Freeport-McMoRan beats Q3 estimates as metal prices offset rising costs
Freeport-McMoRan reported third-quarter sales of $7.55 billion and adjusted profit of $0.88 a share, both ahead of Wall Street expectations, as stronger copper and gold prices cushioned a steep slide in gold shipments and climbing output costs.
Sales climbed 8.2% from $6.97 billion in the prior-year quarter, surpassing the roughly $7.4 billion analysts had penciled in by about 2%. Profit attributable to shareholders totaled $1.17 billion, equal to $0.81 a share, compared with $674 million, or $0.46 a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the miner earned $1.28 billion, or $0.88 per share, outpacing the $0.82 per share consensus.
Despite the headline strength, expenses climbed sharply. The company’s blended net cash cost per pound of copper hit $2.07, nearly 48% higher than the $1.40 recorded a year prior and above its own $2.00 target. Management pointed to reduced copper and gold volumes out of the Grasberg operation in Indonesia, steeper energy and supply costs, and postponed gold shipments that trimmed the credit normally gained from by-product sales.
Freeport also disclosed $244 million tied to idle-site expenses and restoration work stemming from the mudflow event at Grasberg in September 2025 – a cost kept separate from its standard per-unit cost reporting.
Gold production slipped to 234,000 ounces versus 287,000 ounces the year before, and shipments plunged nearly 69% to 105,000 ounces from 336,000 ounces, falling short of the previously guided 160,000-ounce target because refined gold deliveries from Indonesia were delayed. Even so, the average price realized per ounce jumped almost 21% to $4,273 from $3,539. The company noted roughly 60,000 ounces of postponed shipments would carry into the fourth quarter, pushing its full-year sales projection to 649,000 ounces.
Freeport maintained that its recovery plan at Grasberg remains on pace, aiming for 80% of operating capacity by the middle of 2027 and close to full output by year’s end. Chief Executive Kathleen Quirk said the firm continued to make steady headway on the Grasberg restart as well as on new leaching and technology efforts within its American operations.
Looking to the fourth quarter, the company projects net cash costs of $1.68 per pound, which would bring the full-year average to about $1.90, though it warned that energy and material costs could still be swayed by tensions in the Middle East.
Why it matters: As one of the largest global suppliers of copper and gold, Freeport’s Q3 earnings offer insight into metals demand and cost trends across the mining industry. Elevated realized prices for gold and copper are likely to support sentiment in XAU/USD and broader metals trading, while rising energy-driven production expenses could squeeze margins industry-wide if cost pressures persist.
Source: Kitco News