Scotiabank Lowers Earnings Estimates for Freeport-McMoRan

Posted by Stanley Muller on Nov 6th, 2026

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX – Free Report) – Investment analysts at Scotiabank cut their FY2026 earnings estimates for Freeport-McMoRan in a research report issued on Monday, November 2nd. Scotiabank analyst O. Wowkodaw now expects that the natural resource company will earn $3.20 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $3.35. Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $78.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Freeport-McMoRan’s current full-year earnings is $3.04 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Freeport-McMoRan’s FY2027 earnings at $2.57 EPS.

FCX has been the topic of several other reports. Barclays increased their target price on Freeport-McMoRan from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Freeport-McMoRan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Freeport-McMoRan from $88.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Freeport-McMoRan from $74.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.30.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Stock Performance

FCX stock opened at $57.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.00 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.38. Freeport-McMoRan has a 12-month low of $38.54 and a 12-month high of $80.24. The company has a current ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.27.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The natural resource company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.06. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $7.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Freeport-McMoRan

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FCX. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,160,598 shares of the natural resource company’s stock valued at $81,242,000 after purchasing an additional 24,593 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in Freeport-McMoRan by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 19,686 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,378,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 87,545 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $6,128,000 after buying an additional 10,670 shares in the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Freeport-McMoRan in the 3rd quarter worth $239,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Freeport-McMoRan by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,275 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Douglas N. Currault II sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.56, for a total value of $6,284,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 211,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,577,416.96. This trade represents a 27.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lydia H. Kennard sold 3,798 shares of Freeport-McMoRan stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.11, for a total value of $300,459.78. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 122,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,706,955.22. The trade was a 3.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.0750 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 15th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Freeport-McMoRan’s payout ratio is 12.61%.

Key Headlines Impacting Freeport-McMoRan

Here are the key news stories impacting Freeport-McMoRan this week:

Positive Sentiment: Freeport approved a $4.5 billion expansion and modernization of its Bagdad, Arizona, operation. Once fully operational, the project is expected to add about 225 million pounds of annual copper production and lower long-term unit costs, supporting FCX’s longer-term growth outlook. Freeport Announces Plans to Boost U.S. Copper & Molybdenum Production
Positive Sentiment: Potential upside also comes from new leaching tests that reportedly produced more than four times the incremental copper recovery of earlier results. If commercialized, the process could boost output from existing stockpiles with less capital than a new mine. Freeport-McMoRan: 3 Key Takeaways for Long-Term Investors
Neutral Sentiment: Analysts’ average brokerage recommendation is equivalent to Buy, though the report cautions that such ratings can be overly optimistic and are not a reliable stand-alone signal. Wall Street Analysts Think Freeport-McMoRan Is a Good Investment: Is It?
Negative Sentiment: The near-term outlook appears to be the main drag: management trimmed 2026–27 copper-sales forecasts by roughly 2%–2.5% and raised 2027 capital-spending expectations by $400 million to about $5.2 billion. The new Bagdad project adds substantial future spending, heightening concerns about near-term cash flow and execution.
Negative Sentiment: Although FCX beat third-quarter earnings and revenue expectations, the weaker sales outlook and higher spending plans appear to have overshadowed the results. Coverage described the sharp selloff as a roughly $6 billion loss in market value in one session. Freeport-McMoRan Sheds $6 Billion in Market Value in One Session

Freeport-McMoRan Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Freeport-McMoRan Inc (NYSE: FCX) is a global mining company primarily engaged in the exploration, development, and production of copper. Copper is used extensively in electrical wiring, construction, transportation, renewable energy systems, and other industrial applications. The company also produces gold and molybdenum, a metal used in steelmaking and other industrial processes, as well as certain other byproducts.

Freeport-McMoRan operates a portfolio of mining and processing assets in North America, South America, and Indonesia.