What's Going On With Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) Stock Ahead Of Q4 Earnings Report?

Freeport-McMoRan Inc FCX, a global leader in producing copper, gold and molybdenum, approaches its fourth-quarter earnings report, set for release in Thursday's pre-market session, bolstered by a strong third-quarter performance that surpassed market expectations.

According to analyst consensus estimates, Freeport-McMoRan is expected to report fourth-quarter EPS of 21 cents on revenue of $5.93 billion.

What To Know: Freeport-McMoRan in the third quarter reported revenue of $6.79 billion, beating the consensus of $6.47 billion, with adjusted EPS of $0.38 surpassing estimates of $0.35.

Despite facing challenges such as lower ore grades and operating rates in North America, copper sales totaled 1 billion pounds, driven by favorable shipment timing.

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Additionally, gold sales were a standout, rising 40% year-over-year to 558 thousand ounces, while average realized prices for copper and gold stood at $4.30 per pound and $2,568 per ounce, respectively.

What Else: For the fourth quarter, Freeport-McMoRan said the company expects to deliver consolidated sales volumes of 1 billion pounds of copper, 450 thousand ounces of gold, and 20 million pounds of molybdenum. With a full-year operating cash flow forecast of $6.8 billion, assuming stable pricing, the company is well-positioned to sustain robust cash generation.

During third quarter commentary FCX added the company continues to focus on productivity improvements, cost control and recovery efforts at its Indonesia smelter, which was recently affected by fire damage.

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Investors can gain exposure to FCX by investing in the iShares Copper and Metals Mining ETF ICOP.

How To Buy FCX Stock

Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share – or fractional share – of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument.

For example, in Freeport-McMoRan’s case, it is in the Materials sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment.

According to data from Benzinga Pro, FCX has a 52-week high of $55.24 and a 52-week low of $36.26.