Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: Can I have your opinion on Freeport-McMoRan? Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: Freeport-McMoRan Inc., $12.09, symbol FCX on New York (Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $16.2 billion; www.fcx.com), is a leading producer of copper, gold and other metals from mines in the U.S., Indonesia, Africa and South America. In 2015, copper supplied 67% of Freeport’s revenue, followed by oil and gas, 11%; gold, 10%; molybdenum (which strengthens alloys and high-temperature steels while preventing rust), 5%; and other minerals, 7%. The U.S. accounted for 43% of total revenue, followed by Japan (8%), Indonesia (7%), Switzerland (6%), Spain (6%), China (5%), India (3%), Singapore (3%), Chile (3%), Turkey (2%), Egypt (2%) and South Korea (1%). Other countries supplied the remaining 11%. Freeport’s revenue fell 13.7%, from $20.9 billion in 2011 to $18.0 billion in 2012, on both lower shipments and lower prices for copper and molybdenum. In 2013, the company diversified into oil and natural gas by buying McMoRan Exploration and Plains Exploration & Production. Those acquisitions added drilling sites in Louisiana, Wyoming and California,…