Freeport-McMoRan Inc.FCX ended 2025 with strong liquidity, including $3.8 billion in cash and cash equivalents, $3 billion in availability under the FCX revolving credit facility, and $1.5 billion in availability under the PT-FI credit facility. It also generated solid operating cash flows of $5.6 billion in 2025.
FCX’s strong liquidity profile and substantial cash flows provide it with ample flexibility to fund expansion projects, reduce debt and enhance shareholder returns. The company remains focused on strong execution while progressing its organic growth initiatives, including expansion projects in Chile, Arizona and Indonesia geared toward increasing production capacity, supported by a robust financial position.
Freeport’s net debt (barring downstream projects) of $2.3 billion at the end of 2025 is below its targeted range of $3-$4 billion. It has no significant debt maturities in 2026 and has adequate financial flexibility to finance the maturities next year. FCX has a policy of distributing 50% of the available cash to its shareholders and the balance to either reduce debt or invest in growth projects. Its solid balance sheet offers the flexibility to invest in growth while continuing to support shareholder returns.
Among FCX’s peers, Southern Copper CorporationSCCO ended 2025 with cash and cash equivalents of $4.3 billion. Southern Copper generated net cash from operating activities of $4.75 billion in 2025, up roughly 7.5% from $4.42 billion in 2024, attributable to higher net income. Net cash from operating activities was around $1.49 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from $1.36 billion in the prior-year quarter, driven by strong cash generation in Southern Copper’s operations.
BHP Group Limited’s BHP balance sheet remains strong with cash and cash equivalents of $13.5 billion as of Dec. 31, 2025. BHP’s net operating cash flow increased 13% to $9.4 billion in the first half of fiscal 2026, driven by higher realized copper and iron ore prices. Free cash flow increased 10% to $2.9 billion, after spending $5.3 billion on capital and exploration projects. BHP sees opportunities to unlock up to $10 billion through capital portfolio and asset management.
The Zacks Rundown for FCX
Shares of Freeport are up 80.1% in the past year against the Zacks Mining – Non Ferrous industry’s rise of 103.2%.
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From a valuation standpoint, FCX is currently trading at a forward 12-month earnings multiple of 22.61, a 3.7% discount to the industry average of 23.47X. It carries a Value Score of C.
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The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FCX’s 2026 and 2027 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 44.1% and 22.4%, respectively. The EPS estimates for 2026 and 2027 have been trending higher over the past 60 days.
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FCX stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).