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Freeport-Mcmoran

NYSE: FCX · USD

Freeport-Mcmoran (FCX) Economic Moat Analysis—

Avantages concurrentiels, preuves datées et risques d’érosion.

Analyse à actualiser

Incertain avantage concurrentiel

FCX owns substantial mineral reserves, mining rights and established infrastructure, but the passages do not demonstrate a durable company-wide cost advantage over competing producers. Leaching has delivered additional copper; larger efficiency benefits remain prospective. Pricing outcomes have improved with commodity benchmarks, while contractual pricing authority remains weak. Actual operating disruptions, recovery costs and conditional mining-right extensions constrain durability.

Intangible assets

Existing mineral rights and established mine infrastructure provide protected access to substantial deposits. These are current assets and potential barriers to replication, but their size and longevity alone do not establish durable economic superiority.

Durabilité
Morenci's long operating history and substantial reserves support continued productive capacity. Indonesia's longer-term rights remain conditional; the February 2026 MOU and subsequent application do not establish a completed extension.
Concurrents
Comparaison non établie
Risques d’érosion
Reserve depletion, water availability, operating disruption, environmental obligations and government conditions can reduce economically recoverable value. Some reported reserves depend on a potential El Abra project.
Ce qui invaliderait la thèse
The asset-based advantage would weaken if mining or water rights were curtailed, material reserves became uneconomic, or persistent recovery and development costs prevented competitive production. Definitive license issuance and sustained competitive operating results would strengthen the currently unproven moat case.
Preuves (5) · Contre-preuves (5)

Cost advantage

Leaching initiatives have produced incremental copper using FCX's existing asset base. This demonstrates an operating benefit, but a durable relative cost advantage is unestablished. The description of normalized Grasberg operations as among the world's lowest cost is an issuer assertion.

Durabilité
Continued recoveries could improve resource utilization, but larger production targets, additive deployment benefits and normalized Grasberg economics remain conditional.
Concurrents
Comparaison non établie
Risques d’érosion
Input inflation, lower utilization, changing by-product credits and excluded restoration expenses can offset process improvements. The passages provide no comparable producer cost curve or demonstrated protection against imitation.
Ce qui invaliderait la thèse
The cost-advantage thesis would fail if incremental recoveries did not persist, their full incremental costs eliminated the benefit, or normalized production failed to generate a sustained cost advantage over other producers.
Preuves (3) · Contre-preuves (4)

Évolution depuis la dernière analyse

  • The uncertain verdict is unchanged: existing assets and realized leaching production still do not establish durable relative economic superiority.
  • Replaced all prior evidence references with current catalog citations and retained null moat grades.
  • Reassessed realized pricing using first- and second-quarter disclosed outcomes. The October third-quarter price estimate is not treated as a finalized result.
  • Retained the prior pricing and management grades after re-examination. The supplied proxy supports actual incentive arrangements and payout reductions; no proposed vote is treated as an adopted compensation outcome.

Limites de l’analyse

  • The competition passages discuss other producers generically. Named joint-venture partners, suppliers, directors' employers and advisers are not established competitors; competitor arrays are therefore empty.
  • No comparable producer cost curve, sustained relative return evidence or quantified customer switching friction establishes a durable moat. Insufficient relative evidence is distinct from demonstrated competitive weakness.
  • Sources are issuer filings and issuer presentations. Operating results and contractual terms support numerical assessments, but management's low-cost and competitive-position assertions do not independently prove durable superiority.
  • Customer retention is assessed indirectly from contract duration and continuing sales, without same-customer renewal or retention rates.
  • Executive incentive arrangements are disclosed, but fragmented ownership passages do not support a reliable reconstruction of individual ownership or compliance with ownership guidelines.
  • All supplied source dates have dateKind filed. The October 2, 2026 update contains preliminary operational results and estimates; full recovery, expansion economics and license extensions remain prospective.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse

Ratios calculés à partir des publications annuelles. Une valeur manquante reste indisponible. Les graphiques détaillés sont accessibles dans les autres onglets.

Indicateurs financiers à confronter à la thèse
PériodeGross marginOperating marginROICFCF margin
202137.4%37.3%23.8%25.0%
202235.2%30.2%18.0%7.2%
202330.9%27.4%13.1%2.0%
202429.3%27.3%13.2%9.3%
202526.1%25.9%12.1%4.4%

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

Données vérifiées insuffisantes pour attribuer un score.

Management—

Données vérifiées insuffisantes pour attribuer un score.

Sources et méthode

Analyse à actualiser · Mis à jour 19/10/2026 · Version 8

Interprétation IA fondée sur des extraits vérifiés. Les déclarations de l’entreprise et les limites de couverture restent explicites.

Méthode quality-scores-2 : six catégories de même poids. Le score global exige une couverture complète. Les données manquantes ne valent pas zéro. Les évaluations qualitatives sont des interprétations sourcées, pas des probabilités. 3/6 · 23/10/2026

Moat—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Pouvoir de fixation des prix—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Prévisibilité86

Five consecutive annual periods. Equal weights: nondeclining revenue frequency; revenue-growth volatility (5–40pp); positive FCF frequency; FCF-margin volatility (3–20pp). Stability indicator, not a growth forecast.

Nondeclining revenue years (%)
75.00
Revenue growth volatility (pp)
5.02
Positive FCF years (%)
100.00
FCF margin volatility (pp)
8.08

Solidité financière71

Equal-weight grades: debt/FCF (1–8x), net debt/earnings before interest and tax (0–5x), interest service (1–12x), current ratio (0.75–2x). Earnings use reported operating income, or reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense when operating income is unavailable. Interest service uses earnings/interest expense; if unavailable, it uses reported operating cash flow/cash interest paid, without relabeling cash paid as accrued expense. Nonpositive cash flow/earnings score 0 for their service component; reported zero interest with a positive numerator scores 100. Net cash scores 100 for net leverage. Missing disclosures remain unavailable. General nonfinancial-company rubric, not a credit rating; exceptional and nonoperating gains are not normalized out. IFRS finance-cost and cash-flow classifications retain their reported scope.

debtFcfGrade
0.00
netDebtEbitGrade
82.95
interestCoverageGrade
100.00
currentRatioGrade
100.00
Debt / FCF (x)
8.40
Net debt / operating income (x)
0.85
Current ratio (x)
2.29
cashInterestPaid
256.00
cashInterestCoverage
21.91

Allocation du capital78

Three-year equal-weight indicators: pretax return on average invested capital (0–25%; equity + debt − cash, each year and its prior year), share-count growth (0–5%, lower better), share-based cost/revenue (2–20%, lower better), consolidated FCF/net income (0–1x). Return uses reported operating income or, if unavailable, EBIT calculated from reported pretax profit plus reported interest expense; exceptional/nonoperating gains are not normalized out. Share-based cost uses the reported cash-flow add-back or, if absent, separately reported recognized compensation expense; the latter never becomes an FCF adjustment. Nonpositive net income scores 0 for cash conversion; absent income/FCF stays unavailable. Nonpositive invested capital has no defined return and remains unavailable. Does not establish acquisition quality or buyback timing.

3-year pre-tax operating return (%)
20.15
3-year average dilution (%)
-0.09
3-year average SBC / revenue (%)
0.46
cashConversionGrade
31.89

Qualité du management—

Awaiting a sourced assessment under the current scoring policy and financial basis.

Preuves

42.5 0.6 2.6 South America 45.6 b 0.1 0.9 Indonesiac 24.2 20.0 — Consolidated basisd,e 112.3 20.6 3.5 Net equity interestf 78.6 10.4 3.1 a.Estimated consolidated recoverable copper reserves include 1.4 billion pounds in leach stockpiles and 0.2 billion pounds in mill stockpiles (refer to “Mill and Leach Stockpiles” for further discussion).

Mineral Reserves / December 31, 2025 reserve quantities · Dépôt 13/02/2026

In the U.S., most of the land occupied by our copper and molybdenum mines, concentrators, SX/EW facilities, smelter, refinery, rod mills, molybdenum roasters and processing facilities is owned by us or is located on unpatented mining claims owned by us.

Operations / U.S. land ownership and mining claims · Dépôt 13/02/2026

Morenci is an open-pit copper and molybdenum mining complex that has been in continuous operation since 1939 and previously was mined through underground workings.

Operations / Morenci operating history · Dépôt 13/02/2026

Long-Term Mining Rights. In February 2026, we and PTFI entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Indonesia government for a life of resource extension of operating rights in the Grasberg minerals district beyond the current expiration in 2041.

Indonesia / February 2026 mining-rights MOU · Dépôt 06/08/2026

In June 2026, PTFI submitted its application for extension of its IUPK, and FCX and PTFI are working with the Indonesia government to complete the formal license process.

Long-Term Mining Rights / June 2026 extension application · Dépôt 23/07/2026

b.Includes 17.5 billion pounds of recoverable copper associated with a potential mill project at El Abra (refer to “Operations – El Abra” for further discussion).

Mineral Reserves / potential El Abra mill project · Dépôt 13/02/2026

As a result, PTFI’s current long-term mine plan and planned operations are based on the assumption that PTFI will abide by the terms and conditions of the IUPK and will be granted the 10-year extension from 2031 through 2041 (refer to Note 11 for further discussion).

Mineral Reserves / conditional 2031–2041 extension · Dépôt 13/02/2026

If we are not able to satisfactorily resolve the issues being addressed in the adjudications, our water uses could be diminished or curtailed, and our operations and any future expansions at Morenci, Safford (including Lone Star) and Sierrita could be adversely affected unless we are able to acquire alternative water sources.

Risk Factors / potential Arizona water curtailment · Dépôt 13/02/2026

During third-quarter 2026, mill throughput averaged approximately 140,000 metric tons of ore per day (approximating 67% of normalized rates prior to the September 2025 incident), including approximately 70,000 metric tons of ore per day from the Grasberg Block Cave.

October 2, 2026 operational update / third-quarter Grasberg throughput · Dépôt 02/10/2026

In addition, if the market prices for the commodities we produce decline from assumed levels, if production costs increase or recovery rates decrease, or if applicable laws and regulations are adversely changed, there can be no assurance that the indicated level of recovery will be realized or that mineral reserves can be mined or processed profitably.

Risk Factors / economic recoverability of reserves · Dépôt 13/02/2026

Incremental copper production from these initiatives totaled 47 million pounds in second-quarter 2026 and 101 million pounds for the first six months of 2026.

Leaching and Technology Innovation Initiatives / realized incremental production · Dépôt 06/08/2026

We are targeting reaching an annual run rate of 300 million pounds of copper from these initiatives by the end of 2026, with potential for further significant increases in recoverable metal in future years.

Leaching and Technology Innovation Initiatives / year-end run-rate target · Dépôt 06/08/2026

At normal operating rates, PTFI’s underground operations produce approximately 1.7 billion pounds of copper and 1.3 million ounces of gold per year and are among the lowest cost operations in the world.

Indonesia / issuer description of normalized output and cost position · Dépôt 23/07/2026

52 Table of Contents U.S. Copper Mines Product Revenues, Production Costs and Unit Net Cash Costs Three Months Ended June 30, 2026 (In millions) By-Product Co-Product Method Method Copper Molybdenuma Otherb Total Revenues, excluding adjustments $ 1,946 $ 1,946 $ 268 $ 62 $ 2,276 Site production and delivery, before net noncash and other costs shown below 1,152 979 177 41 1,197 By-product credits (285) — — — — Treatment charges 47 44 — 3 47 Net cash costs 914 1,023 177 44 1,244 DD&A 135 121 12 2 135 Noncash and other costs, net 45 c 41 4 — 45 Total costs 1,094 1,185 193 46 1,424 Other revenue adjustments, primarily for pricing on prior period open sales 6 6 — — 6 Gross profit $ 858 $ 767 $ 75 $ 16 $ 858 Copper sales (millions of recoverable pounds) 311 311 Molybdenum sales (millions of recoverable pounds)a 10 Gross profit per pound of copper/molybdenum: Revenues, excluding adjustments $ 6.25 $ 6.25 $ 28.18 Site production and delivery, before net noncash and other costs shown below 3.71 3.15 18.60 By-product credits (0.92) — — Treatment charges 0.15 0.14 — Unit net cash costs 2.94 3.29 18.60 DD&A 0.43 0.39 1.26 Noncash and other costs, net 0.15 c 0.13 0.47 Total unit costs 3.52 3.81 20.33 Other revenue adjustments, primarily for pricing on prior period open sales 0.03 0.03 — Gross profit per pound $ 2.76 $ 2.47 $ 7.85 Reconciliation to Amounts Reported Revenues Production and Delivery DD&A Totals presented above $ 2,276 $ 1,197 $ 135 Treatment charges — 47 — Noncash and other costs, net — 45 — Other revenue adjustments, primarily for pricing on prior period open sales 6 — — Eliminations and other (1) 3 — U.S.

Product Revenues and Production Costs / U.S. second-quarter 2026 · Dépôt 06/08/2026

53 Table of Contents U.S. Copper Mines Product Revenues, Production Costs and Unit Net Cash Costs Three Months Ended June 30, 2025 (In millions) By-Product Co-Product Method Method Copper Molybdenuma Otherb Total Revenues, excluding adjustments $ 1,485 $ 1,485 $ 171 $ 51 $ 1,707 Site production and delivery, before net noncash and other costs shown below 1,063 942 131 40 1,113 By-product credits (171) — — — — Treatment charges 47 45 — 2 47 Net cash costs 939 987 131 42 1,160 DD&A 118 105 10 3 118 Noncash and other costs, net 50 c 46 4 — 50 Total costs 1,107 1,138 145 45 1,328 Other revenue adjustments, primarily for pricing on prior period open sales 2 2 — (1) 1 Gross profit $ 380 $ 349 $ 26 $ 5 $ 380 Copper sales (millions of recoverable pounds) 309 309 Molybdenum sales (millions of recoverable pounds)a 9 Gross profit per pound of copper/molybdenum: Revenues, excluding adjustments $ 4.81 $ 4.81 $ 19.87 Site production and delivery, before net noncash and other costs shown below 3.44 3.05 15.24 By-product credits (0.55) — — Treatment charges 0.15 0.15 — Unit net cash costs 3.04 3.20 15.24 DD&A 0.38 0.34 1.16 Noncash and other costs, net 0.16 c 0.15 0.45 Total unit costs 3.58 3.69 16.85 Other revenue adjustments, primarily for pricing on prior period open sales 0.01 0.01 — Gross profit per pound $ 1.24 $ 1.13 $ 3.02 Reconciliation to Amounts Reported Revenues Production and Delivery DD&A Totals presented above $ 1,707 $ 1,113 $ 118 Treatment charges (3) 44 — Noncash and other costs, net — 50 — Other revenue adjustments, primarily for pricing on prior period open sales 1 — — Eliminations and other 9 7 — U.S.

Product Revenues and Production Costs / U.S. second-quarter 2025 · Dépôt 06/08/2026

Diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding 1,443 1,443 Idle facility and restoration costs totaled $284 million in second-quarter 2026 and $690 million for the first half of 2026, which were excluded from consolidated net cash costs.

Results / actual idle facility and restoration costs excluded from net cash costs · Dépôt 23/07/2026

FCX’s average realized copper price was $6.17 per pound in second-quarter 2026, reflecting copper sales from South America and Indonesia operations that are generally based on quoted LME monthly average settlement copper prices, which averaged $6.05 per pound in second-quarter 2026, and copper sales from U.S.

Derivative Instruments / second-quarter realized copper price and LME benchmark · Dépôt 23/07/2026

FCX’s average realized copper price was $5.78 per pound in first-quarter 2026, reflecting copper sales from South America and Indonesia operations, which are generally based on quoted LME monthly average settlement copper prices, which averaged $5.83 per pound in first-quarter 2026, and copper sales from U.S.

Derivative Instruments / first-quarter realized copper price and LME benchmark · Dépôt 23/04/2026

Cathode and rod contract prices are generally based on the COMEX monthly average settlement prices for the month of shipment and include a premium.

Sales Contracts / COMEX-linked cathode and rod prices with premiums · Dépôt 13/02/2026

dollar-denominated, annual and multi-year contracts.

South America Sales / annual and multi-year contract duration · Dépôt 13/02/2026

Substantially all of our South America copper concentrate and cathode sales contracts provide final copper pricing in a specified future month (generally one to four months from the shipment date) primarily based on quoted LME monthly average settlement copper prices.

South America Sales / benchmark-linked final contract pricing · Dépôt 13/02/2026

FCX hedges this price exposure in a manner that allows it to receive the COMEX average price in the month of shipment while the customers pay the fixed price they requested.

Financial Instruments / hedging preserves COMEX receipts · Dépôt 06/08/2026

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended June 30, June 30, 2026 2025 2026 2025 (In Millions, Except Per Share Amounts) Revenues $ 7,029 $ 7,582 $ 13,263 $ 13,310 Cost of sales: Production and delivery 4,320 4,282 8,385 8,038 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 523 668 1,037 1,134 Total cost of sales 4,843 4,950 9,422 9,172 Selling, general and administrative expenses 135 127 297 281 Exploration and research expenses 53 46 91 85 Environmental obligations and shutdown costs 13 27 30 37 Gain on PTFI mud rush incident insurance settlement — — (699) — Gain on sale of assets (18) — (18) — Total costs and expenses 5,026 5,150 9,123 9,575 Operating income 2,003 2,432 4,140 3,735 Interest expense, net (95) (82) (209) (152) Other income, net 22 41 33 99 Income before income taxes and equity in affiliated companies’ net earnings 1,930 2,391 3,964 3,682 Provision for income taxes (544) (850) (1,197) (1,350) Equity in affiliated companies’ net earnings 5 6 11 8 Net income 1,391 1,547 2,778 2,340 Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests (407) (775) (913) (1,216) Net income attributable to common stockholders $ 984 $ 772 $ 1,865 $ 1,124 Net income per share attributable to common stockholders: Basic $ 0.68 $ 0.53 $ 1.29 $ 0.78 Diluted $ 0.68 $ 0.53 $ 1.29 $ 0.77 Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding: Basic 1,438 1,437 1,439 1,438 Diluted 1,443 1,443 1,444 1,444 Dividends declared per share of common stock $ 0.15 $ 0.15 $ 0.30 $ 0.30 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated Statements of Income / second-quarter and first-half results · Dépôt 06/08/2026

Operating Activities For the first six months of 2026, we generated operating cash flows of $3.5 billion, net of $0.5 billion for working capital and other uses, and including $0.7 billion in pre-tax proceeds collected by PTFI for an insurance settlement associated with the September 2025 external mud rush incident.

Capital Resources / first-half operating cash flow including insurance · Dépôt 06/08/2026

Capital expenditures, including capitalized interest, totaled $2.1 billion for the first six months of 2026 and $2.4 billion for the first six months of 2025, and include amounts for major projects ($1.3 billion for the first six months of 2026 and $1.2 billion for the first six months of 2025), primarily associated with underground development activities and supporting mill and power capital costs in the Grasberg minerals district.

Investing Activities / actual first-half capital expenditures · Dépôt 06/08/2026

copper mines (496) (528) South America operations (285) (177) Indonesia operations (972) (1,444) Molybdenum mines (49) (46) Other (275) (238) Acquisition of additional ownership interest in Cerro Verde (107) — Other, net 7 1 Net cash used in investing activities (2,177) (2,432) Cash flow from financing activities: Proceeds from debt 2,077 1,630 Repayments of debt (2,072) (1,338) Finance lease payments (24) (15) Cash dividends and distributions paid: Common stock (434) (433) Noncontrolling interests (359) (625) Treasury stock purchases (203) (107) Proceeds from exercised stock options 22 2 Payments for withholding of employee taxes related to stock-based awards (44) (22) Debt issuance costs (11) — Net cash used in financing activities (1,048) (908) Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents 318 (87) Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year 4,173 4,911 Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash and cash equivalents at end of period $ 4,491 $ 4,824 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows / debt, distributions and repurchases · Dépôt 06/08/2026

At June 30, 2026, our net debt totaled $2.1 billion, which excludes $3.2 billion of debt for PTFI’s downstream processing facilities.

Financial Policy / project debt excluded from stated net debt · Dépôt 06/08/2026

At June 30, 2026, PTFI had incurred approximately $1.4 billion for Kucing Liar development, and capital investments are estimated to approximate an additional $4 billion through 2033 (averaging approximately $0.5 billion per year).

Kucing Liar / incurred development spending and remaining investment estimate · Dépôt 06/08/2026

Under our executive compensation program, the primary elements of the performance-based pay are: (1) AIP awards, which use three categories of pre-established performance metrics: (a) financial, (b) operational and (c) sustainability, and (2) LTIP awards, which focus on the company’s achievements with respect to ROI, a key financial metric, as well as relative TSR.

Executive Compensation / actual annual and long-term incentive structure · Dépôt 23/04/2026

The committee exercised discretion to reduce the payout to 66.7% of target for our CEO and our chairman, and 90% of target for our other NEOs in light of the work-related fatalities during 2025 and the challenges resulting from the Grasberg mud rush incident, as discussed on page 42.

2025 Compensation Results / discretionary payout reductions · Dépôt 23/04/2026

FINANCIAL § Consolidated adjusted EBITDA OPERATIONAL § Copper sales § Gold sales § Consolidated unit net cash costs § Manyar smelter concentrate feed SUSTAINABILITY § Safety – TRIR (15%) § Sustainability scorecard (10%) § Annual cash awards capped at a multiple of base salary (target awards vary by NEO ranging from 100% to 150% of base salary; maximum for all - 175% of target) LTIP PSUs § Payable in shares of stock after a three-year performance period, all of which are at-risk based on performance measured by a combination of ROI and TSR relative to our performance peers § PSU payout range is 0% to 225% of target depending on achievement against the performance goals § Represent the largest target component of our LTIP awards for our CEO and our Chairman (each 75%) and CFO (60%), and half for our other NEOs (50%) 2023 - 2025 PSUs paid out at 125% of target, as discussed on page 46.

2025 Compensation Results / performance metrics and realized PSU payout · Dépôt 23/04/2026

The board also has determined that each of the members of the audit and compensation committees satisfies the heightened independence and qualification requirements applicable to members of such committees as set forth in the applicable NYSE listing standards and SEC rules.

Board Independence / audit and compensation committee qualifications · Dépôt 23/04/2026

These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for stockholders to elect directors other than the candidates nominated by the Board.

Risk Factors / anti-takeover provisions and director elections · Dépôt 13/02/2026

While we performed better than our target on reportable safety incidents and reduced the number of high-risk incidents, our safety performance was overshadowed by the fatalities following the Grasberg mud rush incident and two additional fatalities in 2025.

2025 Safety Review / achieved incident improvements and actual fatalities · Dépôt 23/04/2026

PTFI’s smelter in Eastern Java, which was temporarily suspended following the September 2025 Grasberg incident, successfully re-commenced operations in late August 2026.

October 2, 2026 operational update / actual August smelter restart · Dépôt 02/10/2026

FCX continues to expect to reach 80% of capacity in mid-2027 and approach full capacity by year-end 2027.

October 2, 2026 operational update / prospective capacity recovery milestones · Dépôt 02/10/2026

We believe our competitive position is based on the size, quality and grade of our ore bodies and our ability to manage costs compared with other producers.

Competition / management's explanation of competitive position · Dépôt 13/02/2026

Historique des publications

Historique des publications
VersionMis à jourAvantage concurrentiel
823/10/2026uncertain
722/10/2026uncertain
619/10/2026uncertain
519/10/2026uncertain
418/10/2026uncertain
318/10/2026uncertain
218/10/2026uncertain
118/10/2026Indisponible

Sources

Méthode et limites de l’analyse · Comprendre ce concept