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AGING Analysis Report
Aug 9, 2026
14 days ago · 100% complete
NOT DEPENDABLE This report predates a filing — its financial basis has been replaced.
Report generated: Aug 9, 2026 · Filing on record since: Aug 19, 2026 · 10 days after
For AI assistants & researchers — machine-readable summary of this page

What this page is: Delvantic's full research page for Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) — AI-driven forensic equity research: mechanical valuation models (DCF, EPV, anchored-PE, scenario) plus three independent AI lenses (Quality / Value / Sentiment). Everything below is rendered server-side; you are not missing content that requires JavaScript. All scores are predictions and research opinions, not financial advice.

Our current read (analysis of 2026-08-23): Designation Low · Gem Score -42 (−100…+100 Quality+Value blend) · Quality 2 · Value -78 · Sentiment 53 (timing only, not weighted) · Composite fair value $21.86 vs $69.62 at analysis

Page map (sections in order; each card carries a stable reference-name attribute you can cite):

  • profile-header / price-overview — company profile, live quote, market cap
  • extended-analysisthe core: three AI lens reads with findings, scores, and the analyst memo
  • future-predictions — our forward price-band predictions
  • market-narrative / ai-findings / gpt-critique — narrative context, cross-model findings, and an adversarial critique of our own analysis (near the end of the document)
  • Members-only sections (render as login gates for anonymous readers): price-history, income-trend, key-metrics, financials (statement tables), insider-trading. The analysis above is public; the raw data tables require a free account.

More for machine readers: site briefing at /llms.txt · any ticker resolves at delvantic.com/stock/TICKER · raw inputs are public-company filings and market data (via licensed data feeds); every model, score, lens read, and prediction on this page is Delvantic's own analysis.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

FCX NYSE
Basic Materials · Copper
Phoenix, AZ 85040-8852, United States fcx.com Updated Aug 9, 12:23am
Price
$69.62
Market Cap
$97.5B
Employees
29,000
Beta
1.38
Avg Volume
15,033,487
Last Dividend
$0.60
CEO
Ms. Kathleen Lynne Quirk

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. is a leading international metals company focused on the mining, processing, and sale of copper, gold, and molybdenum. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. operates large-scale assets across the United States, Indonesia, Peru, and Chile, with major interests in copper mines and mineral districts that supply essential materials for electrical infrastructure, industrial manufacturing, construction, and energy-related applications. The company also produces copper concentrate, cathodes, and copper rod, serving smelters, refiners, and industrial customers through integrated operations that span extraction and downstream processing. Its business is centered on copper, making it a significant participant in global base-metals markets and an important supplier to sectors that depend on reliable metal inputs. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. remains a diversified mining company with a strong operational footprint in some of the world’s most important copper-producing regions.

Runs with full report Generated: Aug 9, 2026 12:31am
Price Overview
Price at report time
$69.62
as of Aug 9, 12:40am (14d ago)
Change · Aug 9
+1.44 (+2.11%)
Day Range
$68.64 – $70.54
52-Week Range
$35.15 – $72.28
50-Day MA
$64.09
200-Day MA
$57.75
Volume
11,287,100.00
Right now · live
Log in to get the live feed
Members see the real-time price and the move since this report (over 14d).
Share Structure
Outstanding 1,400,000,000.00
Float 1,426,396,206.00
Free Float 101.9%
High free float — 101.9% of shares trade freely, ~-1.9% held by insiders/institutions
Very liquid — most shares trade freely. Low insider ownership can mean less management alignment, but makes large position sizing straightforward.
Price History (1 Year)
Last updated: Aug 9, 2026 12:40am (14d ago)
Revenue & Net Income Trend
The directional story — useful even when net income is negative.
Last updated: Aug 7, 2026 4:48am (16d ago)
Revenue
The top line — total sales before any costs or taxes are subtracted. A measure of how much business the company is doing.
Net Income
The bottom line — profit left after subtracting all expenses, interest, and taxes from revenue. Reflects accounting profitability, but includes non-cash items like depreciation, so it isn't the same as cash earned.
Operating Cash Flow
The real cash generated by the day-to-day business — selling products, paying suppliers, collecting from customers. Calculated from net income by adding back non-cash items and adjusting for timing (unpaid bills, unsold inventory). When OCF consistently lags net income, the reported profit may not be converting to real money.
Period Revenue Net Income Net Margin YoY/QoQ
Key Metrics
TD Twelve Data statement HEX SEC filing
Industry comparison last run: Aug 9, 2026 12:29am
P/E Ratio (Price per dollar of earnings)
HEX
Stock Price / EPS (Diluted)
24.20
Stock Price: $69.62
EPS (Diluted): 2.88
P/B Ratio (Price vs net asset value)
HEX
Stock Price / Book Value Per Share
3.27
Stock Price: $69.62
Total Equity: $30.77B
Shares: 1,443,000,000
EV/EBITDA (Total value vs operating profit)
HEX
Enterprise Value / EBITDA
12.06
Market Cap: $97.47B
Total Debt: $9.38B
Cash: $3.82B
EBITDA: $8.76B
Enterprise Value (Takeover price (cap + debt - cash))
HEX
Market Cap + Total Debt - Cash
$105.7B
Market Cap: $97.47B
Total Debt: $9.38B
Cash: $3.82B
Gross Margin (Revenue left after direct costs)
HEX
Gross Profit / Revenue
28.2%
Gross Profit: $7.30B
Revenue: $25.92B
Operating Margin (Revenue left after all operations)
HEX
Operating Income / Revenue
25.2%
Operating Income: $6.52B
Revenue: $25.92B
Net Margin (Revenue left as actual profit)
HEX
Net Income / Revenue
16.0%
Net Income: $4.15B
Revenue: $25.92B
ROE (Profit from shareholder equity)
HEX
Net Income / Total Equity
13.5%
Net Income: $4.15B
Total Equity: $30.77B
ROIC (Profit from all invested capital)
HEX
NOPAT / Invested Capital
11.7%
Operating Income: $6.52B
Tax Rate: 34.9%
Equity: $30.77B
Total Debt: $9.38B
Cash: $3.82B
Current Ratio (Can it pay short-term bills)
HEX
Current Assets / Current Liabilities
2.29
Current Assets: $13.79B
Current Liabilities: $6.02B
Debt/Equity (Leverage — debt vs equity)
HEX
Total Debt / Total Equity
0.30
Short-Term Debt: $466.00M
Long-Term Debt: $8.91B
Total Debt: $9.38B
Total Equity: $30.77B
Rev/Share (Top-line per share)
HEX
Revenue / Shares Outstanding
$17.96
Revenue: $25.92B
Shares: 1,443,000,000
Book Value/Share (Net assets per share)
HEX
(Total Assets - Total Liabilities) / Shares
$21.32
Total Equity: $30.77B
Shares: 1,443,000,000
FCF/Share (Real cash generated per share)
HEX
(Operating Cash Flow + CapEx) / Shares
$0.77
Operating CF: $5.61B
CapEx: -$4.49B
Shares: 1,443,000,000
CapEx is negative (outflow) — added to OCF to get FCF
Div Yield (Annual income from holding)
TD
Last Annual Dividend / Stock Price
0.9%
Last Dividend: $0.60
Stock Price: $69.62
Payout Ratio (Earnings paid out as dividends)
HEX
Dividends Paid / Net Income
Dividends Paid: N/A
Net Income: $4.15B
Dividends paid not available in cash flow statement
Industry Benchmarks
Last run: Aug 9, 2026 12:29am
Compares FCX against LLM-researched typical ranges for its industry. One research call per industry, cached indefinitely — every stock in the same industry reuses the same baseline.
Income Statement (Annual)
Last updated: Aug 7, 2026 4:48am (16d ago)
Metric 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Revenue $22.8B $22.8B $22.9B $25.5B $25.9B
Cost of Revenue $14.0B $15.1B $15.7B $17.8B $18.6B
Gross Profit $8.8B $7.7B $7.2B $7.7B $7.3B
Operating Expenses $449.0M $654.0M $935.0M $796.0M $779.0M
Operating Income $8.4B $7.0B $6.2B $6.9B $6.5B
Net Income $5.4B $4.5B $3.8B $4.4B $4.2B
EBITDA $10.4B $9.1B $8.3B $9.1B $8.8B
EPS $2.93 $3.11 $2.62 $3.06 $2.89
EPS (Diluted) $2.90 $3.09 $2.60 $3.04 $2.88
Balance Sheet (Annual)
Last updated: Aug 6, 2026 7:36am (17d ago)
Metric 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Cash & Equivalents $8.1B $8.1B $4.8B $3.9B $3.8B
Total Current Assets $14.8B $15.6B $14.1B $13.3B $13.8B
Total Assets $48.0B $51.1B $52.5B $54.8B $58.2B
Current Liabilities $5.9B $6.3B $5.8B $5.5B $6.0B
Long-Term Debt $9.1B $9.6B $8.7B $8.9B $8.9B
Total Liabilities $25.0B $26.2B $25.2B $26.1B $27.4B
Total Equity $23.0B $24.9B $27.3B $28.8B $30.8B
Retained Earnings -$7.4B -$3.9B -$2.1B -$170.0M $1.4B
Cash Flow (Annual)
Last updated: Aug 7, 2026 4:48am (16d ago)
Metric 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Operating Cash Flow $7.7B $5.1B $5.3B $7.2B $5.6B
Capital Expenditure -$2.1B -$3.5B -$4.8B -$4.8B -$4.5B
Free Cash Flow $5.6B $1.7B $455.0M $2.4B $1.1B
Acquisitions (net)
Net Debt Issued / (Repaid) -$260.0M $1.2B -$1.2B -$480.0M $418.0M
Dividends Paid -$1.0B
Stock Buybacks -$488.0M -$1.3B $0 -$59.0M -$107.0M
Net Change in Cash $4.4B $76.0M -$2.3B -$1.2B -$738.0M
Growth Trends (YoY %)
Last updated: Aug 7, 2026 4:48am (16d ago)
Metric 2022 2023 2024 2025
Revenue Growth -0.3% +0.3% +11.4% +1.8%
Gross Profit Growth -12.8% -6.9% +7.0% -4.7%
Operating Income Growth -15.9% -11.5% +10.3% -5.0%
Net Income Growth -16.5% -16.3% +17.3% -5.6%
EBITDA Growth -12.6% -8.4% +9.8% -3.8%
Dividend History (Last 20)
Last updated: Aug 6, 2026 7:36am (17d ago)
Date Dividend Declaration Record Payment
2026-07-15 $0.15
2026-04-15 $0.15
2026-01-15 $0.15
2025-10-15 $0.15
2025-07-15 $0.15
2025-04-15 $0.08
2025-01-15 $0.08
2024-10-15 $0.08
2024-07-15 $0.08
2024-04-12 $0.08
2024-01-11 $0.08
2023-10-12 $0.08
2023-07-13 $0.08
2023-04-13 $0.08
2023-01-12 $0.08
2022-10-13 $0.08
2022-07-14 $0.08
2022-04-13 $0.08
2022-01-13 $0.08
2021-10-14 $0.08
0Company Classification 1Industry Landscape 2Company Momentum 3Forward Projection 4aDCF Valuation 4bEarnings Power Value 4cAnchored PE 4dReverse DCF 4eRevenue-Based DCF 4fAnchored P/S 4gScenario Analysis 4hDividend Discount Model 4iBook Value Analysis 4jInsider Activity 4fCash Flow Quality 4gDebt Maturity Risk 4hMacro Environment 4iSector Intelligence 4jRevenue Confidence 4kSensitivity Analysis 4lSector Demand Cycle 5AI Investigation 5bThesis Evaluation 6Valuation Synthesis
computed not applicable 18 computed · 6 not applicable
Risk : Reward — if the last quarter repeats
Live · as of 2026-08-19 08:51
-0.7 : 1 recovery upside vs repeat-quarter downside
Even the bull case prices 56% below today — the ratio here measures the model-vs-market gap, not payoff odds. Another quarter like the worst recent one costs 80%.
CaseGrowthMarginFair valuevs price ($69.62)
Bull — recovery +4% 22.3% $30.39 -56%
Base — stabilizes +3% 19.4% $25.69 -63%
Bear — keeps slipping +1% 16.5% $21.37 -69%
Stress — last quarter repeats -2% 10.6% $13.68 -80%
The next quarters keep the trajectory of the worst recent matched quarter (ending 2025-12-31) — growth stays at -1.5% and margins bend by the same profit-vs-revenue ratio (×0.66). Stress is a trajectory, not a prediction — it answers "what if the ship's current heading simply continues," which history says is the case to respect.
Why this is appearing: this company files quarterly, so its recent trajectory could be measured rather than assumed — the engine matched Jun 2026, Mar 2026 against the same quarters one year earlier and found revenue -0.4% · operating income +10.8% year-over-year. That measured heading is what the stress case extends forward. Of those, the stress case extends the worst matched quarter — the one ending Dec 31, 2025 (revenue -1.5%, operating income -34.8% YoY) — not the average. Data measured through Jun 30, 2026 — this card recalculates automatically when the next quarterly filing is ingested. Companies without quarterly filings (many foreign listings) never show this card: with no measured trajectory, there is nothing honest to repeat.
Narrative Economics
The story the market is telling about this stock — the intangible X-factor (founder mythology, cult dynamics, TAM-of-imagination) that moves price beyond what cash flows alone explain. After Shiller, Narrative Economics.
No narrative profile yet for FCX — it's generated by the pipeline (market-narrative step).
Claude Reading
Independent analyst synthesis · claude-opus-4-7 · generated 2026-08-09 00:40:09
Verdict Overvalued but the synthesis overshoots — fair value $45-55 not $22; wait for copper mean reversion to $3.75/lb or FCX sub-$50 before entry.

Looking at the raw numbers first: FCX is running $25.9B revenue on 6.5% CAGR, net margin 16%, ROE 13.5%, ROIC 11.7% — this is a decent but unspectacular capital-intensive miner. TTM revenue trajectory (Q2'26 $7.03B, Q1'26 $6.23B, Q4'25 $5.63B) shows sequential recovery but Q2'26 is still below the Q2'25 peak of $7.58B. Net income in Q2'26 of $984M annualizes toward ~$4B, essentially flat with 2024's $4.40B. FCF of $1.12B on $97B market cap is a 1.15% FCF yield — that is genuinely thin, and the $4.49B capex versus $5.61B operating cash flow tells you this business needs nearly 80% of operating cash to stand still. Balance sheet is fine (D/E 0.30, current ratio 2.29), dividend yield a token 0.86%.

The synthesis verdict of $21.72 fair value against $69.62 is aggressive to the point of being non-actionable — a 69% haircut implies mid-cycle copper at ~$3/lb and no multiple expansion, which is a defensible DCF input but ignores that copper equities have traded 15-25x through-cycle earnings for two decades when a supercycle narrative is live. The Market Forces commentary about "operational dysfunction, market share collapse, and accounting red flags" is not supported by the data I see here — Grasberg transition issues are real but revenue is growing, margins are stable, and there's no restatement flag in the numbers. That commentary looks like hallucinated color; I'd discount it. The Narrative Economics read is the most honest piece: at $69, the market embeds $4.50+/lb copper as a durable regime, and the DCF at $21.72 embeds ~$3.50/lb reversion. Truth is probably in the middle.

A careful contrarian on the bearish synthesis would note: (1) copper's supply response is genuinely constrained — Cochilco, Wood Mackenzie, and even bearish sell-side decks show mine grade decline of ~15% this decade and no major greenfield projects online before 2028; (2) FCX's Grasberg is a Tier-1 asset with block-cave economics that few peers can match; (3) the 56.6% FCF CAGR (albeit off a low base) and accelerating quarterly revenue trend suggest the operating leverage from copper prices is real and asymmetric to the upside; (4) insider selling of 7,550 shares is trivial noise against 1.4B shares outstanding — the "neutral insider" tag is correct, and Market Forces overreaches by calling it a "credibility crisis." A copper price of $4.25-4.75/lb sustained for 3-5 years — not permanently — would justify $55-65 fair value using normalized 12-14x EBITDA on ~$11-12B mid-cycle EBITDA less net debt.

I partially dissent from the synthesis. $21.72 is a lower-bound scenario, not a fair value. The $97B market cap is pricing in a specific regime (copper >$4.25/lb, 12x EV/EBITDA on cyclical peak earnings) and gives you no margin of safety, but calling FCX "overvalued by 69%" implies a bear case that requires a 2015-style copper collapse to $2.50/lb — plausible in recession, not a base case. My read: FCX is modestly to moderately overvalued at $69, with fair value in a $45-55 range assuming normalized $3.75-4.00/lb copper and 10-11x mid-cycle EBITDA. The stock is a leveraged bet on copper regime, not a compounder — the 1% FCF yield, 0.86% dividend, and $4.5B annual capex demand tell you all you need to know about intrinsic value creation absent commodity tailwinds. Direction is overvalued, but by ~25-30%, not 70%. I'd wait for copper to pull back to $3.75/lb (typically drags FCX to $45-50) before considering entry, or short-dated puts to express skepticism cheaply. Conviction is moderate — commodity equities can stay dislocated from DCF for years when narratives are live, and the copper supply story does have real teeth.

GPT Reading
Independent reading · gpt-5.4 · generated 2026-08-09 00:40:23
Verdict Overvalued at $69.62 — FCX is a solid copper franchise, but the current price assumes a sustained earnings and cash-flow step-up that trailing fundamentals do not yet support; fairer range is closer to $45-$55.

At $69.62, FCX is being valued like a scarce growth asset, but the reported numbers still look like a cyclical miner with decent assets and only modest fundamental expansion. Revenue was $25.92B in 2025 versus $25.46B in 2024, just 1.8% growth, while net income actually slipped from $4.40B to $4.15B. That means the market cap of $97.5B is about 23-24x trailing earnings, 3.9x sales, and 12.1x EV/EBITDA for a business whose five-year revenue line is basically flat: $22.85B in 2021, $22.78B in 2022, $22.86B in 2023, then $25.46B and $25.92B. Even the apparent recent momentum needs context. Q2 2026 revenue of $7.03B and net income of $984M improved margin to 14% from 10.2% a year earlier, but Q2 2025 revenue was actually higher at $7.58B. So what is improving is profitability per unit, not a clear volume-led growth breakout. That can be real, but for a miner it is usually more fragile than the multiple implies.

The biggest disconnect is cash generation versus earnings and valuation. 2025 operating cash flow was $5.61B, but free cash flow was only $1.12B after $4.49B of capex. For a $97B equity value, that is barely above a 1% FCF yield. A low FCF yield can be justified if the reinvestment is driving visible growth, yet annual revenue and earnings do not show a step-change. In fact, 2021 still looks like a stronger earnings year than 2025: net income was $5.37B in 2021 versus $4.15B in 2025, and operating income was $8.37B versus $6.52B. Balance sheet risk is not the issue here — net debt is manageable at roughly $5.6B with debt/equity of 0.30 and a current ratio of 2.29 — but a healthy balance sheet alone does not justify paying a premium multiple for cyclical profits. The market appears to be capitalizing a copper-upcycle thesis well ahead of the company proving it in sustained per-share cash returns.

What stands out to me is that FCX is not broken operationally; it is simply expensive relative to what the numbers currently say. ROE of 13.5% and ROIC of 11.7% are solid but not extraordinary for a company with deep commodity exposure and geopolitical complexity. Gross margin of 28.2%, operating margin of 25.2%, and net margin of 16.0% are all respectable, yet they remain below 2021 levels at a time when the stock is commanding a much richer narrative premium. The one recent insider sale, only 7,550 shares, is noise rather than a thesis point. The real issue is simpler: if this is a mature copper franchise earning $4-5B in a good environment, a near-$100B market cap leaves very little room for ordinary cyclical disappointment. You do not need FCX to fail for the stock to disappoint; you only need copper economics to stay merely good instead of structurally exceptional.

The best case against my skepticism is that the market is not paying for the trailing 2025 numbers; it is paying for the next several years of copper scarcity. The quarterly revenue pattern from $5.63B in Q4 2025 to $6.23B in Q1 2026 and $7.03B in Q2 2026 does suggest acceleration, and Q2 2026 net income of $984M on lower revenue than the prior-year quarter suggests operating leverage and improving mix or costs. If FCX can hold mid-teens net margins on a $28-30B revenue base, the current multiple would compress quickly. Also, unlike many commodity names, FCX does have a real asset-quality argument and enough balance-sheet strength to fund capex without stressing solvency. If investors believe current capex is building into a higher-production, higher-cash-flow period rather than merely sustaining the base, then the weak 2025 FCF number may understate normalized owner earnings. That is the strongest bullish rebuttal, and it is not crazy.

What would change my mind is evidence that the company is converting the copper story into durable financial uplift rather than just narrative uplift. Specifically, I would want to see full-year revenue move decisively above $28B, net income above $5.5B, and free cash flow at least $3B without a deterioration in the balance sheet. If the next two quarters show Q2 2026 was not a one-off — for example, sustained quarterly revenue above $7B with net margins in the 14-16% range — then the current price would start to look more defensible. Absent that, I think the stock is priced for a supercycle that the reported annual numbers have not yet earned.

Grok Reading
Grok (xAI) reads the identical raw briefing blind — one of the Big-3 independent readings — and commits to its own verdict.
No Grok reading yet for FCX — it's generated by the pipeline (grok-critique step) alongside the other Big-3 seats, when a report is run on this ticker.
Big-3 Panel — where each AI stands
Each AI above independently stated a direction (undervalued, fairly valued, or overvalued) and how strongly it believes it (conviction, 0–5). We combine those into a Bull-Bear Index on a 0–10 scale: 5 is neutral, 10 is maximum bullish (undervalued at full conviction), 0 is maximum bearish. We compute the score ourselves with the same arithmetic for every seat — the models never grade their own bullishness — so the three are directly comparable. Δ shows how far each seat sits from the panel average of 1.5; a large Δ marks the dissenting voice, usually the one worth reading.
Claude claude-opus-4-7 2.0
overvalued · conviction 3/5 · Δ +0.5 vs panel · self: 3.0
GPT gpt-5.4 1.0
overvalued · conviction 4/5 · Δ -0.5 vs panel · self: 3.0
Advanced Analysis Forensic deep-dive · separate lenses
Separate reads — Company Quality (is it a great business?), Valuation (is it mispriced?), and General Sentiment (how macro + narrative are pushing it), kept deliberately apart · 2026-08-09 00:56:31
Delvantic - Cairn AI
Quality - pass at $70, buyer in the $40s 7/10
FCX is a solid copper major priced for a supercycle - great narrative tailwind, but the price does the wrong work here; I wait.
The cruxWhether copper stays structurally above ~$4.50/lb long-term - that single assumption is what separates today's $70 print from a mid-$40s deserved value.
Forensic checks Derived mechanically from FCX's filed financials — not from the AI lenses
Liquidity & RunwaySelf-Funding
DilutionShare Count Shrinking
Earnings QualityHigh Earnings Quality
The four lensesswitch a tab for its full read — score + evidence
Company Quality
+2
Solid
edge √Σ 100 · risk √Σ 97 · conf 7/10

Freeport screens as a mature commodity producer running clean books. Earnings quality checks are strong: accruals -3.3% of assets, OCF/NI at 1.39x, Beneish M -1.88, and Altman Z 3.14 in the safe zone. Diluted share count is drifting down (-0.7% CAGR) with buybacks running 376% of SBC and SBC only 0.5% of revenue - per-share discipline is intact. The company self-funds with $1.12B FCF and $3.82B cash, though net debt of $5.56B means the balance sheet is a working constraint, not a fortress. The trajectory is the concern. Revenue grew modestly from $22.85B (2021) to $25.92B (2025), but gross margin has compressed every single year from 38.6% to 28.2%, and operating margin from 36.6% to 25.2%. Net income has slid from $5.37B to $4.15B despite higher revenue - classic margin compression in a commodity business. FCF is also volatile and lower-quality: $5.60B, $1.67B, $455M, $2.35B, $1.12B - the e2e flag of Weak Cash Flow Quality tracks with this swinginess and heavy capex intensity. Insider tape is neutral-to-slightly-negative: zero open-market buys against $38M of sales over 12 months, plus a notable 27.7K share gift from Adkerson. Nothing alarming, but no conviction signal either. Overall this is a well-run cyclical miner with honest accounting and shareholder-friendly capital return, held back from a higher grade by structural margin erosion, capex-heavy cash flows, and leverage.

Strengths 3
m70
Clean earnings quality across all mechanical checks
Accruals -3.3% of assets, OCF/NI 1.39x, Beneish M -1.88, Altman Z 3.14 safe. No manipulation flags and cash conversion exceeds accounting earnings.
m55
Per-share discipline via net buybacks
Diluted shares down -0.7% CAGR, buybacks 376% of SBC, and SBC only 0.5% of revenue. Rare shareholder-friendly behavior for a cyclical miner.
m45
Self-funding operations
Positive FCF every year ($1.12B latest) and $3.82B liquid cash means no capital-raise dependency despite $5.56B net debt.
Concerns 4
m65
Persistent margin compression
Gross margin fell every year from 38.6% (2021) to 28.2% (2025); operating margin 36.6% to 25.2%. Net income declined from $5.37B to $4.15B despite revenue growing to $25.92B - operating leverage is working in reverse.
m55
Volatile, capex-heavy cash flows
FCF swung $5.60B, $1.67B, $455M, $2.35B, $1.12B over five years. e2e module flags Weak Cash Flow Quality; heavy reinvestment leaves little consistent free cash.
m40
Net debt as a constraint
Net debt $5.56B against only $3.82B cash (3.9% of market cap). Manageable for a producing miner but not a cushion in a copper down-cycle.
m25
One-sided insider tape
10 sells totaling $38.1M and zero open-market buys over 12 months, plus a 27.7K share gift from Adkerson. Mildly negative directional signal, not alarming for a large-cap.
This is a solid, honestly-run copper major that does the right things on shareholder capital - net buybacks, minimal SBC, clean accruals - but the operating story is quietly deteriorating. Margins have compressed for four straight years and FCF is lumpy and capex-hostage. Nothing about the reporting looks manipulated; the M-score and cash conversion are genuinely reassuring. But I cannot call a business improving when every profitability line is drifting the wrong way and net debt sits above cash. Grade it a mid-Solid: a well-behaved cyclical, not a compounding fortress.
Verify before trusting this (5)
  • Whether margin compression is driven by Grasberg cost inflation, mine-plan transitions, or copper realized prices versus unit costs
  • Debt maturity schedule and covenants given $5.56B net debt position
  • Capex outlook - how much of weak FCF is discretionary growth capex versus sustaining
  • Indonesia/Grasberg regulatory and ownership status given jurisdictional concentration risk
  • Any convertible instruments or off-balance-sheet obligations at PT-FI level
Valuation / Mispricing
-78
Rich
edge √Σ 20 · risk √Σ 125 · conf 6/10
Price $69.62 vs credible deserved band $26-$42 (mid ~$34) - roughly 100% above midpoint, no margin of safety. attractive below $38.00

The e2e composite pins deserved value at $22.25 (signal-adjusted $21.72), with DCF at $10.33, EPV floor $26.28, and anchored P/E $42.06. Even the most generous of these - anchored P/E on peak-ish earnings - sits ~40% below the $69.62 print. The EPV floor, which normalizes through-cycle earnings, implies the stock is ~2.6x its steady-state worth. Earnings quality is high (score 3), so there is no accounting haircut to reach for - the gap is real, not a reporting artifact. Company quality is 'Solid' but with compressing margins and lumpy capex-bound FCF; that supports a deserved value nearer the anchored-PE end than the DCF, but nowhere near $70. What is priced in: copper structurally above ~$4.50/lb for the long haul, Grasberg execution clean, and the energy-transition demand curve treated as a secular growth story rather than a cyclical one. That is the bull case as a base case, not a scenario. Sanity check on the FV inputs: the DCF at $10 looks like a runaway low (likely punishing near-term FCF and a high discount rate on a cyclical), so I lean on EPV/anchored-PE as the credible band - $26 to $42. Midpoint ~$34. Against $69.62 that is a ~50% overpricing, not a modest premium. This is 'Rich' rather than 'Overvalued' only because commodity cycles can extend and I do not want to bet against copper spot at frame-extreme confidence.

Cheap signals 1
m20
High earnings quality means no accounting haircut
M-score and cash conversion are clean; the deserved value does not need to be marked down further for reporting risk. Modestly supports the anchored-PE end of the band.
Rich / priced-in 4
m78
Price ~2x credible fair-value midpoint
EPV floor $26.28 and anchored-PE $42.06 bracket a ~$34 midpoint; $69.62 is roughly double that. Even the highest single method ($42) implies ~40% downside.
m70
Priced for a permanent copper premium
The stock is discounting copper structurally above $4.50/lb for decades - treating a cyclical commodity as a secular growth stream. New supply and Chinese demand risk are ignored.
m55
Margins compressing, FCF lumpy - not a widening moat
Company-quality lens flags four straight years of margin compression and capex-hostage FCF. That argues for a LOWER deserved multiple than a stable cash compounder, not a higher one.
m40
DCF at $10 likely overstates the gap
A $10 DCF vs $70 price screams runaway assumptions (near-term FCF weakness x high discount rate). I discount this method but the EPV and anchored-PE still leave a large gap.
I cannot buy this here. Every credible fair-value method - EPV $26, anchored-PE $42 - sits well below $70, and the composite $22 implies the market is paying for a copper supercycle as if it were already booked. FCX is a fine business but I need the price closer to the high-$30s / low-$40s before valuation, not the copper narrative, is doing the work. Until then, this is a Rich commodity stock riding a story.
Verify before trusting this (5)
  • Long-run copper price deck embedded in sell-side models vs spot
  • Grasberg block-cave ramp progress and unit cost guidance
  • Capex guidance 2025-2027 and implied maintenance vs growth split
  • Net debt trajectory and any hedging disclosures
  • Whether anchored-PE uses trailing peak earnings or a normalized figure
General Sentiment
+53
Tailwind
tail √Σ 111 · head √Σ 51 · conf 7/10

FCX is riding a strong, moderately durable narrative: copper as the indispensable metal of electrification, with FCX positioned as the Western supply anchor via Grasberg and Morenci. Intensity is high, cult following is real, and the story has been strong enough to detach price ($69.62) from a DCF-based fair value in the low $20s. That gap IS the sentiment premium, and until the story cracks it keeps working. The tape reinforces it: VIX under 15, S&P at highs, risk-on regime building. Beta 1.38 means FCX gets more than its share of that lift, and momentum is already strong_positive. On top of that, Trump's $3B critical-minerals push (Aug 7) is a direct, name-relevant tailwind for US-listed copper miners framed as China-alternative supply. Zacks industry write-ups grouping FCX with Southern Copper keep the cohort narrative warm. Risks to the read are macro-shaped, not story-shaped: 10y at 4.69% and a market PE of 26 mean any risk-off flip would hit high-beta cyclicals like FCX hard and fast, and the narrative's late-cycle archetype means it is closer to peak belief than to early accumulation.

Tailwinds 4
m72
Copper/electrification narrative running hot
Strong-intensity, medium-cult green-metal story with FCX as the flagship Western pure-play; the market is pricing a structural bull case well ahead of normalized fundamentals, and that premium is currently self-reinforcing.
m55
Risk-on tape amplified by 1.38 beta
VIX 14.9, S&P at highs, regime building for 5 days; high-beta cyclicals like FCX capture more than their share of this drift, versus a defensive name that would barely notice.
m50
Trump critical-minerals push
$3B US minerals investment framed as countering China lands directly on FCX's positioning as domestic/allied copper supply; a fresh, name-relevant policy tailwind on top of the existing narrative.
m40
Momentum and cohort coverage
Strong_positive momentum plus Zacks grouping FCX with Southern Copper and Lundin keeps the copper-miner cohort in front of buyers, sustaining flow into the name.
Headwinds 2
m45
Late-cycle archetype, fragile if tape flips
Narrative is cyclical-late-stage with only moderate durability; 10y 4.69% and market PE 26 mean a risk-off pivot would hit a 1.38-beta commodity story hard, and the further price sits above normalized value the sharper the mean-reversion when sentiment cracks.
m25
Bear counter-narrative present but quiet
China EV saturation, recession fears, and Peru/Congo supply are known bear talking points but are not currently driving flow; they sit as latent risk, not active pressure.
Net pressure on FCX is a real tailwind right now: the electrification narrative is strong and getting fresh policy oxygen from the critical-minerals push, and a calm risk-on tape with a 1.38 beta means this name catches the drift harder than most. I would not confuse that with the stock being cheap or safe - the same forces that lifted it will unwind quickly if the tape turns or copper cracks - but as a sentiment read, the wind is at its back.
Verify before trusting this (5)
  • Copper spot price holding above $4.50/lb - a break would puncture the story fast
  • Any China demand data or property/stimulus disappointment that reframes copper demand
  • VIX break above 20 or curve/rates shock that flips regime risk-off
  • Follow-through legislation or contracts from the Trump critical-minerals initiative naming FCX
  • Analyst target revisions - watch for the first downgrade citing normalized copper price
The market-wide tape + this name's exposure to it (beta / sector / narrative durability). Context on the non-fundamental pressure — not a call on the business or the price. processId: detail-general-sentiment
Growth Outlook
not run

This lens hasn't been run for this ticker yet.

The forward growth verdict — is the business itself likely to grow (next 2 quarters / year 1 / years 2–3), judged against its category and against printed expectations. The full horizon ladder + creme renders on the Growth Outlook card above. Not a call on the price (Valuation owns that) or the tape (Sentiment owns that).
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Lenses kept deliberately separate — Company Quality (price-agnostic), Valuation (price-conditional), General Sentiment (non-fundamental macro/narrative pressure), and Growth Outlook (the forward growth verdict). The scores are not blended. Filing-level items (convertibles, lock-ups, customer concentration) are v2 — see each lens's "verify."
Price Prediction
Lower -12.4% v0.6.0 View full prediction →

When we made this prediction on Aug 9, 2026, FCX was $69.62. We expect it to be $61.00 by Feb 2027, and we consider it great value under $38.00. This is an early model (v0.6.0) — the direction is more reliable than the exact price. Made Aug 9, 2026.

Price when predicted$69.62
Our estimate for Feb 2027$61.00-12.4%
Great value below$38.00
Price history shown (6 Months)

Blue is our prediction, starting the day we made it. Grey is a slower route to the same place — the same destination, taking longer. Black is the actual price, so you can see how we are doing.

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My Notes personal — only you see this
v1.1.562 · 9b2927c4 · 2026-08-22 16:52:06