On September 1, Freeport-McMoRan fell 3.01% in pre-market trading, trading at $73.44 per share, with turnover of approximately $2.78 million. The copper sector saw widespread weakness, with Southern Copper Corp down 2.48%, Ero Copper down 3.74%, and TREKOR METALS down 2.43%.
On the news front, the company previously declared force majeure at its flagship Grasberg mine in Indonesia following a major mudslide accident that sent approximately 800,000 tonnes of material into the mine, causing severe operational disruption. The incident led management to lower its full-year consolidated copper sales volume forecast to 3.1 billion pounds from 3.4 billion pounds, an 8.8% reduction. Gold output at Grasberg also declined sharply, with H1 production falling to 276,000 ounces, less than half the prior-year figure. Full recovery is not expected until sometime next year. Additionally, UBS Asset Management recently trimmed its holdings in the company, amplifying institutional selling pressure.
While Q2 adjusted EPS of $0.74 and revenue of $7.03 billion both exceeded consensus estimates, the ongoing production uncertainty and sector-wide headwinds continue to weigh on sentiment.
(The above content is based on publicly available market information, generated by a program or algorithm, and is intended solely as a stock movement alert. It does not constitute investment advice or a basis for trading decisions.)
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