Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX recorded net income (attributable to common stock) of $1.4 billion or 94 cents per share in third-quarter 2021 versus $329 million or 22 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share came in at 89 cents. The figure beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 78 cents.

Revenues rose roughly 58% year over year to $6,083 million. The figure missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6,218.4 million.

The mining giant benefited from higher realized prices and lower costs in the quarter.

FreeportMcMoRan Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

FreeportMcMoRan Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | FreeportMcMoRan Inc. Quote

Operational Update

Copper production rose 17% year over year to 987 million pounds in the third quarter.

Consolidated sales from mines rose 21.8% year over year to 1,033 million pounds of copper. The company sold 402,000 ounces of gold and 20 million pounds of molybdenum during the quarter.

Consolidated average unit net cash costs per pound of copper were $1.24, down about 6% year over year. The downside was due to reduced leach unit production costs associated with higher recoveries.

Average realized price for copper was $4.20 per pound, up roughly 39.5% year over year. Average realized price per ounce for gold fell around 7.6% year over year to $1,757. Average realized price per pound for molybdenum was $18.61, up around 101.6% year over year.

Financial Position

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the third quarter were $7,672 million, up 219.3% year over year. The company’s long-term debt was $9,665 million, down around 3.6% year over year.

Cash flows provided by operations were $1,965 million for the third quarter of 2021.

Guidance

For 2021, Freeport anticipates consolidated sales volumes to be roughly 3.8 billion pounds of copper.

The company also expects gold sales volumes of 1.3 million ounces for 2021. It also expects sales of 85 million pounds of molybdenum for the year.

For the fourth quarter of 2021, Freeport expects sales volumes to be 1,025 million pounds of copper, 375,000 ounces of gold and 22 million pounds of molybdenum.

Price Performance

Freeport’s shares have rallied 112.1% in the past year compared with a 67.4% rise of the industry.

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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Freeport currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Nucor Corporation NUE, The Chemours Company CC and Olin Corporation OLN.

Nucor has a projected earnings growth rate of around 581.1% for the current year. The company’s shares have soared 111.2% in a year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Chemours has an expected earnings growth rate of around 86.4% for the current year. The company’s shares have gained 41.1% in the past year. It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Olin has an expected earnings growth rate of around 677% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 209.3% in the past year. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1.

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FreeportMcMoRan Inc. (FCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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