Is Freeport-McMoRan Stock Underperforming the S&P 500?
With a market cap of $64.5 billion, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) is a prominent global mining company. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, it is one of the world’s largest producers of copper, gold, and molybdenum. Its key assets include the massive Grasberg mine in Indonesia, large operations in North and South America.
Companies worth more than $10 billion are generally labeled as “large-cap” stocks and Freeport-McMoRan fits this criterion perfectly. The company is focusing on sustainability, digital innovation, and expansion projects such as its $3.7 billion Gresik copper smelter in Indonesia and planned $7.5 billion El Abra expansion in Chile. Additionally, Freeport is well-positioned to benefit from rising long-term copper demand driven by electrification, renewable energy, and AI infrastructure growth.
Shares of the mining titan have fallen 12.2% from its 52-week high of $52.61. FCX stock has increased 14.8% over the past three months, underperforming the S&P 500 Index ($SPX), which has returned 8% over the same time frame.
In the longer term, the mining company stock is up 21.4% on a YTD basis, surpassing $SPX’s 9.6% rise. However, shares of Freeport-McMoRan have climbed 11.7% over the past 52 weeks, underperforming the $SPX’s 16.6% rise over the same time frame.
Despite fluctuations, the stock has been trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages for the last month.
On July 23, Freeport-McMoRan released its second-quarter earnings and its shares dipped 2.1%. Its revenue climbed 14.5% year-over-year to $7.58 billion, and adjusted EPS stood at $0.54, both topping expectations. The quarter also marked the start-up of its new Indonesian smelter, strengthening processing capacity. However, management trimmed full-year sales guidance and flagged potential cost headwinds from proposed U.S. copper tariffs.
In contrast, rival Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) has lagged behind Freeport-McMoRan, rising 4.9% over the past year and 10.8% in 2025.
Given its robust price momentum this year, it has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from 18 analysts' coverage, and its mean price target of $51.68 represents a premium of 11.8% from the current market prices.
On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah 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.