A Member of Pat McKeough’s Inner Circle recently asked for his advice on Freeport-McMoRn, a leading U.S.-based mining company and one of the world’s largest publicly traded producers of copper.
Pat likes the firm’s leverage to a structural copper bull market, its world‑class asset base, and strong financial position. The company also controls long‑lived, tier‑one assets with massive reserves.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (Symbol FCX on New York www.fcx.com) is one of the world’s largest publicly traded copper producers with operations in Indonesia, North America and South America. The company has significant reserves of copper, gold, and molybdenum.
In Indonesia, Freeport’s assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Papua. Grasberg is one of the world’s largest copper and gold deposits.
Through its 48.8%-owned PT Freeport Indonesia business, the company mines for copper, gold, and silver at Grasberg. Its operations include four underground mines and an open pit mine.
In 2024, Freeport’s Indonesian operations produced 42.7% of its copper output. Its North American operations contributed 29.6%, while the South American operations produced 27.7%.
In North America, Freeport operates five open-pit copper mines in Arizona and two in New Mexico. Also, the company has two molybdenum mines in Colorado.
In South America, it manages two copper mines—Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile. The company owns 55.1% of Cerro Verde, an open pit copper and molybdenum mining complex, and 51% of El Abra, an open pit copper mining complex.
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In June 2024, the company completed the construction of its new Manyar smelter in Indonesia. It produces copper cathodes, which the wire and cable industry use to make copper rod.
The completion of the smelter makes the company a fully integrated copper producer in Indonesia because it combines the extraction process with the refining process. This provides support for Freeport’s operations in the Grasberg minerals district. The jobs created by the new smelter should also help the company extend its long-term operating rights in Indonesia, as it needs the government’s approval to do business in the country and export copper concentrates.
Freeport’s copper outlook is a big plus for investors
Freeport’s revenue soared 60.9% from $14.20 billion in 2020 to $22.85 billion in 2021, reflecting the ramp-up in underground mining at Grasberg. In 2022, revenue fell 0.3% to $22.78 billion on lower prices for copper and gold. Revenue then rebounded slightly in 2023 to $22.86 billion. 2024 revenue jumped 11.4% to $25.46 billion, on higher prices for copper and gold.
The company’s earnings soared 487.0% from $790 million, or $0.54 a share, in 2020 to $4.64 billion, or $3.16 a share, in 2021, on improved revenue and cost controls. In 2022, earnings dropped 23.6% to $3.54 billion, or $2.46 a share, on higher operating costs. Earnings continued to slide in 2023, falling 37.3% to $2.22 billion, or $1.54 a share. In 2024, earnings fell again, down 3.4% to $2.15 billion, or $1.48 a share, on lower volumes.
In the three months ended September 30, 2025, Freeport’s revenue rose 2.7%, to $6.97 billion from $6.79 billion a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, Freeport earned $722 million, or $0.50 a share, in the latest quarter. That was up 29.9% from $556 million, or $0.38 a share, a year earlier.
Longer term, the outlook for copper looks positive given the possibility of supply shortages. Recovering economies should also push up demand as electric vehicle production rises and the number of datacentres needed to run artificial intelligence programs expands.
All of this bodes well for Freeport and its share price.
Recommendation in Pat’s Inner Circle: Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is a buy for aggressive investors.
