FREEPORT-McMoRan INC has recently released its latest Form 10-Q. The company mines mineral properties across North America, South America and Indonesia, with a focus on copper, gold, molybdenum, silver and other metals. Its main assets include the Grasberg district in Indonesia, several large copper mines in Arizona and New Mexico, and operations at Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile.
In Item 2, Management’s Discussion and Analysis, Freeport said first-quarter 2026 net income attributable to common stockholders rose to $881 million from $352 million a year earlier. The increase was driven mainly by higher realized copper and gold prices and a gain tied to the insurance settlement related to the September 2025 mud rush incident at Grasberg, partly offset by lower copper sales volumes from PT Freeport Indonesia.
At March 31, 2026, the company reported $9.4 billion of consolidated debt and $3.7 billion of cash and cash equivalents, leaving net debt at $2.4 billion before $3.2 billion of debt tied to PTFI’s smelter and precious metals refinery. Freeport also had $3.0 billion of availability under its revolving credit facility, while PTFI and Cerro Verde had $1.5 billion and $350 million, respectively, available under their own facilities.
For 2026, Freeport projected consolidated copper sales of 3.078 billion recoverable pounds, gold sales of 650,000 recoverable ounces and molybdenum sales of 90 million recoverable pounds. Second-quarter 2026 sales were expected to approximate 690 million pounds of copper, 140,000 ounces of gold and 22 million pounds of molybdenum.
The company lowered its 2026 sales outlook from prior estimates of 3.4 billion pounds of copper and 800,000 ounces of gold, citing a delay in reaching full ramp-up at the Grasberg Block Cave underground mine while ore-loading systems are modified. It said 2026 copper and gold production should exceed sales by about 100 million pounds of copper and 50,000 ounces of gold because of inventory held at PTFI’s smelting operations.
Freeport said consolidated unit net cash costs for its copper mines are expected to average $1.95 per pound in 2026, or $2.24 per pound in the second quarter, assuming average gold prices of $4,500 per ounce and molybdenum prices of $25.00 per pound for the rest of the year. It estimated idle facility and restoration costs tied to the Grasberg incident at $1.3 billion for 2026, including $300 million in the second quarter.
Operating cash flows were projected at about $8.7 billion for 2026, including $200 million from working capital and other sources, based on assumed average copper prices of $6.00 per pound, gold at $4,500 per ounce and molybdenum at $25.00 per pound. Freeport also projected a 2026 income tax provision of $2.6 billion.
Capital spending for 2026 was set at $4.3 billion, including $3.0 billion for major projects and $1.3 billion for sustaining capital and other spending. Of the major projects budget, $1.4 billion was tied mainly to underground mine development and supporting mill and power capital in the Grasberg district, and $1.6 billion was earmarked for discretionary growth projects, mainly Kucing Liar and tailings infrastructure at Bagdad. The market has reacted to these announcements by moving the company's shares 1.72% to a price of $61.65. If you want to know more, read the company's complete 10-Q report here.
