FY2026 EPS Estimates for Freeport-McMoRan Cut by Scotiabank

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (NYSE:FCX) – Investment analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Freeport-McMoRan in a research note issued on Friday, April 17th. Scotiabank analyst O. Wowkodaw now forecasts that the natural resource company will earn $2.36 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $2.48. Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Freeport-McMoRan’s current full-year earnings is $2.54 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Freeport-McMoRan’s FY2027 earnings at $2.44 EPS.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on FCX. Argus raised shares of Freeport-McMoRan from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $58.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $70.00 to $66.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 27th. CICC Research increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $50.40 to $64.40 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Freeport-McMoRan from $52.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Freeport-McMoRan presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.26.

Freeport-McMoRan Trading Up 4.0%

NYSE:FCX opened at $70.26 on Wednesday. Freeport-McMoRan has a 52 week low of $34.45 and a 52 week high of $70.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.51 and a 200 day moving average of $53.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.53, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.48.

Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The natural resource company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.19. Freeport-McMoRan had a net margin of 8.50% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Freeport-McMoRan Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 15th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 15th. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Freeport-McMoRan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Freeport-McMoRan news, CFO Maree E. Robertson sold 48,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.55, for a total value of $2,985,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 79,894 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,917,475.70. This trade represents a 37.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Ellie L. Mikes sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.03, for a total transaction of $682,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 40,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,529,149.19. This represents a 21.25% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 565,145 shares of company stock valued at $35,839,918. Corporate insiders own 0.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FCX. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 190.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 36,494,793 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,431,326,000 after buying an additional 23,950,557 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 98.8% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 19,973,108 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,014,434,000 after buying an additional 9,924,573 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 31.2% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 37,353,852 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $1,897,202,000 after acquiring an additional 8,891,743 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan by 102.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 14,211,579 shares of the natural resource company’s stock worth $721,806,000 after acquiring an additional 7,192,955 shares during the period. Finally, PointState Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Freeport-McMoRan in the fourth quarter worth $198,523,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.77% of the company’s stock.

Freeport-McMoRan News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank boosted its price target to $72 and kept a Buy rating, and several retail-oriented pieces named FCX a top “beginner” stock — a positive catalyst from the sell-side that supports upside expectations ahead of Q1 results. Is Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) the Best Beginner Stock to Buy Right Now?
• Positive Sentiment: Copper tailwinds and project execution: recent coverage comparing FCX with BHP highlights that strong copper prices and available cash flow are enabling growth projects — a structural demand story that supports higher longer‑term valuation for miners like FCX. FCX vs. BHP: Which Copper Mining Giant Should You Invest in Now?
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry comparison coverage (duplicate analysis in Zacks) reiterates the same positives for FCX vs. major peers but adds emphasis on capital discipline and project timelines — helpful context but not an immediate catalyst. FCX vs. BHP (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre‑earnings previews expect Q1 results to show benefits from higher realized copper prices, but warn of cost and volume pressures that could temper the beat-or-miss risk around the report. This keeps the earnings event a key short-term volatility driver. Should You Buy, Sell or Hold FCX Stock Ahead of Q1 Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: Scotiabank trimmed its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS estimates slightly (now below consensus) and retained a Sector Perform rating with a ~$71 target — a modest downward revision that could cap near-term upside if other brokers follow suit. MarketBeat – FCX analyst note
• Neutral Sentiment: General company profile pages (Barron’s/company data) were updated but contain no new material company-specific news; useful for background but unlikely to move the stock. Barron’s – Freeport-McMoRan

About Freeport-McMoRan

Freeport-McMoRan Inc is a U.S.-based natural resources company primarily engaged in the exploration, mining and processing of copper, gold and molybdenum. Its operations encompass large-scale open-pit and underground mining as well as associated concentrator and milling facilities. The company produces copper in the form of concentrates and cathodes, and also recovers gold and molybdenum as co-products; its business model includes exploration, development, mining, beneficiation and the sale of bulk commodities to smelters and industrial customers.

Freeport-McMoRan conducts operations and development activities across multiple geographies, with substantial assets in the Americas and Indonesia.