Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX), headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, is a leading international metals company to be foremost in copper. With a market cap of $58.1 billion, the company mines mineral properties exploring copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals.
Companies worth $10 billion or more are generally described as “large-cap stocks,” and FCX effortlessly fits that description, with its market cap exceeding this mark, underscoring its size, influence, and dominance within the copper industry. FCX’s strengths are its large-scale, geographically diverse assets with significant proven and probable mineral reserves. Its global footprint not only provides the company with operational resilience against regional disruptions but also ensures a steady supply of key minerals to meet global demand.
Despite its notable strengths, FCX slipped 26.8% from its 52-week high of $55.24, achieved on May 20. Over the past three months, FCX stock has declined 19.2%, underperforming the Nasdaq Composite’s ($NASX) marginal dip during the same time frame.
In the longer term, shares of FCX fell 5.1% on a YTD basis but climbed 2.9% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming NASX’s YTD gains of 13.4% and solid 23.7% returns over the last year.
To confirm the bearish trend, FCX has traded below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages since early August, with slight fluctuations recently.
FCX's weak price action has been shaped by the industry's broader challenges in developing new mines, including community protests and regulatory hurdles. Recent setbacks stemmed from shipping delays in Indonesia, tied to the renewal of PT-FI's copper concentrate export license.
On Jul. 23, FCX shares closed down more than 1% after reporting its Q2 results. Its adjusted EPS of $0.46 topped Wall Street expectations of $0.39. The company’s revenue was $6.6 billion, exceeding Wall Street forecasts of $6 billion.
In the competitive arena of copper, Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) has taken the lead over FCX, showing resilience with a 9.6% uptick on a YTD basis and a solid 19.9% gain over the past 52 weeks.
Wall Street analysts are moderately bullish on FCX’s prospects. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from the 16 analysts covering it, and the mean price target of $55.31 suggests a potential upside of 36.9% from current price levels.
On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
