Freeport-McMoRan Misses Q4 Revenue Estimates, Shares Slide As Copper Sales And Revenue Decline

Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX shares are trading lower after the company reported fourth-quarter FY24 results.

Revenue stood at $5.72 billion, missing the consensus of $5.99 billion.

Copper sales totaled 1.0 billion pounds, which was slightly above the October 2024 estimate. Copper sales declined year-over-year owing to lower ore grades and the timing of shipments at PT-FI.

Copper average realized price per pound was $4.15, and production totaled 1.041 billion pounds in the fourth quarter of FY24.

Gold sales stood at 350 thousand ounces, slightly higher than the October 2024 estimate, but declined from last year. The average realized price per ounce stood at $2,628 in the quarter. 

Operating income stood at $1.243 billion versus $1.722 billion a year ago. Adjusted EPS was $0.31, beating the consensus of $0.22.

Operating cash flow for the quarter totaled $1.44 billion, compared to $1.32 billion a year ago.

As of December 31, Freeport-McMoRan had $3.9 billion in cash and equivalents, and its consolidated debt totaled $8.9 billion.

Richard Adkerson, chairman of the board, and Kathleen Quirk, president, and chief executive officer, said, “We enter 2025 with a clear focus on continued strong execution of our operating plans, enhancing productivity, managing costs and capital, and advancing opportunities for long-term profitable growth and value creation.”

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

2025 Outlook: Freeport-McMoRan expects sales volumes to be 4.0 billion pounds of copper, 1.6 million ounces of gold, and 88 million pounds of molybdenum. 

The company expects operating cash flows of ~$6.2 billion in 2025.

In the conference call, Quirk stated expecting U.S. copper production to rise 8% in 2025, with further increases in 2026 and 2027.

The company aims to make 2024 the “low watermark year” for its U.S. copper business.

Quirk added that she sees continued global copper demand growth driven by electrification and expects a balanced global copper market in the near term but warns of a “significant deficit” in the long run.

Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Sprott Copper Miners ETF COPP and Themes ETF Trust Themes Copper Miners ETF COPA.

Price Action: FCX shares are down 5.32% at $37.01 at the last check Thursday.

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