Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) profit jumps 74.2% even as copper sales volume falls

What happened

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE: FCX) reported third-quarter 2026 net income of $0.81 per share, up from $0.46 a year earlier, while copper sales fell.

Net income attributable to common stock was $1.17 billion, against $674 million in third-quarter 2025. Adjusted net income was $1.3 billion, or $0.88 per share. That figure leaves out $101 million of after-tax net charges, mainly idle facility and restoration costs from the September 2025 external mud rush incident at PT Freeport Indonesia (PTFI).

Revenue rose to $7.55 billion from $6.97 billion. Operating income rose to $2.35 billion from $1.97 billion. A $52 million favorable adjustment to prior-period provisionally priced copper sales added $17 million to net income, or $0.01 per share.

Key numbers

Metric	Latest	Change	Source
Diluted net income per share, Q3	$0.81	from $0.46, +76.1%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Average realized copper price per pound, Q3	$6.54	from $4.68, +39.7%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Copper sales, Q3	749 million pounds	from 977 million pounds, -23.3%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Operating cash flows, Q3	$1.98 billion	from $1.69 billion, +17.3%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Unit net cash costs per pound of copper, Q3	$2.07	from $1.40, +47.9%	Calculated from SEC 8-K
Shares bought under $5.0 billion program through Oct. 26	$2.3 billion		SEC 8-K

Read more: Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) company research

Higher prices offset a steep volume drop

Price did the work. Freeport-McMoRan's average realized copper price was $6.54 per pound, which OptimistFi calculates as 39.7% above the $4.68 of third-quarter 2025. Copper sales volume fell 23.3%, to 749 million pounds from 977 million.

The volume drop traces to Indonesia. The filing blames lower operating rates during the ramp-up of the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine, and shipment timing. PTFI sold 153 million pounds of copper, against 360 million a year earlier.

Gold sales were 105 thousand ounces against 336 thousand a year earlier. The company had estimated 160 thousand ounces in July. The filing cites timing of refined gold sales in Indonesia, with about 60 thousand ounces moving into the fourth quarter. The realized gold price was $4,273 per ounce, up from $3,539.

Costs rose too. Unit net cash costs averaged $2.07 per pound of copper, up from $1.40. The filing ties this to lower copper and gold volumes at PTFI and higher production costs, including energy. The figure was 4% above the July estimate of $2.00, because the gold deferral cut by-product credits.

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Why it matters

OptimistFi has argued that Freeport-McMoRan's value comes from turning large, low-cost copper output into cash that funds growth and shareholder returns. The quarter strengthens that view because cash generation rose while volumes fell.

Operating cash flow was $1.98 billion, up 17.3% from $1.69 billion a year earlier, after $0.4 billion of working capital and other uses. For nine months it rose 11.8% to $5.52 billion from $4.94 billion. Working capital and other uses were $0.8 billion, against $0.5 billion.

The biggest caveat is that PTFI is still ramping up. Idle facility, direct recovery and restoration costs were $244 million in the quarter and $934 million for nine months. The company leaves them out of unit net cash costs. Mill throughput averaged 141 thousand metric tons of ore per day, 67% of capacity.

Prices matter too. The $8.5 billion operating cash flow guidance for 2026 assumes $6.50 per pound for copper in the fourth quarter. Each $0.10 per pound change moves the year's operating cash flow by about $75 million. In the U.S., extreme weather left operating rates about 3% to 5% below expectations.

Buybacks, debt and spending

Through Oct. 26, Freeport-McMoRan had bought 56.8 million shares for $2.3 billion, an average of $40.58 per share, under a repurchase program of up to $5.0 billion. About 1.4 billion shares were outstanding. Recent purchases cost far more per share. In the third quarter the company bought 1.4 million shares for $102 million, an average of $70.75.

At Sept. 30, consolidated debt was $9.4 billion and cash was $4.3 billion. Net debt was $1.8 billion, excluding $3.2 billion of debt for PTFI's downstream processing facilities.

Liquidity includes revolving credit at the company, plus $1.5 billion at PTFI and $350 million at Cerro Verde. In September, PTFI amended and restated its $1.75 billion senior unsecured revolver, pushing maturity from November 2028 to September 2031.

Capital spending was $1.2 billion in the quarter, including $0.7 billion for major mining projects. The 2026 forecast is about $4.4 billion, including $3.0 billion for major mining projects.

What's next

Freeport-McMoRan expects to decide in the fourth quarter whether to expand the Bagdad concentrator in Arizona. Current estimates, still under review, put added capital costs at about $4.5 billion for 200 to 250 million pounds of added annual copper. The project would take three to four years.

The filing says project economics are supported at an incentive copper price of $4.00 per pound. It adds that the decision will weigh copper market conditions.

Fourth-quarter guidance sets the near-term test: sales of 875 million pounds of copper and 300 thousand ounces of gold, with unit net cash costs of $1.68 per pound. PTFI is also seeking clarity from the Indonesian government. Current regulations specify a 10% export duty on refined gold, but its special mining license does not require such duties.

Fourth-quarter 2026 results would strengthen the case if sales reach those targets and the year's operating cash flow lands near $8.5 billion. They would weaken it if gold sales slip again. PTFI still expects 80% of capacity in mid-2027 and near full capacity by year-end 2027.

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