Freeport-McMoRan’s Q2 profit beats expectations, helped by rising copper prices

July 23 (Reuters) – Freeport-McMoRan posted a second-quarter profit on Thursday that beat Wall Street’s expectations as higher copper prices offset lower production at Indonesia’s Grasberg mine, which is under repair following a deadly 2025 accident.

Shares of the ​world’s largest publicly traded copper producer fell 2.3% in morning trading, in line with broader markets.

Grasberg, the world’s second-largest copper mine and largest gold mine, was hit by a massive mud flow in September that killed seven workers and shuttered operations for nearly a month.

The company has been working ever since to repair the site, which is majority-owned by the Indonesian government and operated by Freeport. Costs tied to the repair were roughly $363 million during the quarter.

“Our Grasberg ramp-up plans are on track,” said CEO Kathleen Quirk, who visited the mine last month with Chairman Richard Adkerson and reiterated plans for it to reopen by the end of the year.

Separately, Quirk said Freeport has formally applied to extend its Grasberg operating permit beyond 2041 and hopes to have a decision by the end of this year.

Copper, one of the best electricity-conducting metals, is used worldwide in motors, computers, batteries and wiring.

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For the quarter ended June 30, Freeport reported net income of $984 million, or 68 cents per share, compared to $772 million, or 53 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Excluding the Grasberg costs and other one-time items, Freeport earned 74 cents per share. By that measure, analysts expected earnings of 59 cents per share, according to IBES data from LSEG.

Freeport’s copper production fell 18.2% to 786 million pounds, while gold production fell 39.4% to 192,000 ounces.

The average copper price during the quarter rose 41.5% from the same period last year, driven by supply concerns and signs of resilient Chinese demand.

In the U.S., Quirk said Freeport has not heard from the Trump administration yet about a potential tariff on refined copper, which had been expected by late June.

Any tariff on copper concentrate or other products that Freeport sells would boost the company’s earnings. Copper inventories have been moving to U.S. warehouses in anticipation of a decision.

“Everyone’s watching the situation closely,” Quirk said.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder in Houston and Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Leroy Leo and Chris Reese)