounces guided for the fourth quarter.

Further items are Grasberg ramp-up progress, smelter operations since the late August restart, and capital spending against the USD 4.4 billion guide.