FCX's Q3 Earnings & Sales Beat Estimates on Higher Copper Prices

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX recorded net income of $674 million or 46 cents per share for the third quarter of 2025, up around 28.1% from $526 million or 36 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share were 50 cents, topping the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 41 cents.

Revenues rose roughly 2.7% year over year to $6,972 million. The figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6,544.9 million. Although volumes declined, the company witnessed a sharp increase in copper and gold prices in the reported quarter.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Freeport-McMoRan Inc. Quote

FCX's Operational Highlights

Copper production fell around 13.2% year over year to 912 million pounds in the reported quarter.

Consolidated sales also fell approximately 5.6% year over year, reaching 977 million pounds of copper. 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. The company sold 336,000 ounces of gold, down around 40% year over year. FCX also sold 19 million pounds of molybdenum, flat year over year.

Consolidated average unit net cash costs per pound of copper were $1.40, up from $1.39 a year ago. The figure lagged our estimate of $1.59.

The average realized copper price was $4.68 per pound, up around 8.8% year over year. The figure outpaced our estimate of $4.40 per pound. The average realized price per ounce for gold rose around 37.8% year over year to $3,539. The figure topped our estimate of $3,300.

Freeport's Financial Position

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the quarter were $4,318 million, down around 13.6% year over year. The company’s total debt was $9,298 million, down 3.9% year over year.

Cash flows provided by operations were around $1,664 million in the reported quarter, down 11.1% year over year.

FCX's Guidance

For full-year 2025, consolidated sales volumes are projected to be around 3.5 billion pounds of copper, 1.05 million ounces of gold and 82 million pounds of molybdenum. This includes an estimated 635 million pounds of copper, 60,000 ounces of gold and 21 million pounds of molybdenum expected to be sold in the fourth quarter.

Freeport's Price Performance

Freeport’s shares are down 11.6% in the past year against a 0.3% rise in the industry.

FCX’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks

FCX currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks worth a look in the basic materials space are Royal Gold, Inc. RGLD, Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. ASM and Fortuna Mining Corp. FSM.

Royal Gold is scheduled to report third-quarter results on Nov. 5. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RGLD’s third-quarter earnings is pegged at $2.30 per share. RGLD’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 8.95%. Royal Gold currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) at present. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Avino Silver is slated to report third-quarter results on Nov. 6. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for third-quarter earnings is pegged at 3 cents per share. ASM’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average surprise being 141.67%. Avino Silver flaunts a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present.

Fortuna Mining is expected to report third-quarter results on Nov. 5. FSM carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) at present. Fortuna Mining’s earnings beat the consensus estimate in one of the last four quarters and missed thrice.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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