Copper Surges Past AI Chip Stocks as Data Center Demand Soars
Copper prices have surged to an all-time high, leaving NVIDIA's stock in its dust. The price of copper on the London Metal Exchange (LME) has reached $14,533 per ton, with data centers driving demand.
Southern Copper and Freeport-McMoRan, two major copper miners, have seen their stocks skyrocket by 109% and 64% respectively over the past year. Their performance far surpasses that of NVIDIA's 34% gain during the same period.
According to S&P Global, global copper demand is expected to reach 42 million metric tons by 2040, a 50% increase driven by forces like electrification and AI data centers. The US Geological Survey has also added copper to its list of critical minerals, and the Department of Energy projects that data centers will consume up to 12% of US electricity demand by 2028.
Southern Copper's fundamentals are running with its price, posting EPS of $2.01 on revenue of $4.29 billion in Q2 fiscal 2026. The company has a $20.5 billion capital investment program for the decade, headlined by the Tía María project in Peru.